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Round half the world!

a travel blog by Tim and Em


We are packing up our things, moving out and going to find ourselves.. not really - just in search of sunshine and of course some cultural experiences!
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Mui Ne

Mui Ne, Vietnam


Another 4 hours on a bus saw us in Mui Ne, another beachside location. Mui Ne is a bit of a Mecca for kite and wind surfing, originally we thought we might try our hand at it but the high cost saved ourselves broken limbs. The place itself is quite nice but certainly no Phu Quoc. We rented a moped to get about and went to the dunes, they are immense and from the photo’s it looks like somewhere in the Middle East.

At the dunes, Vietnamese kids try and rent out flimsy boards so that you can sledge down the dunes. Foreigners, are easy picking as we can be spotted a mile off. We quickly had new friends who each wanted to rent their board to us and also show us the best place to use it. We trekked up the dunes to a “good” spot and I tried my hand at sledging with the assistance of the back up team – it wasn’t as simple as just sitting on it. You had to sit on it just so and lean in a certain way! It was fun but a little disappointing so they took us off to the “big one”. The “big one” was pretty steep and managed to get a fair speed up but your bum gets very hot on these things presumably because of the friction. We had a good laugh with the kids although they were soon looking for other gullible foreigners once we had paid our rental charges!


We went exploring on the moped and came across a beach with tub like boats. I had seen these before although in the water rather than out of it. Some are made of fibreglass whilst others are traditionally woven ones. They are actually used as fishing boats but we are still at a bit of a loss as to how they get very far as there is no engine and only one oar – Em ventured that they would go round in circles!!


Fish Sauce is a very big thing in Vietnam and is an essential ingredient in some of the cuisine. Whilst it tastes OK in the food, it has a very nasty smell. In several places in Mui Ne we could smell the pungent stuff and it was only through exploring that we found a back yard full of vats of it – not nice! More nasty stories of fish sauce to follow in the next blog entry!


We also went to the so-called Fairy Spring, not sure why they are called this but several places seem to have them!! Effectively it was just a stream which you can wade through to reach the source. We decided against wading to the source but the stream cut through sand dunes and the scenery was worth a few photo’s.


permalink written by  Tim and Em on June 29, 2010 from Mui Ne, Vietnam
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Delightful Dalat

Da Lat, Vietnam


We arrived in Dalat courtesy of the bus journey from hell. We could have coped with no leg room & no air conditioning. However, the kids started to throw up and the icing on the cake was someone had fish sauce in their luggage and it leaked over the floor of the bus. The bus was only a 20 seater and the smell within the confined space was appalling, if there had been drop-down oxygen masks, we would have used them. We checked into our hotel but when we got to our room, we could still smell fish sauce. Upon a lot of sniffing, it was discovered the bottom of my rucksack had a decidedly fishy niff to it. It rapidly went downstairs to the laundry.
Dalat is in the Central Highlands and the temperature is noticeably cooler, it was a welcome relief from the heat of our previous stops. It seemed a little strange to be taking a jumper out in the evening though! The place is a real mixture of architecture, lots of French influence, including a telephone mast that resembles the Eiffel tower, with some Swiss stuff thrown in as well.
On our first night we headed out to a restaurant called Da Quy, from the reviews on trip advisor, it is the number 1 restaurant in Dalat. This may give you visions of grandeur in the price bracket but this impression would be very wrong indeed. The food was amazing, I think my quest for the best fresh spring rolls in Vietnam could have ended! The clay hotpots were also fantastic! It is was here that I tried Dalat red wine for the first time and have to say it is very quaffable. Despite eating like kings, having a few wines and coffee, we still left with plenty of change from 10 bucks!!
Continuing on the food theme, our hotel, Dreams, is legendary for its breakfast. Come the next morning, we were not disappointed, it was an all you can eat affair, there was fresh fruit, yogurt, bacon, marmite for the Brits & Vegemite for the Aussie’s, an incredible spread. The best thing was nothing was “extra” or “finished” which are two words we have become accustomed to in Vietnam. It wasn’t just the breakfast spread that sets this place apart though, they had a rooftop Jacuzzi and sauna which is free to use and the owners are the most lovely people you can imagine. All this for 20 bucks a night!
We rented a moped and rode out to some of the local sights of interest, unfortunately it was a bit of a wet one as it started to rain. First up was Elephant Falls, a waterfall about 30Km from Dalat, we tried to reach the bottom of the falls via a very hazardous path cut into the rocks, we stopped slightly short but apparently with the right guide you can actually go behind the falls themselves. From there, we had a brief stop at a silk factory, it was pretty low tech but you got to see the whole process from silk worm cocoons at one end to silk yarn at the other end. There is nothing wasted in the process and once harvested, someone comes to collect the grubs. These are eaten and according to Lonely Planet have a nutty flavour, yummy (not)!


As we had been out for a while, we decided to head back. We passed a roadside barbeque and the lady made motions for us to stop. I turned round and we had an impromptu lunch, I declined the bit of lung that was barbequing but had some of the local sausage, not sure what it was made from but it was very tasty! Despite hardly speaking any English, the locals were extremely friendly and someone offered us a glass of what we think was rice wine – whatever it was, it was strong stuff. Conscious that I was piloting a moped I had a few polite sips before heading the glass back.
There is a significant amount of agriculture around Dalat growing everything from strawberries to flowers to coffee beans. I have never seen as many commercial greenhouses, most of them growing flowers. The countryside is littered with coffee plantations, I didn’t realise that Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world.
The second day we were off on the moped again. We were heading to what we already knew was a very kitsch attraction but due its name and our newly engaged status, we felt we had to go to the Valley of Love – I joke not! The place was as cheesy as the name suggests and consisted of various romantically themed statues of lurve.

The location itself was really beautiful, it was set in a valley with a lake at the bottom. We had quite a long walk and took the appropriate photo’s before heading to the next stop.
Whilst not as Kitsch, equally weird was the Crazy House, this is not a place for lunatics but a house with a Gaudiest style of architecture. I can’t really describe it so check the photo’s out. When we visited, new Crazy wings were being added, it is the brainchild of a local architect who has designed other buildings around Dalat but presumably somewhat tamer than this! You can actually stay here although the rooms don’t look great and its expensive.
We liked Dalat a lot so we stayed a night longer than we originally planned, may regret this later in the trip. The final day we wondered around the market, well I did while Em sat it out. Em is becoming increasingly concerned that I have become obsessed with markets but I cant get bored of them, lots of unusual stuff and photo opportunities abound. When I got back to Em, she was being royally chatted up by a local guy. It turned out that he was selling pictures painted onto silk, after negotiation, we took 3 off his hands – the Christmas shopping continues apace!
Tomorrow, another bus, another town and another blog entry....


permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 4, 2010 from Da Lat, Vietnam
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Nha Trang

Nha Trang, Vietnam


The bus journey from Dalat to NT was really beautiful, winding mountain roads, forests and waterfalls. Unfortunately the spectacular scenery was lost on the driver, who didn’t stop at any of the Vantage points for photo opportunities!! We would love to do the journey from Dalat to NT on a motorbike, we did think about doing it but didn’t have the time or funds – maybe something for another trip to Vietnam!? The town itself was quite large and touristy compared to our previous stops, but the beach was really nice, particularly in the afternoon when the breeze got up. Our 2 days were spent mostly lounging on the beach.

There are quite a few Vietnamese that trawl the beach selling various things from fake designer sunglasses to cold drinks to lobster. Tim couldn’t resist the lobster, he chose the victim and then the lady scoots away to barbeque it for you, 20 minutes later we were tucking into fresh lobster and prawns – very very tasty!!

We had now planned our route for the rest of Vietnam which meant unfortunately we had to leave. We would have liked to have stayed longer and also to travel to another coastal town called Quy Nhon but time wouldn’t allow. The journey to Hoi An was to be our first experience of a sleeping bus, basically a converted coach with bunk beds – 10–12 hours of quality sleep time(not)!! Travel Scrabble has come into its own!



permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 6, 2010 from Nha Trang, Vietnam
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Hoi An

Hoi An, Vietnam


As we have now taken many bus journeys, we have developed a coping strategy, which involves getting a take away pizza prior to departure. Cold pizza is the equivalent of a 3 course gourmet dinner when you are stuck on a bus for eternity with stops at places that serve unmentionable things ! I won’t go into the details of the places we have stopped on these journeys, especially the toilets but all I can say is Moto services, you may be expensive, but you get my vote anyday!!
When we eventually arrived in Hoi An, I could not believe the increase in temperature – it felt about 10 degrees hotter than Nha Trang, with no breeze. Hoi An was really beautiful – it has about 800 old buildings which have been granted Unesco status and feels similar to places like Florence. We only spent 3 days there, most of which was spent exploring the old town, and then resting in the shade!

The town is also famous for its tailors, I decided to have a suit made, but was not prepared for the amount of decisions I would need to make to do this – quite incredible! I was quite concerned about how it would turn out, but the end result was pretty good. Tim also had some trousers made, and when the lady measured us up, she told us that we were both fat! This was an unusual sales technique and slightly irritating as between us we have lost a couple of stone – which we did tell her – she wasn’t interested – in Vietnam apparently we are still fat!! Having had success with the clothes we had made, the shoes that we had made were not quite such a happy story..

Another highlight of Hoi An was discovering a brilliant restaurant, which had amazing food – very reasonable and draft beer for 3000 Vietnamese Dong – which is about 10p – cheaper than water. Although we were only about half way up the country, we have already noticed lots of changes in the food –each place has different specialities – central Vietnam food is spicier than the south.


permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 10, 2010 from Hoi An, Vietnam
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Hue

Hue, Vietnam



After a relatively short bus journey this time, we arrived in Hue, where incredibly it felt like the temperature had risen again! We had a lovely hotel, but our stay was slightly marred by the regular power cuts. Every day the power is turned off between 6am – 1pm or 1pm – 6pm and unfortunately the air conditioning did not operate from the hotels generator, so our room quickly turned into a sauna. Our first day in Hue was spent visiting the citadel, which was pretty impressive, very old and some great buildings.


There was not a huge amount of other things to do there, unless you travelled quite far out of the city – on the second day we looked around the market, which looked very similar to all the other markets we have visited! We had planned to spend 3 nights there and catch the night bus to Hanoi on the 4th day, as this was the earliest bus we could get. However on the 3rd night just after we had ordered dinner, we discovered that we could get a bus that evening, which meant that we had to pack up all our gear and be ready to leave in 10 minutes. We decided to go for it, and just made it in time. This was another sleeping bus, this time we were the only westerners on it, for some reason they thought we were really amusing! The “beds” on the sleeping bus would be pretty comfortable if you were under 5 foot tall, anything over this and you have to perform a human concertina act just to stop yourself falling out of the bed. The roads are unbelievable, considering the road from Hue to Hanoi is a major route – to the capital, they are very bumpy – a lot of the roads in Cambodia were much better. The journey of 680km was due to take us 12 hours, but ended up taking 16.5 hours. This is partly due to the requirement to stop for food every couple of hours, we turned down the Tofu at 7am!

permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 12, 2010 from Hue, Vietnam
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Sapa

Sa Pa, Vietnam


We stopped in Hanoi for a few nights to organise the trip to Sapa (separate blog entry on Hanoi to follow as we have to return there). We were hoping to get the train to Sapa but were distraught to learn that it was fully booked. Pizza in hand, we trudged onto another sleeping bus. We awoke at about 330am with the bus stationary on a windy mountain road, looking out the window we could see several other vehicles also stopped. We got up and out and went to check out what the problem was. About 200 yards further up the road was a small truck on its side blocking the road – we knew we would be here a while.


The accident was miles from the nearest town, yet several entrepreneurs arrived on mopeds selling cold drinks and baguettes – only in Vietnam! At around 730 a crane turned up which we thought would move the truck out the way – wrong. From what we can gather the driver of the crashed truck did not have the funds to pay for the crane to move his truck out of the road. By this time there was quite a crowd and by bumping the truck from side to side, a large group of people managed to move the truck far enough for traffic to pass. This goes down as our record so far, it took 16.5 hours to get to Sapa.
Sapa is relatively high up so, similar to Dalat, much cooler. To be honest, the heat at our last 3 stops had become unbearable so it was really good to have cooler weather. The surrounding mountains are home to a number of ethnic hill tribes, particularly Bllack H’mong and Red Dzao each of whom have their own distinct traditional dress.
Once we were off the bus we headed for a caffeine fix and were immediately befriended by two Black H’mong ladies who were rather insistent we should buy something from them. They were actually really sweet, particularly the old lady who was seventy. They didn’t speak a huge amount of English but despite this, through their actions and gesticulations, they made us laugh. When we wouldn’t buy anything from them, the older lady wanted to make us pinky swear we would buy something later, we thought this was highly amusing!!.


It soon become apparent that the H’mong people have a tendency to latch onto and follow you around, this can be a little unnerving. I managed to teach one lady two new English words – stalker and blackmail – this after she followed us around for 30 minutes but promised she would leave us alone if we bought something.

Sapa was incredibly busy and we were both surprised at the sheer number of tourists. A couple of fellow travellers on our bus really struggled to find somewhere to stay. It was also the most expensive place we have come across in our travels in Vietnam, the extra money does not equal extra quality here as we were to learn from our hotel!
We did a day trek which took us through some truly stunning scenery, the terraced fields here are like nothing we’ve seen before, the sheer scale and beauty of it is jaw dropping. Although the weather wasn’t great, hopefully you will see what I mean from the photo’s.


The first part of the trek was fairly strenuous, up hill for about 2 hours, thankfully thereafter it levelled out for the rest of it. We had 3 guides for our trek, two Vietnamese guys and a black H’mong lady (Shu). As we neared the end of the trek, we passed Shu’s house and she invited us in. The accommodation was pretty basic with an open fire for cooking and although they had electric, there only had one light bulb. We were very grateful to her for showing us her home and we even met some of her family and neighbours.

Once again, the train was full for the return journey so after procuring a pizza, we headed onto the overnight bus that would take us back to Hanoi.




permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 19, 2010 from Sa Pa, Vietnam
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Halong Bay - The day that wasn't

Ha Long, Vietnam


Somethings are just not meant to be and I think we were destined not to see Halong Bay. We booked a day trip on Friday, even got up early, to be told that our trip had been cancelled because of bad weather. We re-booked for the following day hopeful that we would get to see the mighty limestone peaks rising from the sea.
We were up early again and were told by hotel reception the trip was on, we got excited! The bus journey was bumpy, its strange that the road to a Unesco World Heritage Site is so bad. An obligatory stop was made, conveniently at a large shop selling various tourist tat, we bought a coffee but it was awful (not a good sign).
After 4 and a half hours we arrived at Halong Bay to be told that no boats were currently leaving the harbour due to potential bad weather. However, all was not lost, as we could have lunch and hopefully after lunch, good luck permitting, boats would be able to go out. So, our seafood banquet on a boat became one prawn, some rubbery squid and a spoonful of rice.
Lunch was followed by more hanging around by the restaurant, the tour guide announced that there would be another announcement in 15 minutes. The news came that we could go and we were hearded back on the bus for the short drive to the harbour. The harbour itself was packed, stadium rock concert packed. We waited right on the quay, the boats were so near we could touch them and smell their fumes.

We waited for an hour while the tour guide made numerous calls, presumably to his mother to ask what was for dinner as we didn’t appear to be going anywhere fast. Then there was another announcement, that we would wait another 15 minutes to see if we could go. Needless to say, we didn’t. We went back to the bus and as we left Halong Bay, the tour guide said “wave bye bye to Halong Bay”, I could have punched him.
We are still not sure why no boats were allowed to leave the harbour, we think that it was the harbour authority. However, what we really don’t understand at all is why we had to go all the way up there to find this out. Being cynical, we wondered whether the tour company took everyone up there knowing that they could at least fleece us of some money for the bus ride and a dodgy lunch. Or perhaps it was a government ploy to ensure you had to come back again? The conspiracy theories continue even as I type!
To cap it all off, we got stuck in a traffic jam on the way back to Hanoi. In all, the trip or non trip took 13 and a half hours and cost 22 dollars. This, without doubt was the most frustrating day of our trip since leaving London on the 7th February.



permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 24, 2010 from Ha Long, Vietnam
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Hanoi

Hanoi, Vietnam


We had a few days in Hanoi before we headed to Sapa and then came back again after Sapa. In those initial few days, I can’t say we were that impressed with it. The moped traffic is appalling and there are hazards everywhere from drain missing covers that threaten to swallow you whole to spitting fat from pavementside woks. Some local even had the audacity to try to pick pocket me, needless to say, he was rumbled mid fumble.
However, the city did grow on us slightly on the second stint. The old quarter is an assault on the senses and the clichéd scenes that you imagine in Vietnam are everywhere you look. There are little cafes that just pop up on the pavement, people selling fruit, veg, meat from just a mat laid on the ground in an alley and the offer of moped taxi’s at every corner.

The lake in the middle of the city is really pretty with a lovely temple which sits on its own island. We visited the one pillar pagoda which is an oasis from the traffic noise. We went to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum but didn’t go in...Visited the temple of Literature which was really beautiful although somewhat marred by tat shops and a cashpoint despite it being an historical site!

We had a somewhat frustrating visit to the supermarket, admittedly we were already frustrated as we entered as it had taken us an age to even find the place. We looked around and the things that we had specifically gone there for they didn’t have. We bought a few basic provisions for the fridge at the hotel, we shook our heads when we found the Laughing Cow triangles were security tagged whilst bottles of wine and spirits weren’t!


We upload this at Hanoi airport where you cannot exchange foreign currency yet duty free sell microwaves. Also very angry with myself because I forgot my Swiss army knife was in my wallet, this was obviously confiscated at security. Feel slightly bereft, the knife and me go back a long way and it has been one of the most useful things we brought with us.
Whilst Vietnam has many, many idiosyncrasies we have really enjoyed our time here and it is perhaps the most diverse country we have visited. Despite warnings from other travellers, we found the people very friendly, helpful and charming (other than the pick pocket). It is now only a few days before Polly joins us which we are really looking forward to, we are hoping she might even guest write a blog entry!!
Thailand here we come.....


permalink written by  Tim and Em on July 26, 2010 from Hanoi, Vietnam
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Bangkok (reunion with Polly!)

Bangkok, Thailand


After a huge search for accommodation, we opted to rent an apartment for 5 days in Bangkok. This, believe it or not, worked out cheaper than a hotel room particularly when you factored in extra bed charges for when Polly joins us. The apartment was right by the river and had fantastic views of the Bangkok skyline together with a pool and a gym (which we used regularly, not!)

After so much travelling, it was great to have some proper downtime, we even fully unpacked our rucksacks – the first time in a long time. It seemed very novel to have our own place and be able to go to the supermarket and do simple things like watch a film and cook a meal!

We had a very emotional Reunion with Polly and some tears were shed. It appears as though she has grown a foot since I last saw her. She really enjoyed flying out on her own, made that much more enjoyable by two brothers who were also flying unaccompanied. Dont think Polly got much sleep on the flight, much time was spent chatting with her new found friends and watching films!
We had to sort out Visas for Laos which meant a visit to the embassy, this was quite a trek from where the apartment was.
In the evening, we went to the Khao San Road. Polly had already managed to lose her sunglasses in less than 24 hrs so we did a bit of sunglasses shopping.She also spotted a fish massage place and insisted on giving it a try – we left her to it as we had already tried it in Cambodia and decided it wasn’t for us!

The following day, we soaked up some sun by the pool before heading to Chatuchak market in the afternoon, one of the biggest markets in the world. We had a good wander around with Polly, once again, buying a few bits and pieces. We then went to a smaller market which sold vintage odds and sods before making tracks back to the apartment.
4am start tomorrow, should be interesting......



permalink written by  Tim and Em on August 1, 2010 from Bangkok, Thailand
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Vientiane

Vientiane, Laos


Awoke at the unearthly hour of 3:45am. We went into the lounge where Polly was sleeping and were astounded to see her up and dressed already – think she was proving a point!? Not good at mornings let alone this early, even breakfast is a struggle at this time!
Our pick up was arranged for 5am to take us from the apartment to the airport. We flew from Bangkok to Udon Thani in the North East of Thailand, from there it was a taxi into town and then about an hours wait for the bus that would take us across the border into Laos and onto Vientiane. Although the journey was fairly long in total, the different modes of transport broke it up quite nicely.
After manic Bangkok, it was good to get somewhere with a more sedate pace. Although Vientiane is the capital of Laos, the population of the city is quite small. Our hotel was situated in a quiet backwater with hardly any traffic, it seemed a little surreal.
Much to Polly’s disgust, we did a large walking tour of Vientiane the next day taking in some of the bigger sights. First up was the market (groan!) and then Patuxai which looks a little similar to the Arc du Triomphe. You get a good view from the top looking down the main road towards the Presidential Palace.

From there we trudged on to Pha That Luang, Laos’s most important monument and (according to Lonely Planet) a symbol of the Buddhist religion as well as Lao sovereignty. Em was somewhat perturbed by a monk who was caught short there and relieving himself against the monument – I don’t know, monks these days! Although it was impressive, its not as gold as the pictures lead you to believe.
One of our objectives with Polly was to try to get her to be more adventurous with food. This was achieved on night 2 when we went to a restaurant with no English menu. We pointed to a couple of pictures on the menu and had a great meal of barbequed meatballs and make yourself spring rolls washed down with a bottle or two of Lao beer.

The following morning we made a visit to the Thai consulate as Em and I knew we would have an issue with our Thai visa. Strangely when you cross into Thailand over a land border they only grant you 15 days in the country. Once in Thailand you can only extend for 10 days at a cost of £40. Whichever way we looked at it, once Polly had gone home, we were going to have to leave Thailand and re-enter if we didn’t sort out a different type of visa. We managed to do this at the consulate for no charge but it meant staying in Vientiane a day longer than we planned.
The next day we hired bikes and cycled to Cope, an organisation which helps people who have lost limbs. This help takes many forms - rehabilitation, provision of prosthetics and mobility devices. Unexploded ordinance (UXO), a remnant of the Vietnam war, it still a massive problem in Laos and about 40% of people Cope help are victims of injuries caused by UXO. A startling fact – Laos has 0.1% of the world’s population but 51% of the world’s UXO. I encourage anyone going to Vientiane to visit Cope (http://www.copelaos.org/index.html)

From Cope we cycled back to the Thai consulate to collect our Passport with a nice shiny 60 day visa contained within.
The next blog entry will be narrated by our guest editor, Polly Nicholl!


permalink written by  Tim and Em on August 5, 2010 from Vientiane, Laos
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