Blogs from Quang Tri, North Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 4

Hue is a city like no other in Vietnam. Once the home of the Emperors who had ruled before the revolution, it is surrounded by huge castle walls and a moat that are large enough to have survived the war and it's unrelenting bombing. Most of the buildings inside the city were destroyed however, and with the exception of some of the palace buildings, all have been replaced by hotels and shophouses which have spilled outside the castle walls and along the riverfront. Hue is just south of the infamous DMZ, and saw more than it's fair share of fighting as the North and South moved back and forth across it's walls, changing the colors of the large flagpole in front of the palace. It is also the home of the monk who set himself ... read more

That is how the Vietnamese refer to the war. And one of the sole reasons for our stop in Hue in Central Vietnam was to tour the Demilitarized zone. From the Vinh Moc tunnels and the Ho Chi Minh trail to the notorious Khe Sanh Marine base, we toured what is known as the 17th parallel...the region that saw some of the wars heaviest fighting. We have been told that the locals do not care to talk about the war. Many of them still remember and a few will even show you their wounds. But for the most part, the Demilitarized Tour is set up for tourists. All nationalities come here to see the DMZ, except for Vietnamese and Americans. With three million Vietnamese fatalities and roughly 58,000 Americans, it's no wonder we choose to forget. ... read more

What a day today has been. It kind of started yesterday as we got an overnight bus and no one can really sleep on them. Actually it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be, it was new, the seats reclined and it even had seatbelts. Once the moaning (loud) minnie at the front shut up it was fairly peaceful (if travelling is that bad she should just go home!) until the locals on the bus decided that they should shout down their mobiles and let their pals hear the extensive range of ring tones that they had built up! We came across the worst toilets we've seen since India in a service station en route. The smell was putting off the pigs penned behind them! Our journey, we were reliably informed, would take ... read more

Day 245, 31st January Cam Xuyen - Gateway to Annam - Dong Hoi Our goal today is Dong Hoi. A place where we can book into a cheap hotel and get cleaned up before visiting the Vinh Moc Tunnels. Our sleep was disturbed last night by riverboat people who were up very early shifting riverbank sand from one place to another. They didn’t seem to notice six tents camped next to their place of work. As we rode off, the wind was behind us and the road was damp. Toby had another puncture, and he was also back to his problem he had back in China - breaking spokes on his back wheel. We joke that it’s because he’s the only one in the group that’s actually putting on weight! Another lesson to be learned here ... read more

Firstly apologies for taking so long to write this blog entry but in the words of Sam and Jim "we have been caning it "! We left you last in Phnom Penh, from here we traveled down to the south coast of Cambodia to Sihanoukville and for the first afternoon we were very lucky and had gorgeous weather so spent some time on the beach with a few cheeky beers! However, from then on it proceeded to pour down with rain, so after a couple of days we decided to head back to Phnom Penh. From here we headed north to Kratie (on the way Sam willingly decided to sample the local delicacy in Kompong Cham, of giant spiders…mmmn tasty! Claire declined this savory delight…) to see the rare fresh water Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong ... read more