Blogs from Northeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 83

After the complete mentalness of Hanoi we have spent the last week in Northern Vietnam, firstly in Halong Bay on a lovely junk swimming and kayaking among the karsts and then trekking in Sapa right up on the Chinese border with Vietnam - all in all far uncharacteristically adventurous! The mountains in SaPa were truly amazing, especially the view from our Eco Lodge (water heated by solar panels ! Soon we will both be sandal wearing green party activists..). We went for two treks to local villages where Charlotte contemplated kidnapping cute village children. Hywel was rather more partial to the pot bellied pigs and the ever funny water buffalo. At the end of the second trek we ended up at an idyllic water fall for swimming and jumping from rocks etc (- brilliant ) with ... read more

I've just returned from a three day trip to Ha Long Bay. We took the bus from Hanoi and as soon as we arrived in Ha Long City we hopped on our boat and had lunch immediately. The boat made it's way through, at first, other boats but as we got further away, we had more and more privacy. The Ha Long Bay area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and for good reason. The landscape is absolutely stunning: clear blue waters with harsh, jagged limestone islands poking up out of the water and covered in mangrove. I got extremely trigger happy (for those who know him - think about Tim at New Year's Eve and multiply it by ten!) with the camera so those who know me will be counting the days til my photo ... read more

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 and a few bia hois (fresh beer). Its very interesting to experience a vietnamese city with a vietnamese speaker, as you don't feel like a complete tourist speaking loudly and slowly all the time. However ... read more

After an early start by minibus to the local wharf, we boarded a private boat & cruised around for a few hours. We stopped off & explored Halong Bay caves, then detoured to a nearby island for a swim off the boat, followed by a yummy seafood lunch. Afterwards it was onto yet another minivan headed for the border town of Lang Son.... read more

When our bus pulled up in Hue we thought we were in heaven... brand new bus, free bottle of water, blanket included and A/C that really worked. I was so happy, SO happy .... until 1am. Suddenly the bus stops and on come about 10 extra people... hmmm...the bus was already full. But the asians know how to pack things to the max, so on come the plastic chairs in the aisles. I slowly drift back to sleep very aware of the man sitting right next to me now. I wake up about an hour later with him snoring, asleep on my shoulder. Great. As much as I love cuddling with random vietnamese men I decided to shove the complimentary blanket between us and attempt to get some sleep. Luckily the 2 gravol kicked in and ... read more