Blogs from Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 17

2 whole weeks down and we've been busy. After Hanoi we spent 3 days in Halong Bay on a Castaway Island Trip joined by Jonny's cousin Dan. After cruising through a few of the thousands of limestone hills and stopping for some brief acrobatic diving from the boat, we arrived at our private island and were greeted by the previous tour group who were a day ahead. A large dinner was followed by some drinking games and dancing and once everyone was drunk enough we went swimming in the phosphorescent waters to a lethal pontoon (due to the barnacles on the sides). We later found out that the phosphorescence was due to plankton in the water lighting up like fireflies when given energy from your movement. In Pitch black under the cloudy sky it was quite ... read more

So Arrive in Hanoi no less than 24 hours (ish) late. The taxi driver was waiting for us though (good day!) got to our first hostel however and they had given our room away and the taxi driver didnt work for the company he was just a dodgey guy. (who would have known) found a second hostel though and when we arrived there down a tiny little alley te people were so nice (too ice maybe) (at this point in the story id like to say my unhappieness was back and I am now grumpy) This didnt last long however (yay) I thought the room was really good air con and it worked out really well.Nam howeer upon arrival is loud noisey smelly and the roads are amazingly difficult to cross. for people who havnt been ... read more

Stardate: 22062012 Captains log: We arrived in the system of Hanoi today. It is a crowded place, with lots of people on two-wheeled motorised machines, zipping up and down. They seem to live of a soup called 'pho', which consists of a noodle broth with pieces of unidentified meat in it. The centre of the town is a place where species from many systems live together. There are many young men and women with big backpacks walking around. They stay mainly in a few places where they congregate to eat food from their own home, and drink a yellow liquid called beer. The strange thing is that even though they can get much cheaper food and beer only a block a way, they nevertheless decide to eat in the most expensive places in town. My conclusion ... read more

We went for a good few hours trek with the local hill tribes women (yesterday). We ate at their family home. It was nice to see family life first hand. One of the village girls took a particular liking to me, at one point even smelling me. I guess i must appear strange to them. Im glad we went with the locals rather that the tours as it puts money straight into their hands and is more of a unique experince. I have developed my mo ped riding skills ie i can even carry stuff whilst sitting on the back, this seemed impossible at first. Note to self: get bike liscense when return home. Heading to the Laos border tomorrow. I shall miss beautiful Vietnam but not the constant scamming and hassle... read more

We arrived early this morning after getting the overnight train from Ha Noi. We were followed by agroup of different people sending us in random (and wrong directions). I actually managed to get lots of sleep on the bus despite the lightning appearing to hit very near us when we were travelling. Sapa is so beautiful.High up and much cooler. I think leanne and I may head to one of the local villages as we have met a few Hill tribe women who have invited us and not for a stupidly high price.More to follow... read more