What a journey. 10 long hours stuck in a beans can with fluctuating air conditioning, an aroma of a public loo and rodents for company. This, possibly, wasn’t the most glamourous part of our holiday, and was a million miles away from the Imperial Hotel of Hue but it was an experience.
We arrived in Nha Trang late at night & did nothing and no matter how hard it was for Charlotte to do nothing, we did nothing. The next morning we were up bright and early (and no matter how hard it was for John to get up, we got up at the crack of dawn!!) to hit the beach. We found the Luisanne (sp??) beach bar & restaurant where we had breakfast and chilled by the pool & beach for many hours. It was also an opportunity to grab a full english breakfast and it wasn’t all that great but reminded us of home a little. Read More »
After a pretty average bus journey South stopping at the usual tourist attractions along the way which couldn’t really be enjoyed due to the heat and the constant stream of street sellers trying to sell you hats, post cards, massages and bananas we arrived in Hoi An armed with our millions and ready to shop.
After a quick lunch and brief guided tour we were let loose on to the historic streets of Hoi An. The hot hot heat and the number of non-air conditioned shops made it a long difficult afternoon, especially with Charlotte determined to get the best price and save that all important 30p. Read More »
After a much quieter, more comfy train journey south despite the cheaper cabins and longer travel time, we arrived in Hue. It soon became apparent the air conditioning on the train was more effective than we first thought as when we stepped of the train we were hit with 34 degree heat.
This meant only one thing… forget the sight seeing, we’ll find a pool. After asking our guide and the hotel we were staying at, they pointed us in the direction of the newly built Imperial Hotel; 5 star luxury in the middle of Hue. With its 3rd floor roof terrace pool, it was the ideal place to cool off. We were fortunate enough to have the whole terrace and pool to ourselves all afternoon, and it only cost $8 each (inc. drinks and towels). Read More »
As mentioned earlier, we went to visit Ho Chi Minh’s Museum, Mausoleum and a few other monuments. This time we were fortunate enough to have our Intrepid Guide taking us so there would be no more confusion over tipping.
First port of call was the Mausoleum which houses Ho Chi Minh himself. Although he is dead, people still consider him to be sleeping. It was a very serious affair too. No shorts or visable shoulders, no talking, no hands in pockets and no hand luggage or cameras. We had to walk through in a line and no stopping. The prestine soldiers were keeping an eye on us, and we didn’t want to test them as they had big beyonets on the end of their guns! Read More »
Since our last post, we were unable to find a bar showing the Man Utd match. We did however watch the FA Cup Semi Final between Barnsley & Cardiff. Needless to say, one member of the tour wasn’t too happy, even agreeing in a moment of depression to play travel Scrabble. Read More »
Early on Intrepid day 6 we set off on a 2 day trek down the valley from Sapa to a homestay with a local tribe. The heat and early morning wake up wasn’t encouraging (for John at least) but it wasn’t all that bad. We were making good time as a group and were treated to several stops along the way (unlike our walking in the Lakes!!). Read More »
Our first night out on the tiles brought us to a quiet little Karyoke bar full of travellers. An eye opening opportunity to get to know our fellow travellers even more. Charlotte represented the UK in true Eurovision style by slaughtering ‘Brown Eyed Girl’. John decided it would be best to have a strict quality control session on the Tiger, and you’ll all be glad to know they passed. Read More »
Our long awaited return into the blogoshpere is here. We’ve been over in Halong Bay for a couple of days where there’s no internet access, but to get you all up-to-date….
Day 2 of the Intrepid tour (our day 4) started with a guided walking tour of the old quarter of Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, which was interesting. The pace seems a little slower, roads are easy to negotiate and people seem less pushy. Read More »
1) With taxis in Vietnam, its split. The north; you get what you pay for. Cheap taxi means no air conditioning, twelve people, one poor Vietmanese girl with travel sickness, two old men with mobile phones attached to their ear and no leg room for Charlotte & John sat on the parcel shelf. For $6 for both of us to travel 30km and be dropped off a mile from the hotel. Guess who chose this option over the $30 luxury taxi option from the airport.
2) In the south…. you pay over the top, twice as much for a third of the journey with a taxi driver who argues with local security and risks you missing your plane as well as going the wrong way down one way streets and beeping at anybody who dares get in his way. [JB - The beeping reminds of a few drivers I know at home!!!] Read More »
Well at half eleven last night we decided to go on a tour to the Mekong Delta, unfortunatly all the tour shops were closed so we decided just to turn up at half seven in the morining and try and blag our way on one.
The day started well; we were in luck and managed to get on a one day tour with Delta Adventure tours for $9 each (inc lunch so charlotte was chuffed). So off we went on a coach which wasnt all that bad as it had air contditioning. After traveling for an hour and a half we stoped by the Mekong River and began our boat ride to several islands. Read More »
Well, after 20 hours travelling, 13 hours flying and 15 nail biting minutes in a taxi we have arrived at the hotel (and have been down graded to a superior room rather than a VIP suite… saving $20 [Charlotte's Happy.... 3 pound a night; bargain!].
Hotter than expected, 29 degrees at 9 o’clock at night [John's happy, 40p for a bottle of Heineken and free internet!] but at least the air con works in our room.
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…Don’t leave finishing work, packing, finding a camera and loading your iPod until the last minute. Its now midnight and I only just started to put things in on my bag. The next step, putting things in it.
Who would have guessed we fly in less than 24 hours?
