Saving the best till last!
11 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We gelled so well as a group and decided to meet up in the morning for breakfast and then head to the local waterfall for a spot of swimming. The rest of the guys either had more powerful motorbikes or only one person on them, so catching up was difficult with 2 on a 110cc! Swimming in the waterfall was really fun, so we stayed for a couple of hours before heading back to the homestay for a change, lunch and then heading off on the 72km journey back. So in previous days when we have done this it would take 5-6 hours. But with Will playing with the big boys and trying to keep up the whole way we were back in 4! There were a few sketchy moments, a few moments where I nearly flew off, a few moments when he would slam on the break and I'd fly into him, a few moments where I had to get off as the road was just too bad for 2 people on the bike but the most horrifying of all was when we were stuck in traffic and saw why... A huge truck had clearly gone too fast around a corner and drove off the cliff. It was horrific!
In the evening we all went back to our homestay and had dinner together before they all headed to Hà Nội. Next stop for us is Ba Be National Park. We aren't quite sure how to get there but I think it's going to be another fun multiple bus adventure!Läs mer
Bit of a grey start but a lovely end!!
10 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Well today we got on the bike and it was looking quite grey. So raincoats were at the ready, let's be honest we've had 3 days without rain so we've been very lucky! It is rainy season after all. So off we went and the views were so different today. The mountains still super epic but with so many small villages dotted around. We met soo many cute children who wanted to give us high fives along the way. And guess what... The sun came out!! It was soo soo peaceful and lovely.
We got to Du Gia and wow our homestay was in the middle of rice fields, the sun was shining and we had a celebratory beer. ☀️😁 A super lovely last night before travelling back to Ha Giang and finishing our motorbike tour.
I thought that the rest of the evening wouldn't be worth writing about but actually I was wrong...
So we were chatting, having a beer in the homestay and slowly but surely lots of others came and 2 couples joined us, one from Paris and the other from Amsterdam. The couple from Amsterdam had literally just got engaged a couple of hours ago so naturally we had to celebrate! The beers rolled in, corn wine was drunk, gymnastics was done and a ninja game was played. It was all hilarious and to be honest you really had to be there, things escalated haha!!!Läs mer
It always takes longer than you think...
9 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 20 °C
So we are about 30 km behind what we were hoping, but we headed off early for breakfast and to see the sites of Lung Cu including the fake and real most northern points of Vietnam and to see China! Its funny, when someone said we could see China I had this idea in my head that it would look completely different and there would be a Chinese flag etc. Nope there was nothing... Just another mountain on the other side of the river 😂
We went back to the homestay packed, filled up petrol and even though we got up for 6am it was somehow 10:30am already! The original plan at the start of the journey was to do a very big loop which incorporates the famous Ha Giang loop, Ban Gioc Waterfall and the beautiful Ba Be Lake. The owner of our first hostel said it was easily doable in 6 days. Today was decision day whether we did the big loop or just the Ha Giang loop. So we had a quick look at the map and realised it was completely impossible. The Ban Gioc Waterfall was over 300km away. We were averaging under 100km a day so if we did everything it would take us about 8-9 days and Svenja only had 6. So we took the decision to do the smaller loop which was still going to take us 4-5 days. We had about 113km to drive today... The aim was to get to Du Già via the famous, beautiful, but most dangerous pass, the Mai Pi Leng Pass. So off we went via a few sights and we finally got to Dong Van and had lunch. It was now 2:30pm and we still had 90km to drive...
We carried on to the beautiful Mai Pi Leng Pass and wow. Round every corner it got more and more spectacular. I just can't describe how stunning it was! It was a bit hazy so the photos might not do it justice but just wow!
We finally got to a little town Meo Vac which was the last town/ place for accomodation until Du Gia which was still 72km away and it was now after 3:30pm. So we decided to stop here and find a hostel instead. It was a really lovely evening. We met lots of other people who were also doing the loop. Will chatted and drank with the guys and me and Svenja went for a wander and dinner out of the hostel. It was a nice and relaxing evening what felt like quite a tough day.Läs mer
Yên Mình to Wherever We Can!
8 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
So today's was to drive from Yen Minh Minh to the northern most point in Vietnam in Lưng Cu, which borders China, and then drive to Dong Van approximately 95km.
We set off with more than enough time and once again had the most stunning scenery with lots of stops for photos. We stopped at a local Hmong village and the Kings Residence.
We were on the very final 30km stretch of road when all of a sudden we came to a huge traffic jam. On these roads there is normally 0 traffic, sometimes you don't meet another car of bike for miles! So we nipped past all the standstill cars and eventually got to the front to find what we thought was a huge landslide blocking the road. In the end we found out that actually they are widening the road so they cause the landslides to happen so that they can crush the rocks and make the road wider. At first we waited for a while thinking it was being removed but soon realised we would be waiting hours. So we took the decision to take an hour an half detour round. It was super tough going but we finally made it round and we saw that the blockage had only just been elevated when we got there, phew, it was just about worth it. We were on the home stretch, but it was getting very very late now and they were doing this same type of road work the whole way. The roads were terrible and slightly dangerous in parts but we eventually arrived in Lung Cu and decided to stay the night.
We stayed in a homestay in a local lo lo village and it was really cute and lovely! We had dinner with the family and tried home brewed corn wine. Gosh it was strong!
So we didn't quite make our destination but we had a great drive, the weather was fantastic and we were safe so I can't complain!Läs mer
Ha Giang to Yen Minh
7 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
The morning was quite stressful as the 3 night 4 day tour turned into a much bigger loop of 6 days and so we needed to pack very differently and take a bigger bike. Will then practised on the bike for a while to get used to his first semi manual bike. Then off we went. Now having a big bag which was packed in a rush and me and Will was a squeeze to say the least. Honestly towards the end it was truly the most uncomfortable thing ever. But... Oh my goodness... The views... The views... Did I mention the views?! It was wow. Just stunning. I don't think my photos can even give it justice! I have nothing else to say apart from wow, I think the next 6 days are going to be incredible!Läs mer
Bac Ha Market and off we go again!
6 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
The next day we went to the really famous Bac Ha Market which is the largest market bringing together tribes from villages all around wearing their traditional dresses and making the market so colourful! We went with Lan and Phat and it was so interesting! We learnt that a buffalo costs about £1000 and a songbird about £100!
We then very quickly decided it was definitely time to move on so we booked a super last minute bus to take us to Ha Giang, well two buses.
The second bus had yet another crazy driver and it was sooo full of furniture and even a car windscreen in a wooden frame. We literally had to climb over it all to get to our seats! It's hilarious when you are on a bus as a tourists being thrown completely out of our seats and barely comfortable when the conductor of the bus stands the whole way barely moving with the manic bus. A girl on the bus described it as "its like the bus off Harry Potter" and honestly I couldn't have summed it up better!! The weather was glorious the whole journey and the views along the way spectacular! On the bus we met Svenja who decided to stay in the same Homestay as us. That evening we decided we would all do the 4 day motorbike loop together.Läs mer
Can Cau Market and Tribal Villages
5 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
I was feeling much better after my herbal bath and slept very well. God knows what was in it but it seemed to work. So we borrowed the bike and went to Can Cau Market, famous for being the largest buffalo market in the area. When we left on the bike Phat looked at us with his huge puppy dog eyes for leaving him. But we hadn't done anything for 3 days so we headed off to the market. Well the ground was absolutely sodden from the rain and the sheer number of buffalo's that had trampled their way through. It was a lovely drive but as always in the mountains the weather is very unpredictable, luckily we were on our way back and were able to take cover in a cafe when the heavens opened. After waiting 45 mins it turned to drizzle and felt it was as good as we would get so we grabbed Phat's treat cake and headed back to the homestay. The afternoon was spent playing games with Phat and then having the honour of visiting various local tribal villages. Will even tried their local tobacco! The weather was stunning and the views were lovely on the bike along the way!
That evening I cooked Aubergine Saak and Chapattis for the family. It was so much fun both Lan, the mum, and Phat joined in rolling the chapattis and they loved it! It was sooo nice to have home cooked food too! Then the family invited us to go to Bac Ha night market. Wow do they put a show on for tourists! First they have performances of their local dance on stage and then they build a huge fire and everyone dances round holding hands. It was so so so much fun!!Läs mer
The bug hits again...
2 maj 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Well the next day the plan was to have a lie in and begin planning for our next destination. Well I've not updated my blog for a reason. I've been hit with the flu. Luckily I'm at the end of it it now but by god it was like I had been hit by a car. My temperature was through the roof, I was just sleeping in a puddle of sweat, I couldn't move and let's just say I was quite upset... So I won't go into much detail about the last couple of days apart from how amazingly sweet and kind the family have been. They have been cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for me everyday, giving me herbal remedies which they "grow in their garden"..., cleaning our bedding and washing my clothes, making me endless cups of tea. Honestly I just couldn't have asked to be in a most comforting place when ill. The family have a son who is 5 and he is just the cutest. No matter how ill I was I just couldn't help but play and watch TV with him. He loves Peppa Pig, Tom and Jerry, The Incredibles and very surprisingly Mr Bean!
So yes it has been annoying to be so ill but I've been in a beautiful location (to be honest it's also rain quite a lot so a good excuse for a duvet day), incredible and endless food with such a caring and loving family. I don't have many pictures, so this ones a short one!Läs mer
Can't travel without being scammed...
30 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
So we had a bit of a lie in and then headed for our next destination. How typical, the weather couldn't have been nicer. You could see Fansipan in all its glory (see pic below)! Typical! We didn't realise that the last bus for the day was at 1pm from Lao Cai. After a bit of a panic we arrived in Lao Cai just in time! Then we jumped on the bus to Bắc Há and of course they took the opportunity to scam us. Luckily we had read an article about the scam price and it even had a price on the bus in Vietnamese!! He tried to charge us 200,000 đồng each when it was supposed to be 60,000 đồng. He was screaming at us telling us to pay and get off the bus. We stood our ground. He then went down to 200, 000 đồng for the two of us. Again we just sat and said no. Eventually he got bored of screaming and got off. He wasn't even the bus driver or bus conductor!! What really upset us is that no one on the bus helped us. They all just sat in silence. Normally in this situation someone on the bus has backed us up and told the scammer to go away. But they didn't. Its truly upsetting when these things happen and really makes us not like a country but we have to remind ourselves about the 90% of the people that we have met who have been so caring, friendly and hospitable. Anyway off the bus went.
Number 2 fiasco. So the homestay said they'd contacted the bus driver and asked him to drop us off at the homestay. The bus driver refused and refused to ring the homestay. So we were again stranded in the middle of nowhere. Luckily there was a nice bakery so I sent Will to get us something to eat while I watch the bags. He came back with two of the biggest chocolate covered doughnut with sprinkles. Haha well it did make me laugh! So we are just sitting in the bakery until we can get hold of the homestay 😊
So we decided to pay a tiny bit extra for our accomodation this time due to reviews that we read and it was definitely worth it. When waiting at the bakery we met up with Rob who we hadn't seen since chiang Mai it was so nice to see a familiar and smiley face after such a rotten bus experience. We then all headed to the homestay together and they were so happy to see us and offered us warm tea. Me and Rob then headed out for beer and snacks. We had such a great evening catching up on the last 3 months. We had dinner with Lan and her mum. Wow can her mum drink. She kept telling us to drink happy water and she just kept going too! The food was just amazing and it was so nice to have such a family vibe again! She even made fresh onion rings! It was a really lovely family feel to remind us that Vietnamese people are generous and caring.
The next day Lan, the owner, took us on a very fun hike the next day. To be honest we were still quite sore from Fansipan but it was fun and we kept getting so lost. She took us to a local Hmong family, we picked and ate orange raspberries, we walked down random rice terraces, down buffalo tracks and up corn fields. She then took us for lunch to her friends restaurant where we ate Phở Cháu Bac Ha, which is completely different to to the traditional Phở we know. It had less soup, thicker noodles, peanuts and lots of herbs cut in already. Really delicous! And she didn't let us paying anything towards it and said it was a gift!
In the afternoon we just chilled out and caught up on some Vietnamese (we keep skipping it!!). It's so peaceful and beautiful here. We could easily stay a week!Läs mer
Fansipan Conquered
29 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Our guide then brought in our breakfast... It's 3am!! He's mental! We all then went back sleep, well attempted, before finally getting up and heading out around 6:30am. The rest of our group decided they would get the cable car back down from the top so me and Will were the only ones left to hike. So we headed up on our own again to reach the top. Let's just say the weather was god awful, we were soaked to the bone, we were freezing cold but we got to to the top and we were starving! Well having breakfast at 3am has that effect... We met a lovely couple from Belgium who were presented medals and a certificate from their guide. We were very jealous 😔 They leant us their medals so we could get a photo at the top. We were now super happy! 😊 We then got lost in the fog walking round the site at the top which is full of Buddha statues, Temples, Pagodas and signs in Vietnamese. This is when a guide would have been useful!! Emotions were running low so when we eventually found our way back we stopped in the cafe for an apple and cinnamon tea. Yum yum yum it was like having a warm caramelised apple doughnut. We then headed back to basecamp to have lunch and pic up our bags. I think this was the hardest bit of the walk to be honest. I was so cold and wet and hungry now. As the others in our group had got the cable car down I think our guide just cooked all the food anyway so we had quite a feast... and it was warm!! ☺️
We then set off in high spirits and made pretty good progress, but it's always the last hour that's a killer. Let's just say there was mostly silence... It's supposed to take about 7 hours to get down and we did it in 6 including stopping for lunch which was pretty good to say it was horrific weather wise. The worst part of the day was having to wait for a minibus to pick us up for over an hour. We were so so cold and weren't anticipating the wait so it was a bit of a shock!
We then went to pick up our stuff, move hostel and have a long hot shower. Oh my goodness it felt so good!! We are in dorm rooms as its so busy in Sa Pa but it has a hot shower, a comfy bed and so far it's quiet. Can't ask for more!
And the highlight of our day... We did it... We gave in... We had a chicken burger. Its our first burger in 3 months and I was so worried it wouldn't be good but wow it was soooo good and the chips were perfectly cooked and they had mayo! I was in mayo heaven 😍 The perfect end to a not so perfect day.Läs mer
Fansipan Base Camp Day 1
28 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
The weather is terrible, but we optimistically head out to the agency to begin our 2 day trek up Fansipan. We had one guide a lady porter. She was just incredible. I couldn't believe the weight of her basket and she was carrying 2 trays of eggs on the very top. There were 2 groups with the agency, we were part of a small group of 6 and then there was a huge group of students in the other group. Naturally we started chatting to the students who were super friendly offering us all their sweets and treats during the breaks. During lunch they pulled out a karaoke microphone and sang lots of Vietnamese songs. It was really fun. For lunch we had a yummy egg, pork and salad baguette (I must say the bread was the nicest I've had in a a long time)!! After lunch we headed off and naturally with that many people there was a breakoff and myself and Will marched on ahead. I'm not going to lie, there wasn't much of a view going up and the fog was quite settled. We made it to basecamp I'm no time. The trek was very well laid to be honest, still very steep but easily doable without a guide! In fact we did 60% of the trek without the group anyway! Unfortunately you're not allowed to trek it without a guide 😔 When we got to basecamp we were very tempted to carry on to the top but met some English people and got chatting instead. To be honest we could barely see our hand in front of our face at this point so it was the right decision at the time, or so we thought...
That evening we all ate dinner together and was so called we all just jumped into our sleeping blankets. We were sharing the slab of wood for a bed with the other 4 people in our group who were from Singapore. In the evening we played Werewolf which was really fun!! (Will was a terrible liar and kept forgetting his character!). To be honest we didn't sleep a wink all night, one room were chatting, the father was snoring all night and there was a huge storm again, it was a bit of a nightmare to be honest. We then got woken up at 3am to see if we wanted to start early to see sunrise... Uh hell no, we could barely see the door to our room (yes the fog came in our room!).Läs mer
Storms, Waterfall and Karaoke!
26 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
The next day the storm was once again crazy over night so we were feeling pretty dead in the morning but up we get and go for a trek to a near by waterfall. Now as I said Sa Pa is very touristy and if the locals see you walking anywhere they insist on walking with you, act like your guide and then insist on you buying something from them. The walks around here are super easy and all very well laid out. A lady insisted on doing this to us and from the beginning I told her I will not be buying anything as we have no money and we can't carry things in our luggage (we actually haven't bought anything for ourselves as we only have our small backpacks!). She didn't believe us and just followed us the whole way! It was actually very uncomfortable and made the journey quite unpleasant knowing we were constantly being followed. We met 2 guys along the way so it was nice to chat and get advice for Indonesia from them! As predicted when we got to the waterfall she wanted us to buy items and wanted money and shot off as soon as she realised she really wasn't getting anything from anyone. After the waterfall we went on a bit of a detour back, I fell on my ankle (it's ok, just slightly swollen) and to cheer me up we went for a hot chocolate 😊 Will had a mulled wine! Just what the doctor ordered on a slightly chilly day.
In the evening we passed a homestay that advertised family dinner outside so we decided to join and had an absolute ball of a time!! They had huge amounts of food and a bowl that looked like it had water in for cleaning your fingers. We soon realised the bowl was actually full of "Happy Water" and throughout the dinner the host would say "Let's go swimming" and everyone would drink a shot of local rice wine. It was very fun. We met a really friendly guy called Jamie and chatted to him all night! After dinner the karaoke started, it was so much fun. Will sang Backstreet Boys and I sang the Karaoke classic Unbreak My Heart. It was a such a good laugh.
That evening it absolutely poured it down, but to be honest I slept like a baby! When we woke in the morning there were actual blue skies and we were so excited, but we got excited too soon... While having breakfast the heavens opened. Good job we had planned to have a simple day! The plan for the day is to move from our little village Ta Van Văn to Văn to the tourist centre of Sa Pa in preparation for a big hike up Fansipan on Saturday. Fansipan is the biggest mainland mountain in Indochina. We are a bit nervous and the weather isn't great but hopefully it will be awesome anyway!Läs mer
Infamous Sa Pa
24 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
What do you picture when someone says Vietnam? Hills and hills of perfectly layered rice terraces as far as the eye can see, the luminous green growing from them and ladies in the fields wearing the cone shaped hats. Well that image you have seen is probably a picture of Sa Pa. When on the bus on our way to our homestay, although misty, it was a spectacular view. Unfortunately the rice was harvested recently but that doesn't stop the the beautiful landscape of the rice terraces filled with reflecting water. However Sa Pa has, as with most beautiful and popular places, become a tourist spot. And with tourism comes destruction, so you do need to get high into the villages to see the true landscape. Luckily I decided to stay in a homestay away from the main town just for that very reason.
Today was a day of resting, taking in the scenery and doing a bit of planning. My main reason for coming to Sa Pa is to climb the tallest mainland mountain in South East Asia. We only have our walking trainers which will more than suffice however if the weather is bad it will be a treacherous journey, one which might just have to not do. Not much to report on really for today!
Oh my goodness... so as I mentioned we are staying in the mountains, but what I forgot to mention is that our homestay is just made from plywood on the inside and has a metal tin roof. The heavens absolutely opened. Their was a huge storm during the night and our tin roof sounded like a herd of cattle stampeding above us all night. No we did not sleep and I'm soo glad that was not when we were camping at Fansipan basecamp! I'm just lying awake in bed not really wanting to know what the destruction will be of the already horrific roads... I think the wet season has begun...
After a bit of a lie in and banana pancakes for breakfast and phở for early lunch we decided head out on a hike. The weather was a bit cloudy but not too bad. The walk passed through rice terraces, bamboo forests, small local villages (with the cutest and happiest baby I have seen for long time!), lots of beautiful multicoloured dragonflies, lots of piggies, no other tourists and by the afternoon we actually had sunshine and blue skies! On the way back we found a lovely little homestay that was still building its first floor and we asked if we could drink beer and use it as a roof terrace. They welcomed the business! So we sat in the sun, drinking beer and doing Vietnamese. For dinner we went back to the phở restaurant and ate tofu with tomatoes and pork with a mushroom and onion sauce. Yum!! The perfect day!Läs mer
5 hour stop over in Hanoi
23 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
The next day we didn't have a clue what to do when we woke up, so we booked a taxi to the station and decided to head to our next destination. The infamous Sa Pa... Via a 5 hour lay over in Hanoi. We decided to head straight as we are beginning to get into the start of rainy season so want to get all the trekking done before the downpours start! We left at 12:30pm in the taxi, got a train to Hanoi, had a lovely Bun Bo Nam Bo for dinner, walked around the old quarter, got on our sleeper train (it looked super cute in our birth!!), had a terrible night sleep due a loose piece of metal that clanged the whole way, arrived in Lao Cai, got a notoriously dangerous/ accident prone bus to Sa Pa, didn't die, booked a homestay far from town in the mountains, agreed a price for a mini bus to take us to the homestay, nearly got over charged by 150,000 Đồng, checked into our homestay, had breakfast and went to bed for 9:30am. Phew... You thought reading that was tiring... Doing it was exhausting!Läs mer
Tâm Cốc
22 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
After a good old snooze, on what might as well have been a concrete slab of a bed we were all 60% refreshed and ready for a day trip out. We decided to hire scooters and go to Bài Định Temple and then the Tran An Boat trip in the afternoon. Well that was the plan. To be honest no-one had any expectations of any of the places we were visiting and it was the hotel that recommended we go to them. So we hired scooters from the hotel and started the journey. For once our scooter was OK (well the speedo didn't work, but everything else did), but Brian's was a disaster. We got about 5 mins away and had to turn back as the wheel was so wobbly and the brakes were not ideal. They apologised and gave another one. We set off again and again the wheel was a bit wobbly but he was happy enough to carry on. So off we went.
It was a really nice drive past rice paddies and huge rock face mountains sticking out the ground. Wow, when we got there we did not realise how big the site was. It took a good couple of hours to get around it and we didn't see all of it as we wanted to try and get to the river for 3pm. Even after trying to plan our time we didn't end up leaving till 3:30pm and then arrived at the boat for 4pm. Just as we got to the parking for the scooters Brian's bike decided to conk out! Absolute nightmare and very worrying! Luckily a Vietnamese guy came to the rescue and together with his knowledge and Brian's brute strength they were able to kick start it again. As it was probably too late for a relaxing cruise (it takes about 3 hours) and the bike was being a nightmare we decided to just head back asap. We got home safe and sound. It was definitely beer o'clock for the drivers! It had been a very long day. After a quick freshen up we headed for dinner. Tâm Cốc was famous for its Goat dishes so we had to try it. The owner was so proud of his dishes and so happy to host us in his restaurant. He was absolute sweetie!! Shattered, well fed and did I mention shattered... We went straight to bed. Gosh we are wild in our old age 😂
The next day we decided head out for 8am so that we could be on one of the first boats and miss the mass crowds. We all woke up with a stomach problem, but we didn't want that to stop us, so we jumped on our scooters, Brian got a different one this time and we headed off. We made it 5 mins down the road again and his bike had exactly the same wheel problem. It was just an absolute disaster! Again we turned round and changed the bike. It wasn't as bad but was missing a wing mirror and the fuel gauge wasn't working... He decided to just go for it. So we headed off again, but I really wasn't feeling well and had to pull over half way as I was feeling so sick. I drank some water and we headed off again. Eventually we got to the boats and to be honest it was very busy but we didn't really feel it which was nice. Yes it would have been ideal if we were the only boat but it was such a lovely trip. The boat went through narrow and super low caves, stopped at various temples and even took us to the famous King Kong's Skull Island film set. It was a really lovely trip and it did take our minds off feeling so rotten!
We then headed off for some late lunch... and what a fiasco that was. Firstly it seemed impossible to find something to eat that wasn't over 200,000 Đồng and then when we did the meat served to Elaine was very questionable. And we 100% did question it. Elaine ordered Chicken Pho, it was definitely not chicken and definitely pork... The lady spoke no English so in came our broken Vietnamese to the rescue again. She was very insistent that it was chicken (even though it had pork rind on and looked nothing like Brian's who also ordered chicken). She then put me on the phone to a lady who spoke English and was trying to insist that the chicken in Vietnam is just different to our chicken in England... Well this was when I definitely knew they were lying! Brian whispered in my ear to act like a chef. Well as they were lying I thought I might as well join in the fun. I told the lady I am a chef and that if she would like I'm happy to send a picture of the pork to her to confirm. We stood our ground and got money knocked off the meal. Winning! So finally we were fed and feeling proud of our Vietnamese and able to get on with the rest of the day. Next stop Lying Dragon Mountain aka Hang Mua. And this is where the next adventure for the day began. Will had read reviews which said a lot people will stop you along the way and insist you must park in their parking bays and pay for parking but actually there is a free car park when you get to the very end at the entrance. But... Will also slightly doubted himself and was unsure whether this was for this place or somewhere else. This did not stop him. Brian and Elaine followed us along the way and people were blowing whistles and waiving to stop us. One official looking guy even stood in front of the bike and stopped us. Again we spoke in broken Vietnamese and insisted on powering through (Will literally revved the engine to show he was going to keep going. Luckily he was 100% correct and they were all scammers. We drove straight into the entrance and parked up for free. What we didn't realise is that actually others were watching and following behind. So we saved quite a few people the cost of paying!! It was pretty funny to be honest and I was very glad he was right!
When we entered I was actually shocked, it was really lovely inside! It was was a steep steep hike up over 500 steps to two different peaks but it was truly lovely!
It was getting towards the end of the day so we decided to finish our touring round for the day and headed home via Big C for some snacks. It was touch and go whether Brian had enough petrol but he was super lucky and made it back just with a last drop left!
That evening we had celebratory drinks and dinner and to be honest were too exhausted and so were in bed by about 9:30pm. We really are wild!Läs mer
No. 1 on TripAdvisor - the Duck Stop...
20 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
In the morning we had no idea whether to stay another day, do one of the crazily expensive tours through more caves or just move on to our next destination. So we decided to check out anyway and get on with our day. First stop the infamous Duck Stop. Now, I would like yo remind you... Phong nhã is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for having some of the biggest and most beautiful caves in the world, the scenery is beautiful, but guess what is Number 1 on Trip Advisor... A Duck Stop. This is where visitors can feed and hold ducks, get a duck massage (they put feed on your feet and the ducks nibble the feed) and take many pictures of the cute waddling creatures. Well we just had to go and Elaine was particularly excited. So we scootered all the way down winding and bumpy country roads. When we arrived all 200 and odd ducks were waddling around looking very happy being fed by some tourists. We found out that the cost was 50,000 đồng, so we decided to just watch Elaine have the time of her life. It was pretty fun to watch to be honest 😀
Next stop, vegans look away now, the must experience Cold Beer Pub. Fromthe innocent title on a hot day you'd thing "Oo this is just what I want on a hot day", well actually it's not so famous for it's cold beer than it is for its "Catch, Kill, Pluck and Cook a Chicken". Well we were hungry... Don't worry, we didn't do it!! If completely honest I was very much intrigued and up for doing it. I feel if you eat meat you should know and be able to do the full process. When we got there however we watched a video of the previous group doing it and it was horrific. They didn't give them a sharp knife and let's just say it was even crueler than killing it in one clean cut. So we just had good old noodles for lunch instead 😀
Afterwards we want on a little scooter ride around around a village, along the river, stopped for a quick beer at the bomb crater bar and then headed back to town. We then went to Brian and Elaine's Hotel, which had a lovely rooftop to book our night bus to Tam Cốc and enjoy a couple more beverages. The hotel were so kind and then invited us to their family dinner! It was an absolute treat!!
We then jumped on the sleeper bus, which for once wasn't horrific and I was actually able to sleep a bit! We arrived at 4am to To Tam Coc but luckily we had already told the hotel our arrival time and they let us check in so we were able to have a good couple hours more sleep!Läs mer
Caves, Scooters, Boat and Views
19 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Today we headed off with Brian and Elaine to explore some caves. First we headed to Phong Nha Cave where we got a boat ride through the cave. The caverns were huge and it was super cool. And this was supposedly the "least beautiful" out of all the popular tourist caves... Wow we must be in for a treat.
Next stop Paradise Cave. The drive was just picture perfect. Blue skies, green rice paddies and towering mountains, just beautiful. When we got there kg was past lunchtime but we were worried it would close so we headed straight in. If I'm 100% honest when we eventually got to the cave I was so disappointed. At the entrance there was a lot of work being done on the bridge walk and all you could hear was drilling. I was so disappointed, but everyone told me it was just the start and not to judge just yet... And wow was I wrong. This was by far the biggest, most beautiful cave I had personally ever seen. It was just stunning.
We then headed back finishing the famous Phong nhã Ke Bang loop. Once again we didn't have lunch but gorged on yummy dinner with wine and celano ice cream (Vietnamese version of cornetto). An absolute fab day!!Läs mer
The Beauty of Phong Nha
18 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Wow, if this is just the beginning of what is to come in Northern Vietnam I am so excited!! Phong nhã is a UNESCO heritage zone containing the biggest cave and caves in the world. To see the biggest one it costs $3000 and you have to book at least a year in advance. Well that's not on the cards for us...
As we had a crazy day yesterday the plan for the day was to just chill out, but after a 12 hour sleep we were fully refreshed and ready for an afternoon out. We hired a scooter and went to the Botanical Garden, did a 2 hour trek to a waterfall, saw the 8 ladies cave (8 ladies were trapped and died in a cave that got bombed) and then headed back. The views were stunning, the weather cleared and it was a really lovely day out. In the evening we met up with Elaine and Brian who travelled up that day. For dinner we ate yummy vegetarian food (such a relief after sooo much pork) and Will ordered a "Banana Penis" for dessert...Läs mer
2 bikes and 3 Buses...
17 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
As always we never want to make our lives easy... We recently heard about the Vin Moch tunnels and found them to be fascinating. This tunnel system was made by a village for them to live in during the war. The tunnels are about 26km in varying direction with various entrances. We just had to go and see them. However, it seems that most tourists either have their own bike or go on a tour which incorporates various other sites and costs a hell of a lot. So obviously we had to try DIY. We asked both the students and various other locals how to get there and it wasn't easy but we decided to go for it anyway with the aim to be in Phong Nha that evening. So the adventure began.
As we got in quite late the night before resulting in only 4 hours sleep and then getting up for 6am was a struggle! The students were so unbelievably kind and took us on their bikes at 7am to the bus station (10km) out of town and put us on the correct bus.
Next stop Hồ Xa, the nearest town to the tunnels. The bus journey was very straight forward, but then they dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. We spoke to the locals and one offered to bike us the tunnels and bring us back. We agreed a price, but didn't realise we would all be on one bike! Meh, we jumped on the guys scooter and let's just say I was literally hanging off and holding on for dear life. Not the most comfortable 20 minute journey... By this point we still hadn't eaten so we went to one of the cafes for instant noodle lunch... Not the most fulfilling lunch after such a journey...
We then went round the tunnels which were actually quite impressive. We then jumped back on the bike for another horrific bike journey back to our bus drop-off. On the way we also chatted with the guy and he said he can put us on a bus to Đồng Hới where we would then catch our final bus to Phong Nhà. It was about 1:30pm when we were dropped off at Đồng Hới. We were absolutely ravishing but the bus dropped us off in the middle of knowhere again (luckily at a bus stop) so we had to ration on Rambutan. We had no idea how long we had to wait and just had to hope that this was the right stop. We waited 40 mins in the hot sun and the bus arrived. We were soooo relieved to be on the last leg. We were exhausted, felt sick from hunger and lack of sleep but we arrived safe and sound! We met a lovely Hungarian guy called Matt who was able to distract us from our true grumpy feeling!
When we arrived we attempted to nap and then headed out for dinner. I have to admit we did go for pizza... We were craving carbohydrates and luxury. We can't walk past a guy making fresh pizza and not go in... It was yummy and just what we needed!!
Full and happy we went straight to bed and slept for 12 hours. Bliss!Läs mer
Vietnamese people are the best!!
14 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C
We got up first thing and it was raining... although we were a bit hesitant to have a full day out on the scooter they persuaded us to go anyway so we headed out. First stop coffee. They took us to a hip coffee shop with a terrace looking over the canal. We ordered the slow drip traditional Vietnamese coffee and sat practising English and chatted. Then the fun began! First stop was Thien An Monastery and then the much talked about abandoned water park! The water park was very fun, first we went past the "No Visitors" entrance and went to see the large dragon with the old aquarium inside. This was actually super cool, but slightly creepy! The park grounds were really big so we jumped back on the scooters to explore the other side in hope to see the water slides! When we got to the other side we had a bit of a wander round and were about to go to the water slides when a man dressed in white "looking official" on his scooter came honking his horn. We had read about this and the guy claims that he is the guard but he's not. The kids said they would go back to the gate, distract the guy and then we can quickly scooter off to the slides. It wasn't such a smooth getaway... By the time we worked out where or how to get there he was back on us. Then all of a sudden 6 other scooters with tourists came. We chatted for a couple of minutes to come up with a plan (the guy was still crazily honking). We decided to be the decoy and head back to the exit to distract him while the others disperse in every direction. It was like a scene out of Tom and Jerry. Will turned the scooter round, ended up driving on some grass, hit a mound and I went flying into the back of him causing a minor injury to his leg, but luckily it was OK. The guy led us to a completely different exit so it took a while to get back to the kids but eventually we reunited. After a couple of minutes the rest of the tourists arrived and decided to try their chances again through this entrance! We'd had more than enough excitement and decided to exit the scene of the crime and head for lunch.
Lunch was really yummy and really different from anything else we ate. To To be honest I'm not sure what it was but it was fab 😊
After lunch we headed to our final stop with the kids, Thien Mu Pagoda. We had a nice wander round, went for refreshing bean drink. It was just the most amazing start to our day. They were so hospitable, fun and caring. We couldn't stop beaming with happiness the whole time!!
We then decided to part ways and we headed off to see the famous emperors tombs. The architecture was so grand for each emperor and quite impressive and the drive to each was really fun. We are beginning to love driving a scooter 😊 However... Most bikes we got over our 1 month in Vietnam always had some sort of issue. Eg only one mirror, petrol gauge not working, speedo not working. Its never been an issue until now. We were at the very last tomb and when we got there it was closed so we started heading back. The petrol gauge on the bike was broke but we had put in over 3 litres which would normally do for any day trip... until today... All of a sudden the bike cut out and we were completely bone dry. Luckily a local came to the rescue and bought us some petrol in a plastic bottle and all was fine! Phew! In the evening we went for dinner, skyped the family and had an early night!
The next day we went to the imperial city, visited the local market, bought more of our beloved rambutans, had 2 dinners as we forgot to eat lunch again and then met up with our Chaing Mai Family again for drinks. After being away for so long you do begin to really miss seeing your friends and family so it's so nice to see these guys every so often to give our travels a feel of normality!
Tomorrow we have planned a crazy day... I'll start a new footprint for that.Läs mer
Off to Hue
14 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C
We've decided to move on to Huế today so we got the bus back to Đà Nẵng and bought a train ticket to Huế. As we had about two hours to spare we went on a little explore (very little as it feels like it's about 100 degrees, like I've wet myself and am pouring with sweat, oh and my bag feels like it's the heaviest its ever been even though nothing has been added to it!) to find some fruit, coffee and lunch. It's amazing how cheap things are when you get off the beaten track. We bought a pineapple, 2 large coffees, 2 bowls of yummy noodles all for 70,000 Đồng(the bowls of noodles were the cheapest out of all!). We are now waiting for our train 😊
Well it didn't go quite to plan. The plan was to get the train, book seats on the right hand side in the direction of the train so that we could see the lovely mountain coast. We booked seats on the right hand side but unfortunately not in the direction of the train leaving... We had a boring mountain wall view whilst on the other side was the they had the turquoise blue ocean and steep mountainous view. So Will went on a hunt and found a private sleeper birth where we could share a bed and look out the window in hope that the train attendant doesn't come and our luggage was OK. And all ended well. We had a lovely time watching the scenery go by while practising our Vietnamese.
When we arrived we tried to get a taxi, but the Grab App once again failed us so we decided to just wander and see some sights on the way. And boy am I glad we did, while wandering through a park some students asked us if we could speak English with them and of course we said yes. We sat and chatted for a while and then walked with them to our hotel and arranged to have dinner with them. It was a great evening, we tried Cơm Hen and Bun Huế, walked down Walking street which was all lit up and full of cute little souvenirs, tried Chè (the most bizarre dessert I've ever tried but surprisingly nice), walked along the river and then organised to meet the next day for a grand biking tour.Läs mer
Hỏi Ăn
11 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
As we are still a bit ill we've decided to get the bus to Hoi An (a bit further south and much more to do) so that we can stay in one place for a couple of days. So we grabbed the local bus which was only an hour and checked into our hotel. As we got there at 8:30am it was a bit too early so we dropped off our bags and planned the day in town wandering around. We didn't do much else apart from wander around the old streets and people watch. The old town in the evening is lined with beautiful lanterns everywhere and it is quite the romantic scene.
The next day we slept amazingly well with a lie in and felt a lot better so we headed out. We decided to take it easy and just wander round the town as to be honest Hoi An is a lovely place to sit and watch the day go by! We met Bianca, a girl from London, and ended up chatting, wandering and eating with her whole day. We tried white rose (dumplings made from rice paper with shrimp in), Cơm Gà (chicken with rice, not so great) and drank beer for 5,000 Đồng (25p). After dinner we went to watch the local performance in the square. After a while I realised it wasn't a performance and in fact it was bingo with singing! A man and woman were at the front picking pieces if wood out of a pot and each one would have a word which they would incorporate into their song. And people in the audience were holding panels which had words on them. So I decided to join in with the fun and play too. I didn't win but it was really good fun!
We decided to have an extra chill out day in Hỏi and it was a truly fab day out. We hired bikes and cycled through the rice fields to the beach, did some more Vietnamese, went for a swim/ bob around in the very wavey sea, cycled back, had a slight near collision with a truck (don't worry noone was hit and it was at a stopped traffic light so lol was fine), had the famous Mỹ Quang (noodles with pork, peanuts and fresh herbs) and decided to treat ourself to some super expensive desserts (£2 not quite as good as they looked but still yummy as we hadn't eaten posh desserts for a while). Off to Huế tomorrow!Läs mer
Tuy Hoa
9 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
In the morning I woke up with horrific cramps and stomach pains like when I was ill before... At the crack of dawn we went to get our bus to Tuy Hao. It seems all buses have weird lying down seats and once again we were in in the top back corner. If I'm honest the whole journey was horrible. The driver was driving very carefully for once but the roads were horrifically bumpy and windy and I was constantly being thrown out my seat. But we eventually got their safe and sound to our lovely hotel and had a bit of a rest before heading out. We hired a scooted for the evening and next day so that we could do all the must sees. That evening we went to the beach which had huge waves, watched some fishermen, saw the one "must do" in in the town (Thấp Nạn) and ate fresh grilled mackerel ở nướng (mackerel summer rolls). I could barely eat so just nibbled and the headed to get some water. We only went for water and came out with so many treats... Wups...
I had the best night sleep in a very long time! The stomach cramps were still bad but we only had the day to site see before our 10pm sleeper train so we jumped on the scooter in search of some breakfast. We did our daily "I don't know what your are saying in Vietnamese, but I would just like some food", which always seems to work and then we headed to Vietnamese Giant's Causeway. The weather was really lovely again and although sitting on a scooter for an hour and a half isn't the best it was lovely when we got there. We then took a few detours to see some other local shorelines and villages and it really was a lovely day. Only problem was my stomach was just going mental all day so Will had to do most of the exploring on his own while I just sat on the rocks practising Vietnamese. But hey I had a great day.
For dinner we wanted mackerel, rice and salad. So we headed to a different local restaurant. After about 2-3 mins they eventually understood what we wanted and we understood what they meant however they didn't have what we wanted. So we had mackerel ở nướng again. The locals were so lovely. They insisted on talking to us fully in Vietnamese even though we didn't have a clue sometimes but it was great. When we got back to the hotel they were absolutely lovely, we had a couple of hours till our train and they let us in one of the rooms to just chill out and shower until the taxi came. Honestly hospitality of the Vietnamese is so lovely. They treat everyone as family and its just so lovely. After resting and finalising our next two days accomodation we headed to to the train station for our first time on a Vietnamese Sleeper Train...
Well as we have been super under budget for the last couple of months we decided to go first class (4 births in a room instead of 6). The bed was long enough to fit Will and overall people were generally quiet. However the announcement is in Vietnamese and having read online the arrival time can be 1 and a half hour early or late... So I was terrified of sleeping through our stop. But I got some kịp and we arrived safe and sound to Danang.Läs mer
Dalat
5 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
We've arrived, with zero sleep, but we've arrived.
Well that journey was not great to to say the least. The sleeper buses here are individual reclining seats. Most of the seats have restricted foot space and so we had to sit at the back and top for Will as they don't have restricted leg space. We were constantly flying out of our seat and my seat had restricted legroom which was even too small for me! But hey we got to the bus station at 3:30am. Luckily I had told the hostel we would arrive at 5am and he had said we can just ring the bell and they would give us a bed for the morning. They were really accommodating and put us both up in the dormitory and we were able catch up on a bit of sleep. We replaced till 11am and then decided to have a lazy day exploring the local cable car which takes you into the valley to see a temple and lake. It was nice and got us out and about. In the evening we decided to join the hosts for their cooking class and family dinner. It was $6 dollars, pretty expensive for Vietnam, but it was OK and we got to meet some other guests in the hotel. After dinner they took us to the night market and Maze bar. Honestly I don't know how to describe maze bar so I've just put some pictures below. Look it up if you have time. It's really odd haha
The next day we decided to hire a scooter in search of the many waterfalls dalat had to offer. When we got the scooter it had only one mirror and the petrol gauge wasn't working. Supposedly this is OK for Vietnamese but we insisted we wanted at the very least 2 mirrors, so he asked us to go to the mechanic on the way and told us how much it would cost. We went to 3 mechanics, wasted an hour and had zero luck. It was nearly 11:30am so we didn't want to waste anymore time and decided to just head off without. To be honest it was fine but we had to just be a lot more careful! It was a really really long day with the furthest water fall being 1.5 hours away. The drive was quite stressful as we were amongst the crazy Vietnamese drivers in parts but it was fun and we saw a lot of waterfalls! In the evening we just ventured to a local eat and ordered a dish we saw everyone eating. When it came it looked nothing like everyone else's and was the spiciest thing we had eaten in months.
Us being us we obviously had to find the nearest mountain and climb it so that's exactly what we did today. It was an amazing day, the weather was perfect, the climb up was really nice with a good mix of steepness and we even saw a weasel like mammal with a yellow stripe eating some nuts. On our way back to town we headed to a local coffee farm to try light blend pour over coffee. It was fun to go but I'm still not a fan of black coffee... For dinner we decided to head back to the hostel after buying Đà Lạt wine and eat with some others who were staying and then as it was their first night we all headed to maze bar to show them the crazy place.
The next day we decided to not hire a scooter... Dalat is pretty hilly so maybe not the best plan... We headed to town to see Crazy House, a couple of temples, the local market, the lake and ate duck with rice soup for dinner. We had quite an early night before heading off to Tuy Hao first thing.Läs mer
The hunt for suncream and deet...
2 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
Well I spoke too soon... Unfortunately our Vietnam mum was booked up! (I need to stop telling people how amazing she is). We had quite a panic in the 5 mins when we arrived to the bus station to decide on accommodation but we found a lovely little apartment instead. The problem was now we had to sort out dinner 🤔 After a very quick search we realised we were very much in a locals section of District 1 and actually had the dilemma of wanting to go to two places... So we just went to both!! 😂 I thought I was losing weight but maybe won't be for much longer if we keep eating 2 meals in one haha!! First we went for the famous Thịt bò nướng là lỗ which I grilled beef in betel leaf. For dinner number 2 we had Bún thịt nướng. Yum yum yum. Why I see anyone go to a western restaurant I don't know! As it was still quite early we had been advised to go that the main tourist street might sell suncream and deet so off we went. By golly they were charging 300 Đồng for a 75ml bottle! That's £3 a bottle... Although to be honest at least we found some! However we decided we will try a big supermarket on the edge of town instead tomorrow.
Luckily we woke up to a message from our Vietnam mum and she said we can stay at hers tonight. So we headed over to drop off our bags in the morning. Then the hunt for deet and suncream began again!
Well... When I initially started today's blog it was 7:30am and I was up and although Will was also awake somehow it took him till 11:30am to actually leave the flat. So we had Bánh xèo for brunch and then headed to our Vietnamese mum and dad. We got in and was instantly warmly welcomed by the dad and then the mum on his telephone! Also Will's credit card had arrived from the UK, which was due to expire this month, so all was great! We then did a bit of planning and headed out for bùn thit nướng downstairs and then out of town to Big C in hope that a vert big supermarket will sell big bottles of deet and suncream!
Well we were able to get suncream and deet but unfortunately they are 90ml bottles. However it was a very successful trip as we were able to get cheapish peanut m&ms something I was craving last week! I think I'll have to save them for a special occasion! We then went to what is known as phone case street as my new Huawei came with a super crappy one. When we arrived there is literally shop after shop of phone cases!!
In the evening we had a yummy dinner and planned our next destination Dalat. Although a very slow start it ended up being a pretty successful day.
It's Wednesday today and it's our last day in Ho Chi Minh. Although I'm excited to move on we absolutely love this city and our Vietnamese family so I'm sad to say bye. The mum insisted on us staying for dinner before we headed off for our sleeper bus to Dạ Lát so we spent the day exploring with the first stop eating the yummy Bun Thit Nuong. We then explored areas not seen and saw some temples, drank coconut coffee and had some ice cream. Finally we had a huge feast with the family and then headed for our bus! Now... I decided to post this before getting on the bus... Vietnamese sleeper buses are notorious for being quite uncomfortable and a bit... hairy... But hey can it really be worse than our trips in Laos? Watch this space for an update!Läs mer
Doing the tourist thing...
2 april 2018, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Today, my expectations are super low. A thing to do in Mũi Ne are the white and red sand dunes, but as they are quite far out and the police are quite strict in the town when it comes to bike hire the only real way of doing it is with a tour. So we bit the bullet and booked it. So we started at 4:30am to watch sunrise at the white sand dunes. We got there a bit too late but the site was OK and obviously quite hard to walk on! We then went to the red sand dunes, which I was pleasantly surprised with. In all the reviews it said it had just become a dumping yard for litter and yes there was some but I think the reviews must have been quite old as it wasn't half as bad as what we have seen in some places! We then headed to a local fishing market and then finally to Fairy stream. Fairy stream was a pleasant walk down the center of a stream with canyons towering on both sides. Maybe I set my expectations so low that I was actually pleasantly surprised that the whole tour was actually OK! The best thing was that we got back at 8:30am, booked our bus for 11am to Ho Chi Minh City and was able to spend an hour or so fresh in up and eating our yummy fruit.
We are now on a sleeper bus to Ho Chi Minh and as its during the day it's a bit odd to be lying down the whole way... Ah well back to our Vietnam mum get some yummy dinner!!Läs mer
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