Our first full day in Hanoi is Sunday, and as most of the significant monuments are closed on Monday, we decide to head out to Halong Bay the next day. The weather is quite mild at this time of the year (15 to 18 degrees with mist, haze and light showers), so we decide to limit the trip to just an overnight on a junk. We find an AsianaTravelMate office and book the deluxe trip on the Calypso Cruiser - quite an exotic name for what the boat turns out to be. We start our first day we a tour of the Old Quarter. Its a fascinating rabbit warren of little streets, each one specialising in a particular ware whether it be buttons, musical instruments, catering equipment or in the case of the street we were ... read more

I have to confess now - Phong Nha is my favorite place in Vietnam. The natural beauty of the national park, in particular the caves is unrivalled and the recent wartime history provides another edge to the place. Everyone I meet that is thinking of going to Vietnam I urge to visit here. Unfortunately Lonely PLanet have also picked up on the place and have the listed both the national park and the farmstay in their top ten lists of places to go to in the recently published edition. The area is already the second most visited place for local tourists - LP featuring it will mean a crush of foreigners. Tthere goes the neighbourhood! When we arrived the previous evening we were graciously recieved by the owners of the farmstay - aussie Ben and his ... read more

After saying goodbye to Kevin, the blind albino Irishman, Gina and I head for a stroll to Saigon's Fine Arts Museum. On the way we stop at a kerbside cafe for coffee. No matter how small or how grand the setting, you are always guarranteed a good cup of coffee in Saigon. Whether its straight black or with a shot of condensed milk or over ice when heat of the day is about, the coffee is good, strong and caramelly. The Viet serve their coffee in a small tin pot that sits on top of the cup or glass you will actually drink the coffee from, with the pot acting as a percolator for the coffee. The Fine Arts Museum was a disappointment. Two buildings holding a very sad collection of works, most of it drab ... read more

After thrashing about tieing up all the necessities for a long vacation - bills paid in advance, farewelling all our family and friends and making sure that Sarah is settled into our house - its with some relief that we arrive at Tullamarine airport for our departure. The whole family - Gina and I, Sam and Ellen - are departing on the same flight but will eventually go seperate ways, Ellen and Sam staying for quite lengthy tours of up to 9 months. Ellen will be joined by schoolmate Alex a couple of days into our visit to Vietnam for the first month of her trip. Well thats the plan but we don't have return tickets so anything could happen. After arriving in KL, Sam and travelling mate Nick, leave us and head for Cambodia. Gina, ... read more