Back in Hanoi after three years to find that the city hasn't changed too much in that time - though the coloured lights bordering Hoan Kiem Lake are new additions to the colour of the city which I'm sure weren't there before! The mayhem of motorbikes, cars and pedestrians crowding the narrow streets of the old town is as crazy as ever - maybe even more so.... It was a challenge navigating the major intersections to cross the street. You can only cross your fingers and walk out into the traffic hoping it all manages to manoeuvre around instead of over you. However our first challenge was finding the mini bus to take us from the airport to our hotel. Approached by taxi drivers offering fares of $30+ for the trip (and knowing Hanoi has a ... read more

Our trip was sadly drawing to an end. We had been travelling for five and half months, and with only a fortnight left in South America before returning home, our holiday budget purse was almost empty! In fact we knew we would be raiding our savings just to get through the next two weeks. We were very excited though to be flying over the Andes to Santiago in Chile and were glad to board our flight after waiting for over three hours at the airport in Montevideo. However half an hour into the flight we wished that we were still on solid ground as the plane flew through a fierce thunderstorm. We were surrounded by flashes of lightning,the plane was bouncing around badly and we could hear ice crashing onto the skin of the plane. It ... read more

A one hour ferry trip took us to the historic town of Colonia Del Sacramento, founded by the Portuguese in 1680 to smuggle contraband across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aries (which is on the opposite side of the river) into Uruguay. Today it is very much a tourist spot though we were visiting off season and the streets were near deserted on our arrival. Leaving the large terminal we eventually found a hotel on the edge of the old town - it was not a cheap place to stay - and the hotels within the historic area were double the price, despite the season. We only spent two nights in the town though we had planned to stay Saturday evening as well but the hotels prices increased again for the weekend! It was ... read more

Five hours after leaving Puerto Iguazu we arrived in the small dusty town of San Ignacio Mini where we were planning on visiting the ruins of a former Jesuit mission after which the town is named. An uneventful trip through country side which reminded us of North Queensland. We were dropped off on the highway and walked the kilometre or so into the main town, dodging road works which were causing billowing clouds of red dust. It was a quiet little town and after booking into our hotel we went off to investigate the ruins. It was much busier around them - in fact the roads nearby were lined with souvenir stalls, cafes and tour buses. We purchased tickets for the light and sound show later that evening and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing ... read more

Due to the delayed departure of our flight from Bolivia to Asuncion, capital city of Paraguay, we arrived in the city after dark. Thankfully I had pre booked a hotel and after a quick tour of the central city area our taxi took us to the Palace Hotel, an historic hotel in the old city. It proved to be a good choice, comfortable modernised rooms and wide corridors full of interesting old furniture and art pieces. After settling in we headed out to look for something to eat. The streets were surprisingly deserted - only a few footpath stall holders packing up for the night - but we were eventually able to find a chain style café and a bowl of soup. Later we slowly walked back to the hotel admiring the rather decrepit architecture we ... read more