If we’d had any sense of structure in the trip so far it had been our hours. Up around 0600 and (as I am now an old, old man) back in the hotel around 1900. The morning was no different, and with a taxi due to take us to the airport at 1215, we had goodies to collect and a few sights to see in Hoi An before we left. Where we’d previously only seen a submerged gate and stairs between our hotel and the river, we could now see a silty walkway. Hoi An would be a beautiful place in the dry season. After a breakfast of Pho and banana pancakes we hit the road on the bike about 0700 to see what we could find of interest. Hoi An has a unique attraction system ... read more

We opened the wooden doors onto our balcony with some trepidation and were more then pleasantly surprised to see a very light drizzle and some puddles on the cracked road. As experts in Vietnamese weather patterns we’d seen this before though. The rain usually builds up over a hot day then releases all it’s might around 1300 every day. After breakfast in the hotel we donned our raincoats and walked back towards the river to see what damage had been done. On the way to the river we collected my prescription sunglasses. I hadn’t taken an eye test to get the right prescription but the bloke had some device that figured it out from my usual glasses. Whatever he did, it worked a treat. I’m looking forward to testing them out when we get home and ... read more

Once again we were up at 0630 and to our surprise it wasn’t to the sound of rain on the roof. A sheepish look out on to the street two stories below us showed no sign of the river from last night and there was barely a cloud in the sky. We took full advantage of it and headed straight to the Citadel on the other side of the river. And no – we didn’t want a cyclo thank you. We did want a drink before going in so we went back to the “cafe” that we’d been to the day before. We had two coffees, four iced teas and bought a pack of cigarettes – all for D74,000 (NZ$5). We also saw the puppy again and decided to christen him “Din Dins” Inside the citadel ... read more

I woke up somewhere in the vicinity of 20 times throughout the night as the train stopped and started but actually managed to get a reasonable nights sleep. We were due into Hue around 0830 but finally rolled in at 1030 to overcast, humid and threatening conditions. Although we had no sleeping quarters booked, we picked a cafe out of the Lonely Planet and walked in that direction. Once through the gates of the train station we were hit with all the usual touts. No – we didn’t want a hotel, no – we didn’t want a cyclo, no – we didn’t want a tour, no – we didn’t want a taxi. Truth is we did want two of the above but one thing we’ve learned from previous trips is that the price for said requirements ... read more

Jo woke me up at 0500 to catch the sunrise. I’d slept pretty well with only the hum of the generator at the stern breaking the silence of the bay. The day broke with the misty haze that we’d become accustomed to since arriving in Hanoi – not a full on fog but just enough to take most of the colour out of the layers of limestone islands in the distance. Quite mystical. Jo went and woke Josh (the kiwi) up as requested and he appeared on deck blurry eyed, almost immediately regretting his decision to ask for a wake up call. Our boat was at anchor and slowly drifting around in circles so we followed the sunrise around the boat. About an hour or so later the sun peaked over the top of one of ... read more