Where do we start? We've just arrived in Sapa after a sleepless overnight train ride from Hanoi. We shared a sleeper with Kang and Oh from Korea. While most trains have a soothing rhythm, this train rocked, bounced and jolted us through the night. Now we are in Sapa, and in the mountains we are in zero visibility and about to go on a half day trek through some villages. We have completely let go of worrying or anticipating how things will work out with connections etc. We are trusting in Vietnamese organisation even if we don't understand it. Our internet [View Full Entry]

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Ha Long Bay was just outstanding. We thought we may get away from the motorbike traffic jams and instead found ourselves in a junk jam! However we were able to escape the congestion in our lovely junk and savour some misty limestone beauty for a couple of days. We met up with Margot from Oz and Monty from California and had a ball with them. Kayaking at dusk was a highlight. It was hard to go back into Halong City at the end. Coming back to the Vietfun Hotel in Hanoi was like coming home. Four hours of riding shotgun back [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone, Whew!!! We have never seen so many scooters (including Vespas) ever - not even in Italy. There don't seem to be ANY road rules here, particularly at the many uncontrolled intersections, but we haven't seen any accidents... yet. First full day in Hanoi - visited Ho Chi Minh (in person) with fellow traveller, Kiril from Bulgaria. Uncle Ho lies in state, looking very peaceful in a purpose-built mausoleum. We had to walk in two straight lines, with no hands in pockets. We composed our own spring rolls for lunch, with Lars from Sweden. The food so far has been [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone, We are at the airport in Singapore after a good night's rest in a downtown hotel. Thanks Steve. More soon. Love, Us [View Full Entry]

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Here's the vague itinerary. The only booking we have is for our first two nights at the 'Vietfun Hotel' in Hanoi! The rest is merely a guide. Wed 26 Dec Arrive Hanoi Thurs 27 Dec Hanoi Fri 28 Dec Ha Long Bay Sun 30 Dec Hanoi to Sapa Mon 31 Dec Sapa Tues 1 Jan Sapa (overnight train to Hanoi) Wed 2 Jan Hanoi to Ninh Binh: Train TN1dep 10.05 Thurs 3 Jan Ninh Bin to Hue Overnight train dep 18:11 Fri 4 Jan Arr Hue 6.55 Sat 5 Jan Hue (train) to Hoi An Sun 6 Jan Hoi An Mon [View Full Entry]

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I have made a list of people I think may be interested in viewing our travel blog. I think you would be notified by email when the blog is updated. Let me know if you don't wish to receive updates. Regards TC [View Full Entry]

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Work finishes at the end of this week, then we're off to Auckland on Christmas Eve to catch up with TC's family before flying out on Christmas Day to Singapore and the following day to Hanoi :) [View Full Entry]

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