This is an archive of a travel blog
N’aaw, look how cute we looked It’s that time again, or should I say ‘occasion’ where we’ve reached another milestone. It has been one year since we waved goodbye to England in return for a years’ long Asian adventure. Only one problem…that ‘year’ practically flew by! I find it very surreal to believe we have been away from home for 12 months. I remember how I felt when I left the UK, all those fears and nerves about the unknown.
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6 countries in 6 months It’s been 6 months since we left our routine lifestyle in the UK and started our Asian adventure. As I sit here in Kuala Lumpur trying to sum up my thoughts into a post, it’s surreal to think how far we have come and what we’ve accomplished. Traveling has been an eye-opening, first hand educational experience for me which continues to spark my curiosity and excitement.
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I admit it… I was pretty naïve when I landed in Hanoi. I knew very little about Vietnam or its culture, people and way of life. After spending 2 adventurous months travelling down the country’s spine I’ve immersed myself into Vietnam’s lush scenery, received the warmest generosity from locals and eaten the most incredible food. Vietnam surpassed my expectations and made me realise how versatile and wonderful this country is. I’m glad in a way that Vietnam hasn’t received the same attention as its nearby neighbour Thailand.
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Immerse yourself into Vietnamese culture and tantalise your taste buds like never before! Vietnam is an incredibly diverse country. Its food is as much of a highlight as anything else with a variety of local cuisines differing along the country. Now there is plenty of choice in terms of local and international food, and I’m sure everyone that has visited Vietnam has their select favourites they’ll treasure. Check out my personal favourites I’ll remember during my travels in Vietnam:
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Final bus journey, Mui Ne to Saigon (via The Sinh Tourist) We embarked on our final bus journey to Saigon, departing from Mui Ne. As we arrived at the Sinh Tourist office five hours later, it was clear that we were once again back in a major city. Glaring bright lights, frantic motorbikes whizzing in all directions, taxis racing up and down, hawkers galore…yep, welcome to Ho Chi Minh! Instead of checking into a hotel we opted to go Airbnb and stayed with an expat couple in District 2, a much quieter part of the city but only a 15 minute bus/car journey into District 1.
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Mui Ne is a coastal town in the South east region of Vietnam. We got the bus from Da Lat to Mui Ne which took about 5 hours. The roads are in a desperate state of repair and we counted down the hours till we got off the bus, we lost count of how many potholes the bus went over! Mui Ne is still in development as there are a number of construction sites popping up around the area.
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And that’s the Easy Rider way! As we arrived in Dalat we were approached by a Easy Rider member offering to take us around. Having just got off a rather bumpy journey we took his business card but didn’t really consider it . We checked ourselves into the Tulip Xanh hotel, a cheap hotel close to the main town. The one thing we immediately liked about Da Lat was the weather – it was so much cooler than the rest of Vietnam and it was a huge relief for us!
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After our second (and final) 14 hour train journey from Da Nang we finally arrived in Nha Trang. We found a Mai Linh taxi (we find them to be most reputable) to take us our hotel. We initially booked a few nights at the Golden Summer hotel, but we weren’t happy with the room and the staffs negative attitude. We decided to find another hotel for the night and ended up staying at The Summer hotel.
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After a 2 hour bus ride from Hoi An we arrived into Da Nang. This vibrant city combines a fusion of sky-high buildings, a stunning beach encased by surrounding mountains. Da Nang still has a local feel to the area; we rarely saw other travelers during our 2 night stay. This may be because Da Nang is a tad pricey, we stayed at the Olina Hotel which was a few minutes walk to the beach but a 35-40 minute walk to the city.
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We booked a bus via The Sinh Tourist from Hue to Hoi An, the journey took under 4 hours to arrive in Hoi An. Hoi An ancient town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage and has something for everyone – a beautiful beach, quaint town, gorgeous food and a load of tailor made shops competing at your disposal (as I’m super fussy with clothing I decided not to get anything made.
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As we make our way South of Vietnam we decided to spend a couple of nights in Hue. We got a day train from Hanoi to Hue. Our train departed 06:00 morning and arrived into Hue at 20:30. The soft seats we booked were manageable for the duration, although the carriages weren’t in the best of condition. There were so many bugs crawling all over carriage walls and curtains, whilst the overheard TV’s blared out Vietnam’s latest hits and showed Indian films dubbed in Vietnamese (random!
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After our disappointing experience at Sapa we were looking forward to our next excursion. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned by its vast uninhabited islands of jeweled limestone formations. There are many travel agencies in Hanoi offering a range of packages, all competitively priced. We booked the package through our hotel and decided to go with Indochina Junk, staying on the Dragon Pearl 2. Indochina Junk have many positive reviews on TripAdvisor and sail to a quieter part of the bay – Bai Tu Long Bay.
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Visiting Sapa is a must do for anyone travelling around the north of Vietnam. Sapa is home to a rich diversity of rice terraces, lush vegetation and remote hill tribes.There are plenty of travel agencies in Hanoi that can arrange day or night excursions with the choice to stay in hotels or with the locals. We were recommended by our hotel to book a 2 night home stay in North Sapa (as the North is said to be less touristy than the South).
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As we’ve decided to stay longer in Hanoi, we decided to be super productive and go to the Thailand embassy to get a tourist visa. Before going to the Embassy we did a quick internet search to see what the requirements were. As with all visas its vital that your passport does not have an expiry date no less than 6 months. Apart from this we also read the following was required:
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…and we can’t get enough of the place! Having tackled the chaos of India’s traffic and constant hassle of questions/tuk tuks/beggars, we both felt a huge wave of calm over us in Hanoi (even though there still is traffic and horns, it’s tame compared to India!). We kept the itinerary simple over the days, checking out nearby museums, local eateries and familiarizing ourselves with the area. I really enjoy the vibe around the Old Quarter as it has something for everyone .
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A couple days after settling into our new surroundings and hotel we booked ourselves on a street food tour. I found the tour via TripAdvisor and after a couple of quick friendly emails we were booked for the next day. We opted for the 17:00 start departing at the tour office. The price per person is 20$. Our guide for the evening was Sea, a fun quirky guy who kept us entertained throughout our time.
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After a comfy flight from New Delhi (via Bangkok) with Thai Airways we landed at Hanoi. With our bags and souvenir box (from India) we found our driver to take us to the hotel. The drive was pleasant and quick and we arrived at the hotel in under 30 minutes. Travellers are spoilt for choice in Hanoi, there are plenty of hotels/hostels in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, suiting all budgets. We decided to stay at the Tulinh Palace hotel 2, after reading great reviews on Booking.
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