http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Vietnam , North Central Coast en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:47:05 +0000 Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:47:05 +0000 Happy Christmas everyoneHope you have all had a great time enjoyed the snow We have had a very different Christmas We enjoyed the rest of our time in Hoi An on the last day the rain stopped and the sun came out which was a very welcome sight. We also did another cooking course although it was more watching than actual cooking the food was delicious we met some interesting people. We arri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-462597.html Hi allThe internet access is not great here so photos might have to come with the next blog.Took a private no Mum we didn't drive minivan to Hue yesterday and went the scenic route. It was lovely stopped at Marble Mountain which had amazing caves and of course marble. Bought a jade marble braclet for myself and a few other trinkets for the kids. Lots of budha statues dragons etc made out http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-462066.html The best way to deal with the traffic is to join it A highlight of our Vietnam trip was a day on the back of a motorbike touring the rice fields stopping at small village markets standing for a moment beside American bunkers left after the war and visiting the Buddhist monastery where Thich Nhat Hahn the well known monk who along with others was expelled from Vietnam after the war first be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-461527.html Nach Hue reisten wir mit dem Nachtzug der deutliche Unterschiede zu den chinesischen Zgen aufwies. Wir fuhren mit dem Hardsleeper und tatschlich waren die Betten noch hrter als in der chinesischen Variante was ich mir vorher kaum htte vorstellen knnen. Positiv war allerdings dass im Gegensatz zu China die Abteile hier nicht offen sondern mit einer Tr versehen waren die abschliebar war. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-460614.html Arrived in Hue and stayed in the first hotel we came to where the bus dropped us partly due to the very friendly guy working there calling us in and knocking down the price. Got settled in then went for a stroll along the slightly more chilled streets although with even more rickshaw and motorbike peddlers across the river to the Old Citadel a walled part of town enclosing the older bits http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-454795.html Right now that I'm on the mend and managed to get out a bit I'll put in a full update.Vietnamese Music while most of it is asian soundnding versions of the sort of sickly poppy bilge the UK would usually submit as a Eurovision entry or worse rave and hip hop On my last day in Hue 3 days ago I was given an unexpoected treat all day The day must have been some sort of Festival as I cant ima http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-454777.html I am now fully recovered from the illnesses of the last week however a more ominous problem has shown its face as of yesterday. My old friend tendonitis in my left foot very painful and debilitating. If this doesn't clear up then it's game over and I may as well go home. Anyway I've not given up yet and I still might be able to buy some analgesic cream from a pharmacy that will control it at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-454564.html This morning we left Hoi An and took a short bus ride to Hue on the northcentral coast. We walked to the Citadel which is the big thing to see there. It's an old city that a king built surrounded by a moat and a brick wall. It's massive inside. In the middle there is another city called the Imperial City or Forbidden City with its own moat and wall. this was the place for the king and his fam http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-448971.html Colourless Hue 1617 We left Hanoi in the evening of Day 16 to board the overnight sleeper train to Hue. The train was different from the one that we took in Thailand itrsquos wasnrsquot one big communal sleeper like before this time we had a four berth compartment. It wasnrsquot as comfortable or a clean as the Thai train but it was better as it was compartmentalised and felt more secur http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-448023.html Great plans to wake up early to make it to Cau Dai beach...as all plans do we need the sleep. Morning agenda is to get the dresses and look around in the market a bit. I love my dresses Tupur not so much. We shop around and look around a little bit and then head for the hotel to pack up and check out. The bus is supposed to pick us up from the hotel at 1.45 and Tupur gets a quick pedicure from n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-447399.html Dimanche 18 octobre 6h du matin il pleut on part en autobus voir la zone demillitarisee. Ils nous ont fait attendre en face d'un autre hotel 30 min. pour prendre deux autres touristes. Enfin on part pour deux heures de route avant de s'arreter dejeuner dans un resto a la croisee de deux autoroutes. On se dirige ensuite sur l'une d'elles ou on nous montre une montagne au loin la rock pil http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-446879.html Salut ca fait deja quelques jours quon a requitte Hanoi ou on avait du refaire un crochet pour aller voir la pagode aux parfums. Un peu a contrecoeur quon y etait retournes mais on dirait que dans le nord du Vietnam tous les chemins menent a Hanoi. Alors une fois vue la fameuse pagode signalee sur toutes les cartes dasie du sudest puisque cest un lieu de pelerinage bouddhiste important o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-445779.html Chris came back from work early to say goodbye and off we went in a cab to where we get our sleeper bus from. After a small worry that the first bus we got on was the sleeper bus we ended up getting on the correct bus. We were stuck at the back and on the top bunk. We were told it was about 2.5m beds to sleep more like 2.5 feet. The Pygmy Vietnamese had the best beds on the bottom bunk wherea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-445153.html After a 15 hour journey on the lovely sleeper bus from Hanoi note the sarcasm these sleeper buses are not lovely your feet lay in a enclosed box reminiscent of a coffin and if you are taller than 5 foot its rather uncomfortable if you are a large chap chapess you will discover that it is rather narrow T opts for the centre aisle as the window seats offer a view but only the movement of one a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-444825.html I'm just going to repeat again in case you didn't spot it in the last blog that we are all fine and have not been on a glass bottomed boat.It was about a four hour bus ride to Hue and once we arrived we went for lunch. Following this we got in a taxi and a local guide took us for a tour of the Citadel and the Forbidden City. It was very beautiful despite the weather continuing to be drizzly. The t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-440693.html Tamrsquos Caf During our first trip to Dong Ha we were invited to English Club. English Club was a pretty informal meeting of people who want to practice their English. It was usually held at a caf and earlier this year they rotated which caf it would be at. There were not many members of English Club but it highlighted the focus people in Dong Ha have on learning and practicing Engli http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Dong-Ha/blog-438760.html Molding the Minds of Tomorrow Take 2 Now thus far our story of Dong Ha includes many restaurants and many Huda beers. Those experiences certainly demonstrate how much fun can be had in Dong Ha City but we were in the city in the first place for a very important reason to volunteer. Dong Ha is a city within Quang Tri Province just south of the former DMZ. It was one of the hardest hit pro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Dong-Ha/blog-438752.html Coming Home Back to Dong Ha After our week in Hanoi and our trip to Sapa we flew to Hue and took a car up to Dong Ha. We planned on spending two weeks in Dong Ha teaching at Le Quy Don Gifted High School where we taught back in April. We were excited to be back in town but were nervous too. I think our expectations were high. We had such an amazing experience the first time here. We we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Dong-Ha/blog-438388.html From the charming Hoi An we continued on to Hue by sleeper bus. Sometimes the sleeper busses were good other times they were not. They varied in quality and the ride depended on the driver. Always they were an experience to remember. Sometimes the driver would stop at midnight for ldquodinnerrdquo if that was when the bus passed the roadside restaurant that paid him a commission. On the tr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-436632.html Hello Friends and Family I am back on the road travelling again. This time with my father. We are exploring Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand. We arrived in Hanoi in Northern Vietnam on September 6. Hanoi is a busy city with motoscooters everywhere. We visited the local templs the Temple of Literature and the Masoleum of Ho Chi Minh then we escaped out to the coast to Halong Bay. We spent two n http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-435799.html