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Jumping off a boat!
We had just finished kayaking from the hidden lagoon back to our Halong Bay cruise boat. Margaret, the Scot living in Warsaw and Teo, the Singaporean travelling with his parents, had opted to stay on the motor boat and skip the kayaking. So it was only Jamie & I and the uber tall dutch couple, Renate and Robbert who had kayaked through a small cave in one wall of the limestone islands of Halong Bay to reach a secluded lagoon. It was so beautiful and peaceful, and we had the whole lagoon to ourselves for 10 minutes before other kayakers also started to paddle in. Now it’s time for…
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Rice paddies of Sapa
Sapa is in the Northwest of Vietnam and is famous for it’s mountainous terrain and ethnic hill tribes. Jamie and I are booked on a 3 night, 2 day Sapa tour. We are the only ones booked on this day so we essentially get a private tour, lead by our guide Tu. Before we head to the train station with Tu to board our overnight sleepers to Lao Cai city, we unexpectedly meet Tu’s wife, Name. Yes Name is her name. She admits “I confuse a lot of people” when we ask her about her name. Name is Thai and has only recently moved to Vietnam to be with Tu.…
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Travel agency hunting
Jamie got in on Saturday and we grab a late dinner together, along with Tomas, a British actor I first met at the Farm Stay who happens to be staying in the same dorm as me in Hanoi, and Sonica, another Londoner. She’s taking a career break, travelling for a while. Jamie, a friend from university, is joining me for a week in Vietnam. First night in Hanoi and it’s raining and pretty disgusting, but early impressions are that the city is more charming and definitely more green than Saigon. Sunday morning, we do some “homework”, shopping around the Old Quarter for a couple of reputable travel agencies to book…
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Motorcycle ride in the rain
A few of us are riding up to the caves tomorrow, why don’t you hop on the back and tag along? Suggests James. He had jumped into the conversation I was having with Louisa about malaria pills. James, from Edmonton, studies birds, and had applied for a masters program at a university in Holland. Half Thai with long shaggy hair, he talks a bit like a surfer/street kid. Later, when I ask him if the caves impressed him, he says “yah, they’re dec”. So I tagged along on the back of James motorbike. We rode up to the Phong Nha caves with two Kiwi boys, Max and Oscar. We meet…
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Cave Explorers
It was pitch black. The only light to illuminate anything was coming from our headlamps. We had walked quite far into the Dark Cave and had reached the edge of a pond/lake. This is as far as we can go, I thought. But I was wrong. The two Dutch guys and Leland, the American started to wade into the pond and swim, with only their headlights to shine the way. I looked at the Vietnamese guide who had sold us the tickets to the Dark Cave…”are you going in too?” I ask. Not going to be a good sign if the local refuses to swim in this lake in this…
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The local bus to Phong Nha
Go to the North Bus Station, find the red bus with the sign that says “Phu Vuc”, rego plate 73L9790. It leaves at 10:30am. You pay the driver 80,000 – 120,000 VND depending on his mood. Those were the directions from the owners of the farmstay I was heading to. Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park was were I was headed. Recently opened up to tourists, the park has a series of massive caves and I wanted to check them out. I also wanted to get away from the busy cities for a while and see rural Vietnam. Where was the North bus stop and what if the bus…
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Oasis of expats
Bike rental for 20,000 dong, I head out for Cua Dai beach. It’s stinking hot. From Cua Dai, I head for An Bang beach. By the time I get there, I’m more than ready for a drink. At the end of the road is a cute bar/restaurant with day beds, lawn chairs, and a view of the sea. Coconut drink in hand, I claim a day bed with cover and chill out. It’s paradise…I could stay here all day. Great people watching as well. I eavesdrop on a conversation between an older couple and a French man. The French guy has been living in Vietnam for 20 years. They have…
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Stepping back in time
Full of well preserved old architecture from a different era, Hoi An is a cute little town by the river. I can’t stop taking photos here…everything is beautiful and charming. At night, the town becomes a village of lanterns.
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Strangers in a cab
The lady at the info desk at Danang airport draws an “x” for me on the map where the bus stop is, beside the park. It’s 1km away and I can walk there she says. Catch the yellow bus to Hoi An…it comes often. So I start walking with my big backpack. It’s hot and there are few people walking outside at all. A Xe Om driver follows me, trying to get me to ride on his bike. No thanks…I’ll just walk. Except it’s hot…really hot and after walking to the end of the street and with no park or bus stop in sight, I start to think catching a…
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Ho Chi Minh – through a local’s lens
Picked up by Uncle Paul, Grand Uncle and Grand Auntie at the HCM airport, I’m ushered into the air conditioned van and driven through the city to Uncle Paul’s home. It’s chaotic, 10/15 motorbikes to every car. Bangkok was not this crazy. And there is absolutely no regard for traffic rules, yet somehow it all works. Rules appear to be: go and even if there isn’t enough room or time, go anyway and stop only when u must to avoid hitting anything/anyone. Driving is done on the right side of the road. Uncle Paul’s driving is amazing — he weaves through the traffic, honking, squeezing through, and pushing his way through the…
