It was time to cross over into the 17th country of my visit, Cambodia, but I was fed up of coach journies so decided to enter the country on a boat... something I'd not done before. Southern Vietnam's border with Cambodia runs northeast from the Gulf of Thailand, with the majority of the southeastern tip of Vietnam being occupied by the massive Mekong River Delta. The trip I decided to take would head south to the town of Can Tho, then on to Chau Doc before crossing into Cambodia on the Mekong itself. Travellers frequently find themselves bumping into the same people in different places, and so it was that Gonzalo and Yvonne (the Mexican and Polish friends of the Slovenian couple I'd been for dinner with on my first night in Saigon) were entering Cambodia ... read more

Sometimes, travel can be taxing. Unlike a regular holiday, much of the time is taken up with planning journeys, keeping a tab on budgets and even being ill. And constant sightseeing can get tiresome... the need for unending alertness and activity, trying always to be interested in whatever you're seeing and, for me at least, trying to capture as much as possible on the camera. Its easy to reach travel fatigue, where you just can't digest any more information or new sights. So every once in a while, I need a break from travelling... a vacation from my vacation, so to speak. I decided to take this break at the beach, having had a successful day at Hoi An. My destination - Nha Trang. I've always been a fan of quieter beaches, and I knew that ... read more

680km and a 14 hour bus ride later, and I was in Huế, a former capital under the Nguyen emperors and now a centre for culture, education and religion. Like all the best-trodden traveller destinations, Huế has a 'tourist district', which for all their sameness and lack of local character provide an amazingly easy way to change money, check e-mails, grab some food and book whatever needs booking. So, after booking my bus down to Hội An for the following day and re-fuelling with a banana pancake, I headed off on foot to explore the town's Citadel. Surrounded by huge stone walls and a moat, the Citadel, construction of which began in 1804, dominates the town, with a 37-metre tall flagpole commanding the skyline and the long southern frontage, pierced by the Nga and Quang Duc ... read more

So, what do I know about Vietnam? Well, I know about the American/Vietnam War, that Saigon has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City and that the Vietnamese are small people who wear conical, pointy hats. What I didn't know is that Vietnam is clean and friendly, offers some great food and that it's capital city, Hanoi, worships a divine tortoise. But more on that later! I arrived in Hanoi from Kolkata... a flight I was more than happy to board, but the journey was notable only for one thing - my short layover in Bangkok. Having been to Bangkok airport before, I knew there was a Burger King here... and not just any Burger King, one which sold triple and, can you believe it, quadruple burgers! Having enjoyed one of these feasts on my previous visit, ... read more

After Gyantse, it was time to drive to our final destination - Tibet's largest city and capital, Lhasa. Perhaps the most easily recognised icon of Tibet, and one of the world's most impressive buildings, is the Potala Palace - the ancient summer palace of the Dalai Lama and home to countless treasures of the people of Tibet. So entering Lhasa, we expected the palace to be a dominant sight, surrounded maybe by old, narrow lanes and bustling street markets. What we actually saw on the drive into Lhasa was the complete opposite... wide, straight tree-lined boulevards, high-rise buildings and shiny new buses. Glitzy shopping malls, a brand new train station and shiny new apartment blocks. We were driving through Lhasa for at least 15 minutes before even catching sight of the Potala Palace - largely hidden ... read more