Blogs from Northeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 9

There are no words to adequately describe the amazing region around Ha Giang and Meo Vac except STUNNING... A land of incredible karsts, deep valleys lined with terraces, tiny wooden or mud houses scattered everywhere, brightly dressed ethnic women, waves and smiles from grubby happy children, water buffalos, a surprising amount of cows, ducks, chickens, cats, dogs, dusty towns, rock hard beds.... We had an amazing three days travelling along the couple of hundred kilometers of winding narrow road in this area. No speed limits were broken - Tuin was a fabulous driver. He had a hard task as the roads were very busy and he never knew what was around the corner. Every motorbike and many of the cars drove straight down the centre of the road which accounted for a few gasps from Jerry ... read more

Hanoi is sheer chaos after the orderliness of Taiwan streets were they have road rules and follow them! The best way to cross the streets in Hanoi is to close your eyes and go... As long as you don't stop or change your pace the hundreds of motorbikes manage to manoeuvre around you. Though it is definitely much busier than it even was last year. And the touts are still annoyingly persistent. It's a hard way to make a living I guess. Hanoi still remains one of my favourite cities though. A modicum of traditional living still thrives in the old town despite the immense change that tourism has bought. It is always fun to poke around the quieter streets which circle the core of the old town, explore the busy daily market and visit some ... read more

After spending a month back home seeing family, I headed to Vietnam with some friends. We spent a 16-hour layover in Hong Kong before landing in Hanoi. The first night in Hanoi, I grabbed dinner at a local restaurant. Sitting on stools on the sidewalk, the busy nightlife of Hanoi came alive. After some delicious meats on a skewer with some beer, my buddies and I headed to a local rooftop bar. The next morning I headed to Halong Bay on a private car. The ride took around four hours. After an hour wait at the port, I boarded a ferry to Cat Ba—the biggest island in Halong Bay. The ferry took under an hour and provided the first beautiful views of the rock formations in Halong Bay. The ferry dropped me off t the north ... read more

We awoke the second day in Sapa to find that it was raining and very cloudy. We had been told by our guide the day before that if it rained it would be very slippery under foot and would be very slippery, and we would be walking down hill, so,we really didn't fancy it. Added to,the fact that Lindsay was feeling a bit under the weather. We saw our guide at breakfast and told her that we didn't want to go trekking and she was ok with this and went off to do her own thing. So we asked reception what time we could check out and they said 1pm - bonus! So,we headed back to the room and chilled out, watched telly, slept and did some admin. We checked out at 1pm and then had ... read more

You want to spend 5 days traveling, taking tours, seeing wonderful caves and waterfalls, and drinking your nights away… all for $80?! It’s not impossible. Follow me and I’ll show you the way. The setting in Lunar New Year, or Tet as the Vietnamese call it. It’s the biggest celebration of the year and most have 2 weeks off to travel to the homeland to visit family and make offerings to God’s and ancestors. Most everything is shut down, especially in the big cities. As an English teacher in Hanoi, I have at my disposal the plush scenery of northern Vietnam. Pick your posion: Cuc Phuong/Ninh Binh, Cat Ba island, Ha Long Bay, Sapa, Mai Chao, Ha Giang, Ba Vi, and Tam Dao to name a few. What we chose to do was head straight up ... read more