Blogs from South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 7

Un vrai voyage en Asie inclut obligatoirement des bus de nuit. Donc 16 h dans notre "boite" couchette de bus à travers les montagnes (et la pluie) et nous arrivons a 7.30h à Da Nang, belle ville côtière enjambant la rivière Han. La guerre du Vietnam l'a affecté énormément mais elle s' est relevé avec brio. C'est vrai que sa situation géographique aide beaucoup, mais il y a aussi toutes ces nouvelles constructions :centres commerciaux ultramodernes, des splendides promenades au long de la rivière, des terrasses pleines de belles sculptures modernes, 9 ponts enjambant le Han. Trois ponts sont au centre, féeriquemment illuminés le soir avec des couleurs et modèles variables surtout le nouveau pont dragon qui "crache"du feu les fins de semaine (nous sommes chanceux, nous sommes ici!). Les prévisions meteo étaient tristes, beaucoup de ... read more

Hoi An is a nice little place, very colourful with interestsg markets and river sides, but ferocious mossies. I have been putting up a good defence, but they launched a consorted attack last night, with my only defence being the elastic at the bottom of my trousers, so I now have a nice band of bites round the ankles. I am still puzzling over the traffic rules here, if there are any? Pavements are obviously for motorcycles to park on, forcing pedestrians to walk in the road and avoid the thousands of bikes not yet parked and heading for them. Been told by our guide that I must not run to avoid them, walk slowly, don't look at them, and they will avoid you, run, and they don't know what to do and will hit you! ... read more

Lunar New Year is over (or almost). What a wonderful time to be in Southeast Asia! At first I was frustrated because some hotel bookings were difficult, a number tourist activities were closed as well as a LOT of restaurants. But then I realized the opportunity I was getting to see how the locals celebrate the holiday. And they celebrate - for days! Actual new year is Jan 27th. The holiday runs from 27th to 2nd Feb. 7 days. Everything is closed from 27th to about 30th or 31st. To be honest I'm not 100% clear on how it is celebrated besides lighting of all the lanterns (it's called the Lantern Festival by many) and what appears to be never ending street festivals. And of course lots of Roosters. Much of this is done in lantern ... read more

Time to leave the hustle and bustle of Saigon and head north to Da Nang. In relation to the "war" - Da Nang is where the first American combat troops landed in 1965 - and where the last combat troops departed in 1973. Da Nang is the gateway to the ancient port town of Hoi An 34 kms to the south - now classified under UNESCO - and one of the major tourist destinations in Vietnam. Our home for the next 6 months is in the district of Cam Thanh in Hamlet #5. It's midway between the ancient town and the beach of Cua Dai - a distance of approximately 5 kms. It's the same area where we did a "test run" last year - and is only 300m from our last accommodation. Whilst here last ... read more

After my bike adventure in eastern europe I looked forward to cycling in far east Asia. Finally i was ready to start with cycling in Vietnam! But unfortunately it did not go according to plan, I could not access my transit flight from Minsk to Moscow and to fly further to Hanoi. So I've been waiting two weeks to solve my visa. Stranded in a city where the temperature became colder. For this reason, I had to buy a thick jacket of necessity. From Minsk I finally flew to Moscow on 8 October and the same day I flew further to Hanoi with the bicycle in the luggage. I looked forward to cycling in Asia. It was the moment:) The real adventure and challenge was gonna starting. I knew it would be maby difficult but it ... read more