We are in the country in a village (maybe a small town) that only has a post office and one bank! We stayed in Hanoi in the North of Vietnam for 3 nights in very luxurious and cheap accomadation - it was wicked! Like being on holiday or something - we had an ensuite and satelite TV and a fridge and the room only cost 8 pounds a night total. Mental! Then we booked a boat trip for 1 night and 2 days to a place called Halong bay which is famous for its 3000 islands that rise from the sea and you get to go canoiing through them and through caves - it was really good fun! Jon canoed for the first time, and i found i still remembered it really easily from Guides and that when i was younger. I think we will hire a canoe again maybe down in Thailand. Anyways - we spent the day relaxing on the boat and talking to other travellers and got lots of good advice from people who had been to places we were heading to. Then we stayed up pretty much all night talking and playing drinking games and stuff - it was very much like a Turkish boat trip!
When we got back to Hanoi from our trip we got a bus directly from there to a place called Ninh Binh which is just a little further South. We are staying there right now in a really lovely family run guest house (Ngoc Anh Hotel) and the owner is wicked - he arranged a private car for us yesterday and we had a driver all day who took us to see all the sights and it only cost 20 pounds for the whole day. There is nothing to do here in the place itself, but all around is forest and we went for a really long trek which we didnt enjoy too much coz we were told by the guide that it was well sign posted and only a 'short & easy' trail, and it turned out to have no signs at all, and be really hilly, and we got bitten by tons of ants and it rained and we got lost - lol! We are not cut out for hiking and horrible creatures!After that we went on two boat trips through little villages that live on the waters edge which was really cool - its nicer here coz you get to see real Vietnamese life.
Tonight we have a sleeper train for 14 hours to take us further South to about the half way point in Vietnam. We will be staying in a place called Hoi An which is famous for its tailoring and its beaches so it should be nice to have a rest and a break for a few nights. I think we are both going to get jackets made as they will tailor make it to your exact size for very little money and you get to pick your fabric and everything. Quite cool. Then after a few nights there, we are heading to a place called Nha Trang which is going to be purely beach holiday for a few days and apparently is the place in Vietnam to go to chill out with all the other backpackers milling through.
Jo
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Nanning Stop over
Connecting HK and Vietnam, we decided to break up the journey with a 2 day stop over in Nanning, China. The place itself was nothing special - typical china with crazy drivers and the oh so pleasant market delicassies. the only rest bite was the fact we had our favourite ice lollies again.
The people here were really friendly and nice and the place we stayed at (lotusland hostel) was amazing. everything we really needed. great rooms, funky decor, latest dvds, live football, millions of channels and nintendo wii. needless to say we spent our days here just chilling out nad relaxing before our bus trip connecting us to hanoi.
It was also here that we met a couple of nice girls from england that we travelled to vietnam with, making a change of travelling by ourselves.
Our 8 hour bus trip to Hanoi was nowhere near as painful as thought and even included a free ride on a giant golf buggy to cross the border. overall a brilliant 2 day trip and part of our journey.
The people here were really friendly and nice and the place we stayed at (lotusland hostel) was amazing. everything we really needed. great rooms, funky decor, latest dvds, live football, millions of channels and nintendo wii. needless to say we spent our days here just chilling out nad relaxing before our bus trip connecting us to hanoi.
It was also here that we met a couple of nice girls from england that we travelled to vietnam with, making a change of travelling by ourselves.
Our 8 hour bus trip to Hanoi was nowhere near as painful as thought and even included a free ride on a giant golf buggy to cross the border. overall a brilliant 2 day trip and part of our journey.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Blinded by the lights - Hong Kong
Ok, so taking our last flight for quite a while, we arrived in Honk Kong to be "blinded by the lights" with some amazing views and scenery.
Checking into our hostel after a short bus ride from the airport, we quickly marched down the notorious Nathan road to try and catch our first glimpse of the symphony of lights. Walking at such speed, we were somewhat oblivious to our new surroundings, however we did stop for a quick meal and drink along the way.
Taking a bit longer than we expected, we finally made it just in time and were not disappointed. Some say that it is tacky and a bit 'disney', but having that opinion already in our heads, we came back several times during our stay and enjoyed the show every time! I mean the skyline and scenery here is just something else and then the fact we went through about a thousand shots trying to get a good picture! we weren't the only ones.
Over the next 3 days we managed to see pretty much everything on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and in Stanley. Frequent Star Ferry rides and a plethora of sites later including, The Central Plaza, Exchange Square, Man Mo Temple, Victoria Peak, Statue Square and The HSBC building on HK Island; The Science Museum, Several shows of the Symphony of lights, Temple Street, The Ladies Market, Waterfront Promenade, The Clock Tower, and Nathan Road on Kowloon; and 2 visits to Stanley (one for the dragon boat festival), we had a busy time fitting everything we wanted to do in.
Such an amazing place, we would highly recommend Hong Kong to anyone, food was great, people fine, easy to get a round and plenty to see. Only thing that threatened to ruin the trip were the timely evening rain showers. Even then we managed to have some great fun navigating from place to place in flip flops and with no umbrella!
Sad that it went so quick, next stop is China (again) in transit on our way to Vietnam.
Seemingly Another day, another destination.
Checking into our hostel after a short bus ride from the airport, we quickly marched down the notorious Nathan road to try and catch our first glimpse of the symphony of lights. Walking at such speed, we were somewhat oblivious to our new surroundings, however we did stop for a quick meal and drink along the way.
Taking a bit longer than we expected, we finally made it just in time and were not disappointed. Some say that it is tacky and a bit 'disney', but having that opinion already in our heads, we came back several times during our stay and enjoyed the show every time! I mean the skyline and scenery here is just something else and then the fact we went through about a thousand shots trying to get a good picture! we weren't the only ones.
Over the next 3 days we managed to see pretty much everything on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and in Stanley. Frequent Star Ferry rides and a plethora of sites later including, The Central Plaza, Exchange Square, Man Mo Temple, Victoria Peak, Statue Square and The HSBC building on HK Island; The Science Museum, Several shows of the Symphony of lights, Temple Street, The Ladies Market, Waterfront Promenade, The Clock Tower, and Nathan Road on Kowloon; and 2 visits to Stanley (one for the dragon boat festival), we had a busy time fitting everything we wanted to do in.
Such an amazing place, we would highly recommend Hong Kong to anyone, food was great, people fine, easy to get a round and plenty to see. Only thing that threatened to ruin the trip were the timely evening rain showers. Even then we managed to have some great fun navigating from place to place in flip flops and with no umbrella!
Sad that it went so quick, next stop is China (again) in transit on our way to Vietnam.
Seemingly Another day, another destination.
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