( the things we would have liked to have known before the trip are at the end! ) Nothing like a 4:45am jeep ride to start the day . We were joined on the tour by another couple, Mark and Juilet. The ride to the White Sand Dunes was stunning. It reminded me of home a bit. As the sky started to get lighter as we headed further into the country. It was a lot more space here than any other place we’ve seen so far! I guess that’s what was reminding me of home. The small shrubs in yellowy sand and long stretches of grass were definitely not unlike the landscapes we see in SA. We were dropped off at a small hut in the middle of nowhere, somewhat confused we climbed out of the ... read more

It turns out that the crazy capital of Vietnam is definitely not a “City that never sleeps”. A small crowd of motos were waiting for the arrival of our 4h30am train, but as we entered in the usually hyper-active Old Quarter, we struggled to recognize the streets. All of the small shops were locked up and the streets were deserted. Not a trace remained of the pavement vendors and motorbikes that clog the streets by day. You can’t help wondering where they all disappear to. The only people wandering the dark alleys were a handful of backpack-laden tourists, clearly all having arrived by some form of inconveniently-timed transport and all at a loss for what to do for the next couple of hours. We ended up killing a few hours in a smoky 24hr internet café, ... read more

The overnight train to SaPa was outstanding. Our cabin 2 sets of small bunk beds in it, Darrell and I occupying the top 2 beds, and another 2 Korean men taking the bottom 2. We slept like babies the whole night. Well, except for the one guy who let his cell phone ring for ages and then practically yelled into the speaker in the middle of the night! We were woken up at 5AM by one of the train staff clicking a clicker and calling out something inaudible. All was going well, until the passenger that had been on his phone last night starting asking us for a light for his smoke… we both told him no. In our 2X3m room, at 5AM we were not in the mood to be inhaling second hand smoke! He ... read more

Day 2 and off to Halong bay. (I've put all the important things about the trip and the companies we used at the botttom of the page ) Thank goodness Darrell set his alarm otherwise we would have completely over slept, the beds were so comfortable! After a quick breakfast at the hotel... free food! Yay!...we were back at the Ocean Tours office at 8am. We met the group we'd be touring with at the office. They were all really great! Festive kind of bunch... The 9 of us piled comfortably into the van and we were off!! HoooRAY! The 3 trip to the Harbour was largely uneventful, except for the driving, That's always an event. A regular overtaking manouver has become more like a game of chicken! But then, what's life without the odd adrenaline ... read more

Today Cath and had an opportunity that few South African get. We were invited as special guests to visit two of South Korea's military bases. With warring over the Korean peninsula becomming less popular by the day, the South Korean defence budget now covers optional English classes for military conscripts. This means that at the end of a long day digging trenches and firing automatics, soldiers can now chose to go study English with native speakers. And which lucky Anglos get to de-brief the Korean military? Well, yeasterday it was the two of us who were collected at the back gate of English Village after the day's classes were done. Unfortunately we were not picked up in a camo-painted jeep (like Cath has before), but I guess that's nothing to regeret seeing as we'd have had ... read more