A taste of Alsace in Hanoi Ha, not the tour leader, but our friend in Hanoi (like we said it is a popular name) had recently been to Paris. While there she had dropped in on my “petit cousin”, Jean who gave her a bottle of his Cremant d’Alsace for us to share. It was one of the last bottles of the vintage we had worked on together when last in France. his was a really special gift, which we decided to drink, together with Ha’s mother, father and brother at their house in Hanoi. It was great to meet them for the first time and discuss various snippets of their family history. Ha’s father is a very interesting man, having been a doctor in the North Vietnamese Army, then having worked in countries such as ... read more

Throughout the following morning our companions all departed toward the airport or to meet with other groups they were traveling onward from Vietnam with. Lorenza and I took a last walk around the market and then waited for our contact from the Hospitality Club to pick us up from our hotel. If you have not heard of it, you should check out the Hospitality Club on the internet. If you love travelling and meeting other travellers it is a great organisation (and free). Take a look here ... Hospitality Club So, prior to leaving home we made contact with some people in Saigon, via the club, and organised to spend a few days staying with them at the end of our tour. They are a very nice couple, he an ex-pat American and his wife, who ... read more

To get to Nha Trang we took a bus to Danang (I think), and then climbed back on board the Reunification Express. The trip took about 9 hours. While the scenery was great, the day train was for some reason filthy compared to the night train. Maybe the rail workers think they don’t have to worry about it so much because you are not sleeping on the train? We were in the same kind of 4-berth, soft sleeper compartment, but the carriages looked like they had not been cleaned for 10 years. Lucky we brought along our own toilet paper too because the day staff obviously thought we didn't need any for a nine hour journey. The nine hours passed quickly, playing cards, reading, telling jokes and watching the country pass by our windows. Looking on ... read more

Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam up until 1945. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Hue has a lot of interesting monuments, temples and pergodas, including the Royal Citadel and the Emperor’s tombs. Thien Mu Pagoda was also an incredibly interesting place. Also Hue gave us a snapshot of another side to Vietnam rather than the tourist trail. We embarked on a day long motorcycle tour which took us through the backstreets, countryside and village districts on the outskirts of the city. This was a great way to get around, who would not be overwhelmed by 150cc of unleashed fury in the guise of a Honda Dream, with “Born to be wild” playing in your imagination. We wound our way down laneways, country tracks, in and out of rice fields ... read more

Our overnight cruise at Halong Bay, on board a “junk” style boat was great. This world heritage listed area is absolutely breath taking. I think the photos give a good idea of the beauty of this area. On board the junk was our first encounter with one of Vietnam’s most commonly stocked wines - 1996 & 1997 Bordeaux (white or red - take your pick). We later found this vintage was available in from every restaurant, bar, shop and street vendor. 1996 & 1997 must have been a incredible years for production of wine in Bordeaux! I had drunk a few beers by the time we pulled the cork on our first 1996 red Bordeaux. After downing the first glass with “cheers” all round with our fellow travellers, I refilled and noticed that this “Bordeaux” ... read more