Missyoublue

Our adventure in Hoi An started early when our bus broke down about an hour south of Hue. We waited out our rescue at a roadside cafe/local hangout where coffee and a game of cờ tướng (Vietnam) or xiangqi (China) were quickly introduced. Apparently this is popular game of strategy, something like Chinese chess. As strategy games are not really my thing I left it to 5 year old Sophie and our tour leader Tuan to go over the finer points while I headed in to the back room to try my hand at another unfamiliar game, Vietnamese pool, no pockets and only three balls...? Once on the road again, we travelled along the coast and enjoyed occasional glimpses of a beautiful Vietnamese riviera. Not far from Danang we made a quick stop at the American ... read more

According to my intrepid guide book... Local legend says that long ago when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons descended upon what is now Halong Bay and began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form barriers against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam... Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, Halong Bay has around two thousand islands that rise from the jade green water of the Gulf of Tonkin. Several of the islands are hollow with enormous caves. We docked and visited a huge cavern called Suprise Cave, so called because when the French discovered it ... read more

We alighted in Ho Chi Minh City to a humid 33 degrees for our transfer to Hanoi. It took 10 minutes for Han and I to clear customs, claim our baggage and dump it again for the next flight. We were the first on the air conditioned bus that was to take us to the domestic terminal. 30 minutes and a few new friends later, our bus took us about 300 metres down the road, ha! I couldn't stop laughing. There must have been concern for our delicate sensibilities :) Oh well, there will be plenty of other opportunities for walking. One arrival in Hanoi and a mind blowing taxi ride later Hannah and I arrived safely at the hotel, although we were both very excited we were also very tired and hit the pillows for ... read more

Our inaugural post, it has been a few years since I did this... bear with me while I navigate my way :)... read more

Our program for our last week has been just the right combination of activity and relaxation. We are located at Naama Bay which has - yep you guessed it - a beautiful bay and a lovely walk all the way around it, where restaurants and shopping abound. There is almost no reason to leave the immediate vacinity; except that a car/bus can be organised to take you from your hotel to anywhere you want to go. Here's what we've been up to... We spent the first full day just kicking back and enjoying the pool - Holly was very keen to do absolutely nothing and appeared slightly resentful that I had booked so many excursions the day before. As it has worked out though, everything has been fabulous and never too taxing. We took a boat ... read more