5th June - Cat Ba to Halong Bay to Hanoi

Following a rather meagre breakfast at Sunflower Hotel we jumped on the bus back to Halong Bay. We hadn't been on it very long before it broke down. A replacement bus was surprisingly quick and about 20 minutes later, we were speeding along as though we were several hours late.

At Cat Ba we climbed on a boat and made our way to the top deck to sunbathe on the very hot wooden loungers as we made our way through the beautiful karst dotted around in the water.

In Halong Bay town we stopped for food at restaurant. The few plates of soup, rice and tofu we were given wasn't enought to sustain the 6 people on our table - so much so that the table next to us resorted to eating the left-overs from a recently-vacated table of Vietnamese.

When I went downstairs, I noticed that our surly guide had a feast of real food and so asked if there was any more to come. He motioned to his food with a gesture that said "You can help yourself to mine you greedy cow" and I resisted the temptation to pick up the lot and carry it upstairs and explained the situation instead.
Back upstairs I explained what had happened to the group and soon a woman from the restaurant came up to check. She screamed and shouted at the poor boy who was waiting our tables and when he came back with the food she beat him. I felt terrible, especially as the addition of more rice, tofu and a small plate wasn't worth the discomfort we all experienced.

The two minibuses taking us from Halong to Hanoi turned into one and it would have been uncomfortably full just with the adults and children that were in there, but with the huge bags under our feet, absolutely no wriggling room and the palpable fury of our fellow passengers, it was crammed to bursting. Every swerve was bone-crushing and accompanied by loud moaning and huffing. Matt and I made use of the time to play an entertaining game of Jenga on his tablet.

Back in Hanoi we could not stand the thought of another noisy night at our hotel and went on the sweaty search for a new one. We'd resigned ourselves to staying in a dorm room and were only slighty comforted by the fact that they had a free beer happy hour when we came across VietFun. Thankfully it did not live up to it's party name and was just a nice but small room with a tiny bath and aircon that we negotiated down to the same price as a dorm. It tuned out to be a very good choice as the staff were exceptionally lovely and we ended up there for 6 days. The only down-sides were the 4 flights of stairs that we had to climb each time we wanted to get to our room.

We chilled for a while and I concertinaed myself into the tiny bath before heading out again. We found an ice-cream place and explored the city a little more clutching tasty, home-made lollies.

We stumbled across Lenin square and could see from a distance that there were loads of people and music playing. We side-stepped the tango dancers on the pavement and dodged maniacal rollerbladers to make it up the steps for a closer look.

It was absolutely incredible and a little like stepping into 1980's America. There were so many bodies, all engaged in their own form of excercise, entertainment and socialising. Teenagers clustered in street dance groups performing all kinds of solitary and coordinated dance forms. I realised that I've never seen breakdancing 'in the flesh' and these ones were absolutely astounding. We also fixated for a while on the groups 'popping'. We even witnessed a 'faceoff' of sorts as one pf the body poppers had a breakdancing dual. If they weren't dancing, they were rollerblading, skateboarding or doing bike tricks.

In amongst all of this there were families teaching small children how to skate and watching or steering countless small children in electric cars. It appears that they get trained for the mayhem of the roads from a very young age and none of them made a discernable effort to stay out of the way of the others. There were countless collisions between old, young and younger and every time they would get entagled, fall and then just get on with it - unapologetic and tear-free.

As well as all of this there were drinks-sellers, people with baskets of trickets and LED toys, observers with tiny children toddling into the thick of things and the occasional scooter speeding through. It was all an incredible sight and kept us entertained for several hours. We got tired from simply watching and left about 10.15pm but everyone was still going full throttle.

4th June - Halong Bay to Cat Ba

Woke on top deck to the same apparently unnecessary shouting and calling from the nearby boats that had shocked us awake for the last few very early mornings.

After a skimpy breakfast, we sailed the short distance to Cat Ba island for a nice 'hike in the national park' - otherwise known as a very steep walk up slippery, lethal rocks without any supervision and under strict time restraints. It was particularly tough after last nights shennanigans and was very hot and hard but there were lovely views of the national park from the top. It was very green and a bit misty though so we couldn't get any decent photos.

After a sweaty wait at the bus stop and a hair-raising bus journey where the buses only seemed to overtake on blind mountain bends, we were looking forward to checking in at the hotel and having a shower. No such luck as the schedule dictated we eat lunch in our dripping, dirty clothes before being shown our rooms. At least the food was marginally better that on the boat.


After a long-awaited and very lovely shower we got to go and explore Cat Ba island town. We wandered past the many karaoke bars nearby and made our way to the sea. It was a natural harbour so it was perfectly calm and wavefree and just full of boats. We took a walk around the tourist and proper market then went to take a look at the fishing bay.

We stopped to watch a truck loading a full trailer of ice onto boat, block by block and via kind of toboggan run. Further on we saw the actual ice factory and observed them set up an even longer version atched them set up longer version which ran from a hatch in the factory wall, over the road and directly onto a little boat that seemed to be a floating ice-crusher. We were totally tickled by watching this and wished that we had a camera with us.

We stopped for a Bia Hoi overlooking the harbour, watching a nearby group of boys playing football and having to use a boat to fish their ball out of the sea. We chatted and caught up some more before doing some further wandering. Another stop for Caphe Sua Da (a coffee which brews in a little tin contraption sitting over the cup and is sweetened with condensed milk), looking at floating seafood restaurants, fending off their reps and laughing at the kids scooting around the nearby square in electric cars.

We wandered until dark. It was very pretty and we enjoyed watching the hills get swallowed up by the night and the bright lights come on. We couldn't exactly remember what time we had to be back for dinner so headed to the hotel so we weren't late.

It turned out that we were late. Matt's watch had stopped and so we were served dinner by a very disgruntled owner and were clearly the envy of the next table who'd had to share the same amount of food between fewer people. We chatted to a guy who was teaching in China and on a Visa run and then headed back out to make the most of our stay.

With the aid of the red lights that now illuminated the line of provocatively dressed attractive young ladies sat outside, we deduced that karaoke was not as popular as we'd initially assumed. No-one seemed to take much notice and the most attention seemed to come from the canny young stall holdwers who'd set up shop with a prime view!

Down at the harbour it was really busy with Vietnamese families milling about and making the most of the children's activities including pottery painting (they looked like garden gnomes), more electric cars and hook-a-fish from paddling pools. The harbour was lit by the tacky coloured lights they seem so fond of and the big fountain was gushing and glittering.

We took in the sights for a while, including a massive jellyfish in the water, and played a very short game of frisbee with a hat that we found. It skimmed into one of the beautifully tended patches of greenery and was retrieved by a lady who appeared delighted that we let her keep it. Given the openess of their nit-picking, we had no intention of keeping it ourselves but she skipped alomg happily with it on her head.

3rd June - Halong Bay

We'd booked on a trip to Halong Bay to try and get back into the whole travelling experience and our bus came to collect us from the 'screamy' hotel at 8am. Matt was a bit nervous because the company on the bus was one that he'd read lots of bad things about but he didn't mention it because he did not want to bother me. Since one tale included a tourist having a knife pulled on him, this was probably wise.

The bus journey (bizarrely via big statue shop) to the bay was pretty nail-biting but not the scariest or most uncomfortable we were to experience in the next few days.

The boat was nicer than we expected but they would not let us check into our rooms so we weren't sure what was lurking under deck. We ate dinner around a big table as we floated around the bay and got to know some of the people who we would be sharing the next few days with.

Our first stop was Hang Sung Sot cave. It was big and had some impressive structures with coloured lights highlighting the key features. It made it look quite tacky but we didn't get to delay too long as we were shepherded around. We exited through the gift shop and had a giggle at some of the hilarious animal-shaped ornament type things decorated with fake pearls.

Next stop was a fishing village that we saw briefly as we floated past to where we could pay to go on a bamboo boat through a natural tunnel in the rock to see a lagoon. Matt and I didn't really fancy it and asked if we could go on the kayaks where we were. Apparently not. We were starting to see the importance of the itinerary.

Kayaking at the next stop was lovely and we squeezed the boats through into a nice little bay. There was a strict time limit of 20 mins so we didn't get any further but it was still really nice.

They anchored the boat in the bay so that we could go swimming. There were some really impressive jumps off the top of boat, including a few amazing backflips, but a combination of so many days without personal grooming and a fear of the sea kept me from joining in. Matt also decined and spent the time lounging on the top deck.

We were finally allowed the check into our rooms and they were really quite nice. After dinner and learning a fun new game called 'Jungle Speed', we headed back up to the top deck to watch some of our talented ship-mates play guitar and sing. They were actually really good but Matt reached his limit when 'Let it Be' was pulled out of the bag and so he headed to bed, leaving me to stay up late having fun.

Come bed time I found the room far too stuffy, the engine too noisy and the fact that the electricity kept going off and making the fan stop really annoying and so we headed up to the roof to spend a lovely night sleeping under the stars and actually being able to breathe.

1st and 2nd June - Yoohoo! It's been while!

 I hope no-one minds too much if I hijack Matt's new blogging streak for a few days. Though now he's started participating, I don't want him to lose steam. It can be quite a demanding and time-comsuming job and he seems to be able to do it quicker than me.

So, anyway, arriving in Hanoi after the mega-journey from Chesterfield was pretty emotionally and physically draining and it took me a couple of days to learn much more about Hanoi other than there's a cathedral, a big lake or three and that the people, despite being tiny, are very shouty and loud indeed

30th May - Pho Chau to Hanoi

Another early start and I'm back on Ho Chi Minh Highway heading north towards Hanoi. I've no idea if I can make it in one day and am not really sure why I'm in such a hurry to get there as Anji doesn't arrive until the 1st, but for some reason I have a need to press on.

The joruney from Pho Chau is pretty uneventful. I do have to dodge a number of ox carts and there's an awful lot of hay drying out on the road.

As I get closer to Hanoi it's pretty clear that this section of the road sees a lot more use as the pot holes and lorry ruts start to make a re-appearance.

I start to approach Hanoi at around 17:30-18:00, just as rush hour is at its peak. The traffic here is like nothing I've ever experienced. I though Saigon was pretty mental but this is something else. Cars and bikes are flying everywhere, on both sides of the road. Junctions without traffic lights are just a free for all and I just try to stick near cars or other larger vehicles to shield me from the oncoming traffic where ever possible.

It starts to rain again and everyone on bikes stops to put their rain gear on, and I don't mean pull over to the side of the road and put their rain gear on. I mean stop whereever they are and put their rain gear on. It's complete and utter pandemonium trying to dodge through it.

Somehow I make it to one of the main backpacker hostel areas and find a hotel near to where the bus from the airport drops off.

I am knackered and my ass hurts. I guess that's what 2 days of ~11 hours riding a motorbike does to you.
Get food and fall into a deep sleep.

29th May - Hue to Pho Chau

Woke up early to get on the move. Anji will be in Hanoi on the 1st June and I'd like to be there to meet here so need to get some miles under my belt. I've had enough of the traffic  of Highway 1 so look at the map and decide to head for Phong Nha which is around 200Km away up the Ho Chi Minh Highway which everyone has been telling me I ought to use.

After a while on Highway 1 I turn off to the Ho Chi Minh Highway and immediately notice the difference. The road surface is 100x better and there's barely any traffic. I see maybe 15 cars/lorries every hour and the road runs through some pretty nice countryside.

After a while I start to feel something I'd not felt whilst driving before, I realise soon that it's boredom. The road is great but there's nothing to keep you on your toes, you basically decide what speed to travel at, hold the throttle there and go. I guess in a lot of ways this is a good thing and I can see why so many people prefer to travel on this road, but I kind of miss the traffic on Highway 1.

After a while the road starts to climb some hills and gets a bit twistier and the scenery becomes more dramatic so the boredom fades a bit. After quite a bit of driving I arrive at Phong Nha and stop for some lunch. Phong Nha is nice, on the edge of Ke Bang park with some caves to explore, etc. but something in me decides that I ought to get through some more of the miles between me and hanoi so I decide to continue on.

Shortly after leaving Phong Nha the heavens open and it pours with rain. I decide to press on though as the road is good and I can see bright skies ahead. After putting on my rain coat and making sure my bags are covered I continue on and get absolutely soaked, pretty fun though. Shortly I'm out the other side and continuing on as normal except for being very wet.

The scenery on this section of road is fantastic. The Karst mountains jutting out of the ground are awe inspiringly pretty.

After a few hours I realised I had no idea how long I'd been riding for so look at my watch and see it's almost 6pm. Despite the fact the road is good and there's not much traffic it doesn't make sense to keep driving in the dark so I pull off to the nearest town and hope there's a hotel. It turned out to be a dusty little town called Pho Chau and there was a fairly nice hotel in the middle of town that I managed to book a room in.

After checking in I headed out to the market. I guess they don't get many western tourists here as absolutely everyone wanted to say hello and burst into laughter when I replied. At the market they didn't even try to rip me off with tourist prices. I'd been wanting an orange for ages but whenever I ask at a market they tell me they are around $4 per KG which I refuse to pay, however this time I really wanted some and would be willing to pay even that much. So after miming my way through ordering a kilo I pull out the equivalent of $5 expecting to get a little change when the stall owner shakes her head and holds up 2 fingers. At first I assume she's asking for 200,000 which is ~$10 and am about to walk off when I realise she actually only wants 20,000 or around $1.

As I leave the market the rain catches up with me and it absolutely throws it down so I dive into the first restaurant that looks open. The owner looks incredibly happy to have me here, sits me down and pours me a cup of ice tea. I order chicken rice, one of the few things I know how to say in Vietnamese and a few minutes later I have a massive plate full of the best chicken rice I've had so far. We try to have a conversation, but with no common language other than mime, it's pretty difficult but regardless he and his wife seem happy to be having it. Again a reasonable price is asked and I head back to my hotel to get some sleep before another early morning.

28th May - Hoi An to Hue

Out of the hotel and on my way by 7am in the hope I'd get to Hue in time to spend the afternoon there.
Headed out of Hoi An on Highway 1 and before too long was climbing over the mountains on the Hay Van pass. This is the road that Jeremy Clarkson described as "a deserted ribbon of perfection" in the Top Gear Vietnam special which pretty much nails it. A tunnel was built a few years ago which bypasses this section of road so there's very little traffic and it winds its way up the side of some fantastic mountains with a great view of the coastline on the way up.

Before too long I was in Hue and once I'd found a hotel I headed out into the old town. I hadn't had anything to eat this morning so looked in the Lonely Planet for a recommendation. It suggested a small cheap restaurant near the citadel walls that was owned by a blind, mute guy. It sounded interesting so I made my way over to the street, only to find there where a few restaurants claiming to be the original blind, mute restaurant. This seems to be the norm in Vietnam; if something becomes popuar or gets a good reputation, suddenly a whole load of places open up with the same name on the same street so you struggle o find the one you're looking for. Anyway, the food at the place I went to was good and the guy I paid didn't seem to be able to hear me or speak so at least it seemed authentic.

Once I'd entered through the citadel walls I realised that the town was too spread out for me to really see on foot, so I debated going back to get the bike but decided on a cyclo tour. I'm not sure why I keep doing this as they always turn out to be rubbish. Anyway, this time I agreed the price up front in full detail so there would be no surprises and away we went.

First my guide took me to part of the citadel wall where we could get up on top for a view of the city, however the road around the entrance was being dug up, I assume to fit new sewer pipes or something as the hole wa pretty deep. This didn't deter my guide though and we clambered over some loose scaffholding planks, dodged our way around the moving JCB bucket and climbed up the stairs to the top. The view was fairly underwhelming to be honest. The old town walls are well preserved but apart from that most of the city is just a normal modern vietnamese city that was heavily destroyed during the Vietnam war. The guide explained that the citadel was around 250 years old, which I was really disappointed with for some reason.

We got back on the cyclo and rode on for while until we came to Tinh Tam lake where I alighted and had a quick wander around the lake and gardens.

Next was a "pagoda" although it appeared to just be an "ancient" artifact shop, followed by a quick stop at a military museum where I was instructed to climb through a gap in the fence, take a few pictures of the tanks and quickly leave. After this the end of the hour was quickly approaching so we stopped near the Imperial Enclosure and I paid up. I had a walk around the enclosure and the flag tower before sitting down in the shade for a bit of rest from the sun.

A vietnamese girl of around 6 years old came over to me and asked my name in pretty much perfect english and then ran away before returning with her brother and mum to introduce me. They didn't speak any english but it was fun to try to talk to them. The brother gave me a caterpillar then grabbed it from my hand, threw it to the floor and stamped on it. I think this was to prove his superiority.

Took a walk along the river before returning to my hotel room for a bit of a nap. Woke up fancying Ice Cream and a beer so wandered until I found them and then back to bed for an early start.