Page 3 of Rusty Tractors Travel Blog Posts


Oceania » Australia August 11th 2016

I dedicate this blog to my mother, who turns 90 today. She has given me the freedom and support to do whatever I have wanted with my life and has always told me that whatever I want to be when I grow up and what ever I want to do that I will do well. With all my indecision and experimentation I have felt support, no matter how far I strayed from mainstream convention. She taught me self sufficiency in how to sew, cook and fix things. She introduced me to fitness and running and was always positive, showing strength in the most difficult of situations. Most importantly taught me that I was enough, with or without a partner. I have been lucky to have had them in my life for so long and admire and ... read more
Mosman Map

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hai Phong June 20th 2016

I woke at 6 and a few minutes later there was a power cut. Our air conditioner died and there was no light in our windowless room. We planned to leave for the train at 9 am so fortunately had plenty of time to pack and have breakfast in the candle and torchlight. Breakfast was already laid out in the restaurant as a simple buffet. The umbrellas we had been carrying for weeks were made use of for the first time on the way to the train station . It was only a 20 minute walk and that short distance made carrying them worth the weight. It felt so good for us to be self reliant. If we would have had to catch a taxi who knows how long we would have waited and the stress ... read more
On our Way to Cat Ba Island
Our Cruise Boat
Floating Fishing Villages

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi June 15th 2016

Our night bus arrived in Hanoi 3 am and this time the driver didn't let us sleep in the bus until sunrise, as he had no where that he was allowed to park so we all had to disembark. We all cringed at each other at the thought of having to wander the streets at such an early hour. It had actually been a very pleasant trip. A clean bus and not at all busy. Everyone on the bus was really friendly and some young girls were showing off their shopping. The drivers were respectful and polite. I really have to say that all the bad reviews for the night busses that I read about on Trip Advisor must be the very occasional incident or very out of date. This time we hadn't booked a bed ... read more
Hoan Kiem Lake
Early morning Hanoi
Our Lovely 3 Star Hotel Room

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa June 14th 2016

Our night bus was due to pick us up at our hotel 9.30 pm. We expected that it might be closer to 10 pm. as we were living quite close to the station so might be the last pick up. At 9.30pm a guy on a motorbike came and directed us to wait on the side of the road around the corner from our hotel. 10 pm came and still no bus. Now we were getting concerned. It was meant to leave Hanoi 10 pm. About 10.20 I took a risk missing the bus and dashed back across the busy road to our hotel. The lovely Max in reception was surprised to see that we hadn't yet gone. I gave him a phone number and raced back to Tomas in the side of the street. A ... read more
Looking towards Sapa
I couldn't look past the rubbish any more so I started looking at it.
The Lake in the Town of Sapa

Asia June 11th 2016

The shuttle picked us up 15 mins early but we were sitting in the hotel reception waiting. I didn't drink so much water from then on as I was fearful of the toilets on the bus. This time we traveled with Hung Thanh Bus Company. It was just chance which company we ended up with depending on from where we booked it. Hung Thanh had many bad reviews online, as had Camel Travel, so what would it be like? The bus was freshly cleaned and we were the first group to hop on. The group that had traveled up until Hue must have been changed onto this bus from another. This was a good start. As I always do I wiped down my seat, cushion, air vent, light and railings with my disinfectant wipe and then ... read more
Sleeper bus Hue- Hanoi
The 1st English Students in the Park
Hoan Kiem Lake


We decided to leave Hoi An on our 10th day Sunday 5th June. On the Saturday a big storm hit us in Hoi An. The first since we had arrived. We thought how lucky that we hadn't decided to leave on that day. We had been expecting that we might have got a down pour each day this time of year but maybe we were lucky. It had been very hot the whole time though. Hight 30's each day. Our last 2 days in Hoi An were quite relaxing. Having seen all we wanted to, we just enjoyed going to the places we were familiar with, relaxed in our lovely hotel and made arrangements for money and bookings so that we could travel further. Some Dutch girls that we had met in a restaurant earlier on ... read more
A Very Colourful City
Hue View from Hotel 10th Floor
Hue

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Quảng Nam » Hoi An June 7th 2016

This is the diary of our second scooter day trip outing based out of Hoi An. For this outing we decided to explore the country side, so I was not as nervous. The roads should not be as busy. We took off at about 10 am always later than planned, after all, we are on holidays and the home stay breakfast is pretty good. It is also inevitable that we forget something after leaving and have to return again, at least once. By 10 am it was already hot and sweaty. We went back to the same lady on the street beside our accommodation to hire the scooter again. We had to wait until her husband delivered the one that they wanted us to use. It looked exactly the same as the one we had before ... read more
Coconut Island Basket Boats
An Bang Beach
Water Buffalo

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Da Nang May 31st 2016

Thanks to the "Top Gear Special on Vietnam" Tomas was set on wanting to follow their route up to the top of the Hai Van Pass. We hired a scooter from one of the many roadside offerings for just US$4 for the day and then about the same for a full tank of fuel. I had naive confidence in Tomas that he would be able to negotiate these treacherous roads but really, I think that it was more luck than anything that we managed to get home in one piece. We had to take the coastal road to Da Nang and then continue further for about double the distance until we reached the top of the Pass. Probably about 120 km round trip. Strange dealings were going on as we waited for the woman who was ... read more
Heading towards the Pass in Da Nang
Top of the Pass
Top of the Pass

Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Quảng Nam » Hoi An May 30th 2016

It was a quick flight to Da Nang. Once landed we changed more US dollars into Dong at a very bad rate but we did it anyway, not knowing what we would get in Hoi An. Unfortunately, the currency exchange at Ho Chi Minh Airport had been closed for lunch until 1.30 pm. More research could have avoided this by being prepared. Despite the storm that delayed our flight in Ho Chi Minh it was hot and sunny in Da Nang. The tourist info desk gave us instructions of how to get to the Number 1 local bus that would take us to Hoi An. It was a 2 km walk that was bearable. The walk followed a lovely lake in Da Nang but it was impossible to cross the very busy road, so we had ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast May 26th 2016

We were prepared for waits at Ho Chi Minh airport for up to 2 hours to get our visa and were surprised to be out of the airport with Vietnamese Vissa stamped in our passports and money exchanged after approx 30 mins of landing. Researching what to expect in advance had us very prepared. Many other tourists waiting alongside us had yet to fill in forms, have photos taken or exchange money to US dollars for the visa fee. We had applied for "Visa on arrival". We plonked all the necessary papers and cash on the desk when it was our turn and it took 15 mins to wait for the stamp. Outside the airport the bright yellow 109 bus was easy to spot. We could ignore all the people trying to get us in their ... read more
Street Food Vendors
Coloured Sticky Rice




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