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 room (60c per hour) has a portable coal burner sitting in the centre. No OSH influence in this country! Love to all Us2... read more

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 excellent, and we are told better is to come further south. Our main sport is to watch the traffic and tonight we found a bar above a big roundabout. Much, much better than Coronation St! ... read more

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 7 Jan Hoi An to Danang (train). Fly to Buon Ma Thuot (Ban Me Thuot). Tues 8 Jan Buon Ma Thuot Wed 9 Jan Dalat Thurs 10 Jan Dalat Fri 11 Jan Dalat to Fly ... read more

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 :) ... read more