Vietnam is a country that is very popular as a tourist destination with hotels, restaurants, bars, tailors and souvenir shops dominating the old centre. It is becoming more popular each year. A visit to Hoi An is a highlight of any trip to Vietnam. It is a town oozing charm and history and has been lucky to have largely escaped the destruction of successive wars. Hoi An Old Town is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and is governed by preservation laws, that seem to be working, to retain the history and feel of the place. It is a great place to walk around - exploring the narrow laneways or strolling along the river; you can hire a bicycle or motor bike and explore the town and surrounding countryside and beaches. You can have clothes, shoes, ... read more

Festival in the Desert Highlights - 7th and 8th January 2011 7/1/2011 As I mentioned in an earlier blog - there was to be a wedding at the festival. David and Denise, who we were travelling with us, had decided to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows and the festival seemed to be the perfect place. Our travel group were all to be part of the wedding party and with Hamma's help we managed to get traditional clothing made for the wedding. We had several wedding planners involved in getting everything right - wedding photographer and video specialist, clothing, Tuareg traditions had to be learned and followed, etc. etc. Invitations were send out by word of mouth around the camp sites and at about 4pm the celebration began. David and Denise were dressed ... read more

Timbuktu town - 5/1/2011 and 6/1/2011 We had one day in Timbuktu to look around and the following day we headed out to the festival for the next 3-4 days. Timbuktu is the name of a town in Mali (and it really exists - we have t-shirts to prove it!!!) but as well Timbuktu is also the largest region of Mali stretching from the Niger Bend to the northern frontiers of the Malian Sahara. Virtually all the human activity takes place in the vicinity of the River Niger, where Timbuktu and Dire are two of the major towns. The only other permanent settlement is a further 400km across vast plains, dunes and shifting 'sand seas' - at the Taoudenni salt mines. A visit to the Post Office to have a post card sent back home stamped ... read more

1/1/2011 - day in Mopti On arrival in Mopti we were met by our tour organiser - who would accompany us on the river and festival sections of the tour. This was a good opportunity for some down time and washing. Four of us decided to take a walk around the town before dinner and while it is a major town in Mali - it didn't really hold anything special for us. The main area of interest was the Mosque, and we were invited up onto people's roofs to get a better view of the Mosque. "No charge" they say, but, you don't get anything for free and on the way up the stairs onto one roof we passed a little area set aside for making local handicrafts. So you know that you are going to ... read more

Date: 30/1/2010 Evening: Begnimato We had agreed between us that we would like to start walking early in the morning and get to the lunch stop before it got too hot each day and then start again about 3pm each afternoon. So, today we started early and walked about 5km (in sand mostly) along the plain following the escarpment. Before leaving Ende, we had a long walk around the village as this was the village most famous for the mud painting - we watched several artists work on specific pieces. We also saw the women processing indigo dyed blankets and scarfs and one of our group was fortunate enough to purchase a copy of one of the masks worn during the dancing yesterday....it was a really good find as only one man in the village makes ... read more