Jo woke me at 0500 as we’d planned to catch sunrise at Hoan Kiem Lake. The dimly lit narrow streets of the Old Quarter were yet to wake up and to say it was more pleasant when no one is trying to sell us something is an understatement. We made it to the lake just in time for sunrise* and I took plenty of photos. * We hadn’t actually seen the sun since we’d been Hanoi but we assumed it must have been up there somewhere on account of the fact it was getting lighter. Breakfast was at an expensive but perfectly located cafe right on the banks of the lake. Jo went traditional again with a bowl of Pho while I stuck with the bacon & eggs – a man needs his morning fry up ... read more

As we were still not used to the time zone we were both awake at 0600 again (so much for a holiday). Breakfast was at the sports bar and by 0730 we were in a taxi on the way to the Jade Emperor Pagoda. Although a messy looking building from the exterior, the interior was sensationally crafted, with timber carvings, statues, ceramics and all sorts of Taoist religious art. An old lady was chanting (what I’m not sure) but combined with the unusual absence of noise from the streets outside, it was rather a magical experience. Although it was only 0930 the heat was already in the mid 30s and the tempting sight of a sidewalk cafe was too much for me. We were initially served some strong ice tea that almost hit the spot as ... read more

The Rugby World Cup consumed enough of my limited mind-space prior to this trip to ensure there was little time for preparation or getting excited. The relief of the lads holding Bill aloft after 24 years of waiting was quickly followed by apprehension and excitement for the few days prior to takeoff. Much of the apprehension was caused by our booking with Jetstar – the saving of near 50% on what we could get through travel agents was enough to take a bit of a risk on our choice of airline. The decision paid off as the plane left only 15 minutes late and, aside from an error in judgement in not ordering any food for the 10 1/2 hour flight, it went by like any other flight – slowly and not without it’s screaming babies ... read more

The day started badly and got progressively worse. Our taxi didn’t show up at 0830 and neither did Luis with our $5 key deposit. We kept the keys as a final souvenir and a concierge at a nearly hotel sorted us out with a taxi. Our driver spoke English and we talked about Panamanian life, in particular their festivals and the ever increasing Colombian drug problem that has spilled over the border into Panama. The queue wasn’t too long at the Copa Airlines desk but it still took well over an hour to check in for our flight and they couldn’t check our bags all the way through to Auckland. It seems that there is little difference between airport efficiency in South or Central America. We boarded our flight to Buenos Aires and it left on ... read more

You can’t come to Panama without a visit to the Panama Canal so the Miraflores Locks were first on the agenda. We caught a taxi for the half hour journey (US$15) and arrived about 0745 to be greeted with the news that the visitors centre opened at 0900. We couldn’t find a cafe for breakfast so we passed the time walking down the main road to the locks to try and find a vantage point to watch the three container ships queued up pass by. Whilst not the best view, we saw a large MSC vessel pass through as P&O and NYK vessels edged slowly forward. We were back at the front gate before 9 and were allowed through to the visitors centre soon after - just in time to see the Antwerpen Express pass through ... read more