The furthest East I’ve travelled in my life so far has been to Tokyo. Before that, I’d travelled a fair bit, but towards the other points of the compass. A lot of people who have travelled predominantly in Europe might refer to Rome or the area around the Arc de Triomphe when they talk about…
Hue was once the imperial capital of Vietnam. It was also a central battleground during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Hue therefore sits on a fulcrum between having a lot of historical architecture on the one hand and having a lot of that historical architecture bombed to smithereens during the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, some of…
I may have mentioned in a previous post that Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of rice in the world. Second only to rice in terms of export value is Vietnam’s coffee. As someone who loves drinking coffee, arguably to excess, I honestly didn’t know this, or had forgotten. One of the many objectives I…
If Hanoi was about seeing Ha Long Bay, and Hue was about seeing tombs and museums, our stay in Hoi An was about soaking up some of the vibe of a Vietnamese town. Our wonderful guide pretty much left us to our own devices for a few days. Hoi An is a couple of hours…
We left Hanoi for Hue only shortly after arriving back from Ha Long Bay. We had been advised to get some take-away dinner in Hanoi before getting on the train because there was no buffet car. Just for a change, I fancied spaghetti with tomato sauce, so with my pack on my back and my dinner…
Street food is big in Vietnam. By street food, I mean food that’s consumed in the street and also prepared in the street. People will often transport their restaurants on their mopeds, carrying their kitchen, tables and chairs. Usually, you just sit near the moped-kitchen and tuck in: Street food is a way of life…
After the serenity of Ha Long Bay, we arrived back in Hanoi. The tour that I’m on only provided for an afternoon to look around Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum (pretty much the main attraction here) was closed, unfortunately, so I contented myself with a walk around the old town to get a flavour of the…
I’m in Vietnam, having landed in Hanoi a few days ago. I’m also part of a pretty well-organised tour. What’s nice about going on an organised tour is that I can relax into sightseeing a little more and enjoy the ride, rather than actively drive my travelling. It’s a nice break. I arrived late into…
When I was studying karate, my instructor remarked that one of the toughest people to go up against is a scaffolder. They’re immensely strong. Imagine having to lift long steel poles all day. I’m sure they’re just as strong in China, however, the preferred material is bamboo, not steel. Whole skyscrapers are covered in the…
Hong Kong has been my stop-over on the way to Hanoi, as well as being a place I’d heard a lot about (good and bad), so I arranged a two night stay in Kowloon. First impressions are always tinged by the fact that they’re had at an airport. I knew that the old days of…
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