12th May 2009 After a toasted sandwich breakfast we completed our packing and caught a taxi to the airport. As we walked into the airport we were greeted by a travel agent tout who informed us that we might need to pre book our transport to the port and then a boat to the island. Going against our practise of doing all our transportation booking ourselves we decided to follow the agent to the travel desk and pay to get everything sorted for us. At the desk we purchased two tickets for a private taxi arrive to be taken taken directly [View Full Entry]

---

---

9th May 2009 BANGKOK After breakfast we checked out of our room and took a small walk about around the markets again. By the time we get to the airport a raging storm has covered the city, it’s a little spooky because when we first arrived in Saigon we arrived in a serious storm that flooded the streets and now as we leave the same thing happens, weird!! At the check in another nightmare unravelled before our eyes. Because of Pili’s deliberately damaged passport the girl at the desk questioned what had happened to the detached documents. We faked innocence; we [View Full Entry]

---

---

2nd May 2009 We woke to the sound of rain again and worried about our journey back to the bus stop in the local town. A huge spider was on the ceiling opposite my side of the bed so I grabbed my camera and tried to get a shot in the gloom to no avail so I turned on the flash which I hate using and got a nice picture. The spider didn’t like it at all and immediately the flash went off he dropped from the ceiling to the fall. I wasn’t sure what species he was so I decided [View Full Entry]

---

---

6th May 2009 We arrived in the costal town of Nhu Trang at 6:00am. The 12hr journey had been horrendous, the bucks were to small and the road (I use that word cautiously) was one long series of pot holes we felt every jump, roll, jerk and bottoming out, we slept for maybe an hour so we were wrung out when we arrived at the 62 Tran Phu Hotel. Pili headed straight fro the shower and bed. I decided to walk the street and find some breakfast which I did. I then walked down to the long beach front and sat [View Full Entry]

---

---

27th April 2009 This morning over breakfast we decide to give Laos a miss, it mostly comes down to money which is starting to be stretched. Laos will be down on our list at some point, just not this trip. At midday after a morning relaxing and a little writing we book a sleeper coach down to Hue and ask for our bill at the hotel. The manageress charges us an extra half a day for today’s use of the room, that’s fair enough for us until she tries to charge us for our coffees at breakfast. We remind her that [View Full Entry]

---

---

30th April 2009 Bach Ma National Park The minibus collects us at 8:15am from our hotel, National Park here we come, ha, ha, no way. We’re dropped just two minutes later around the corner from the hotel at a travel agent to wait in the street for a bus!! This really is getting boring; it would be easier finding Elvis than getting the service that you actually pay for here in Vietnam. We were specifically told we’d have a direct transport straight to the Park with arrival to be about 10:30am. We spent the time talking to an Australian policeman [View Full Entry]

---

---

24th April 2009 Cat Ba Island to Ninh Binh We were up early and ready to move on. Our coach picked us up at 9:00am and drove us across the island to catch our hydrofoil to the mainland. The hour trip was very smooth but with little to see. On land we caught a coach to Hai Phong which was a very hectic typical Asian city; I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the chaotic traffic that comes at you from every direction. We are constantly amazed that so far we’ve seen no accidents or carnage, seemingly there is a [View Full Entry]

---

---

26th April 2009 We all met for breakfast in the hotel at 7:30am, followed by the hiring of two automatic mopeds for our planned day out in Tam Coc. All fingers were crossed that the storms wouldn’t continue and ruin the day. Pili took first turn with driving the bike through the crazy traffic as I wanted to take photos while clinging onto the back. We stopped to top up on petrol and Jonathan and Lucy were approached by an old Vietnamese guy in pale blue pyjamas; they had know idea what he wanted and I don’t think he really had [View Full Entry]

---

---

22nd April 2009 Today went exactly as we’d planned. We breakfasted at the hotel, met our Spanish friends and walked to 2-3km along the coastline and finally ended up at Cat Co Beach. We did stop off for a swim in the cool sea along the way. The scenery was magnificent, steep cliffs and islands covered in dense vegetation. I even saw a few birds which was a nice surprise. I was especially pleased to finally get a good photo of a Blue Rock Thrush which seemed to quite common on Cat Ba. At Cat Co Beach we noticed many large [View Full Entry]

---

---

16 - 17th April 2009 In the morning we were picked up by the same little old guy with his Xich Lo (bicycle and carriage) who had collected us from the boat yesterday on our arrival. He took us to the bus station for our ride to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. This poor little guy struggled with both of us and our entire luggage; I happily gave him a couple of dollars for his effort. Our bus journey again was overcrowded, hot and uncomfortable. We had another 6hr journey, which to be honest I’m surprised we survived, [View Full Entry]

---

---