Blogs from Vietnam, Asia - page 9

I usually do not travel seeking a beautiful country. Mostly, I try to choose an interesting country, particularly lesser known countries, like Croatia, Serbia, Nepal, Laos, Myanmar, and Colombia. But here is a list of beautiful countries, per "Wander with Alexander" and his bucket list: Halong Bay, Vietnam A very beautiful place, and perfect for someone like me who is not a cruiser. It is just an overnight, with pretty good food and activities. The cabins and bathrooms are quite spacious by cruise standards. And the staff is friendly, speaking good English as well. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe By most standards, V Falls is a letdown from both Iguazu and Niagara Falls. But, after all, it is Africa, and it has a rather unique charm. It is best to combine with safaris, rather than make it your ... read more

Today was a disaster! Waking up at 5.45 to find our flight had been cancelled ! Nightmare! Rang reception, changed cab time for an hour later and set off to the airport at 7.45 just in case as didn’t trust the email! Moved onto the 11.30 flight but as I had checked us in to the original flight that caused all sorts of issues and we were beginning to think we wouldn’t get on the flight . Waited and waited at check in , my case went through but it seemed the other couldn’t .. an hour later the second case went through … flight then delayed but we eventually landed at ho chi min at 1.40 having circled the airport for some time ! ( im saying nothing about the Daniels curse!) The driver was ... read more

Today started with a dragon boat ride , not the sort of dragon boat I had come across in the scout world but it did have a dragons head to lead us down the Perfume river ! Which to be honest was underwhelming . The rest of the day was filled with some facts about the Emperors , visiting Pagodas , palaces and mausoleums One Emperor had 500 concubines and another was thought to prefer ‘ladyboys’ and nail varnish and rather colourful clothes . Sadly many emperors seemed to make plans for their summer palaces and tombs but died before they were complete, many at young ages. We saw decadent huge areas with stunning architecture , the coffins of the kings carried in secretly by men who were then beheaded so they could not tell others ... read more

A day of thoughts to ponder on … Was not expecting to see so many wind turbines . A Vietnamese lady walking her cows along the road using her mobile … Must get some carpet for my dash board . They don’t have coins only notes. The incredible people knee deep in muddy water planting rice everywhere . The impact covid 19 has had on these people is evident everywhere we go . The weather isn’t as good as I thought it would be ..my trousers will be walking on their own back home accompanying my zip up hoodie ! How on earth do they ride mopeds and use their phones ( car and coach drivers too !) The Vinh moc tunnels are incredible ! Dug out by hand taking 20 months and some areas are ... read more

Picture the scene … on a boat going down the river at Hoa Lu-Ninh Xuan rowed by an elderly Vietnamese man … darkness was beginning to fall and the boat stopped a few times and we both had the same thought … is there a defib… how do we perform cpr on a very unstable boat in murky water … oh no need he’s getting out a feedback form ..🤣🤣😂which was passed down the boat to be completed and demanding ‘10’s. Unsure at this point in the pitch black whether this was a hostage demand and if we didn’t would we ever get back to land !! We did eventually … The rest of the day fades into insignificance after this adventure but we did go through some amazing caves on the river , glad our ... read more