Ha Long bay was an unexpected delight. I’d seen photos of the karsts (the little limestone islands) before, but their extent – and the feeling of being within them – caught me by surprise. We travelled to the bay by bus from Hanoi, and the train trip up to Hanoi from Da Nang in was…
“It’s not hot – it’s very very hot.” This joke was first made by Tiet – our guide – in relation to chilli, but it applied equally to the weather. May seems to be the hottest month of the year; about 34 degrees and very humid while we rode, and quite ferocious in the direct…
Leaving our resort we headed north up the coast past abandoned building shells that gave the appearance of a war zone. We turned inland and started to climb. The land became drier with red sandy soil, less farming, wider vistas, and more goats. As it became steeper still we left the bikes and went back…
“Vietnam – land of contrasts.” While first uttered as an attempt at guide-book cliche among or group, the phrase proved apt as we travelled along the Southern Coast from Loc An to Mui Ne. Leaving Ho Chi Min City we followed the familiar path of highway lined with stalls, hammocks, small businesses and litter, a…
“Never get out of the boat.” Apocalypse Now references are in particularly poor taste, but hard to resist while in a small boat on the a tiny branch of the Mekong delta. Despite the delta’s claim to be an easy place to live, where a man can fish for an hour and catch enough to…