After a row with my hotel stemming from basically their lack of desire to provide any sort of service I changed hotels. So never stay at Classic 2 hotel in hanoi, and perhaps throw a brick through the window if you get a chance. Wankers. Actually it seems to be quite a common occurence in South East Asia. Establishments are rarely concerned about repeat business - once your money has changed hands you no longer matter anymore. Perhaps because many tourists here are 'passing through' - the majority seem to be backpackers who may not return, and therefore who cares about [View Full Entry]

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At first the rain brings a pleasant cool feel to the Hanoi heat, but this is a short lived relief. Before too long I'm back to sweating like a pig and feeling tired just by walking. The rain changes the character of the old quarter completely. People huddle in doorways, and the denisty of cyclos is even greater than before, with the tarpaulin rain covers doing their best at keeping the occupants dry. Walking south of the touristy area of the old quarter gives way to more beautiful crumbly colonial buildings which are great to appreciate without the formers dense population. [View Full Entry]

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3 hours in a cramped bus. With bum asleep, legs in pain and generally in a bad mood, I was not happy to hear the tour guide say "All boats cancelled because of storm, and no more boats for 3 days". It was just what I didnt want to hear about my trip to Halong Bay, the famous bay filled with imposing rocky islands - certainly a must see in Vietnam. So all we did then was head back to Hanoi. Another 3 hours, same cramped seat. Grrrr. I met up with Khay again in the evening and grabbed some dinner [View Full Entry]

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I'm rather scruffily dressed, and I carry a backpack, so I guess that makes me a backpacker. And backpackers rough it. They waste hours shopping around to save a single dollar on accommodation (seen it done...), haggle about every price no matter how reasonable and generally buy the cheapest of everything they can with no appreciation of comfort or practicality. Which I guess is why I feel out of place sitting in the Business Class section of this flight from Danang to Ha Noi. To be honest, Vietnam Airlines is hardly a flying ritz, but I still feel pretty pampered. Metal [View Full Entry]

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Shopping is highly addictive. Not at home - I can't stand it. But here you dont have to worry about trying things on, getting the right combination of fabrics and cuts in an existing garment and then paying through the nose for it. You just get it tailor made. It's great! Elsewhere in the world I've looked in art galleries, and wished I could afford to buy the paintings I like - but here I can! My bargaining skills are honed, and im four paintings richer and only a few dollars poorer. This is the life! Dinner was had with Alastair [View Full Entry]

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"I'm allergic to fish, shellfish, peanuts and aubergines" was surely the most ridiculous sentence to come from the mouth of a man who had just signed up to join a cookery course in which every item on the itinerary contained one or more of these foods. And who's allergic to aubergines anyway...! Today I went on another cookery course. We started with a tour of the market (including the dubios delight of frogs skinned alive, still breathing - sick) before taking a boat downstream to the 'Red Bridge' restaurant and cookery school. The setup was good with a nice dining area, [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Hoi An I found it to be charming and relaxing in spite of the very touristy gearing the whole place has. I had already decided to get a suit (or several made!) so the first thing I did was set out to find a tailor. The first few I looked at had dire fabrics, and prices so cheap as to raise suspicion. I eventually found one with a fabric I liked, and with sample goods that looked up to the mark. I orded one suit in some English Cashmere, got measured up, and left to contemplate how dangerous this [View Full Entry]

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The vomit bus Today I took a coach from Dalat to Nha Trang. Unfortunately the slighly (extremely) agressive driving and the very (VERY!) winding roads caused an almost constant stream of passengers to be coachsick. The actual effect was comical, as no sooner had the sound of one persons retching finished but another seemed to start. Thank god they were all down the front tho, while I was sat safely at the back! Vietnamese Coffee With very few exceptions vietnamese coffee is served VERY stong, brewed in a cup top filter. Ask for it white and a third of the cup [View Full Entry]

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Today Alastair, Vicky and I took a tour through the hills surrounding Dalat. Minority People Our first stop was to visit a minority village. Here we were able to listen to some rather cool traditional music, taste some rather potent whole grain rice wine and try and avoid buying all manner of souveniers. Thankfully the pressure selling wasn't as bad as in some other areas. Plantatations Our tour then took us to a coffee and silk plantation. Half of the land was used to grow coffee beans while the other half was used to grow mulberry leaves, used to nurture silk [View Full Entry]

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Today I took a coach to Dalat. I was pretty under the weather, so went to bed soon after arriving. [View Full Entry]

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