Vietnam

April 18, 2015

Splashing Out

Next stop on our Vietnam itinerary was the beachside town of Mue Ni. After starting to relax at the beaches in Hoi An I was looking forward to a few days of doing nothing but laying poolside and reading a book. The only downside was we had to endure a 21 hour bus journey to get there. What made up for quite an uncomfortable and sleep deprived journey was there was a five star hotel waiting for us at the other end. My generous colleagues had given me an amazing farewell gift of a voucher for a hotel chain and so we flashed out and stayed at the amazing Anantara Beach Resort and Spa.

We walked into the cool calm reception, welcomed with tea and relaxed while our check in was taken care of and our backpacks were carried by the porters. Then it was into our deluxe garden view room with a welcoming bottle of champagne and local fruits. Ah! Heaven. I was tempted to curl up in the cloud like bed or relax in the large stone bath tub but the draw of the pool and beach was too much.

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April 11, 2015

Eat, Shop, Love – Hoi An

We arrived in Hoi An to bright blue skies and a shining sun which was nice after a few smoggy days in Hue. I had been looking forward to visiting Hoi An for a second time as it was my favourite place on my last trip here with my family 13 years ago. Our arrival at our lovely guest house, Thien Tan Homestay, made our arrival even better with a delicious home cooked meal and a friendly chat with the manager. She told us all about Hoi An, where to shop, how to get to the beach and good places to eat. It meant we were ready and raring to head out and explore. Thankfully, the guest house provided free bikes so we jumped on and rode the short trip into town.

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April 8, 2015

History, Architecture and Temples

Our first overnight bus experience in Vietnam was much different than I was expecting. We had booked some tickets on an Open Bus Tour which is basically a hop-on-hop-off bus trip that runs north to south. For $60 we can jump on buses taking us to all four of our destinations, but we could have stopped at many more. The buses themselves were super swanky. Bunk-style seats that lay down in to flat beds, a little cubby hole for your bag and a blanket to keep you warm. It was actually quite a comfortable journey for me and I a managed to get quite a lot of sleep. Unfortunately for James who is much taller the journey wasn’t quite so comfortable.

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April 7, 2015

Cruising Halong Bay

Our time in Hanoi was short but sweet – the reason we only had had one day to explore was because we were off on a 3 day and 2 night cruise of Halong Bay. We had booked on a tour that pretty much took control of everything and I have to say it was nice to put the guide books and maps down and let someone else take control for a change.

We got picked up bright and early and were bundled onto a bus which drove us for four hours from Hanoi to Halong Harbor. From there we split into three groups and made our way down to a little boat, which then took us to a larger boat. Despite setting off at 8am we didn’t actually set sail until about 1:30pm, but once we finally got going it was time to relax. All of our meals were included over the next few days and our first lunch on the boat was a good sign of what was to come.

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April 6, 2015

Hectic Hanoi

The first stop in Vietnam for us was Hanoi, and this was actually my second visit to the city. However last time was about 13 years ago and I must admit I don’t remember much of the city itself. So I was keen to get exploring and see if I could jog any memories. We arrived at our hotel, brilliantly named ‘Posh Hotel‘ and after checking in and grabbing a map from reception we tried to decipher our way around the hectic mayhem that is the Old Quarter.

The streets of the city are ram packed full of motorbikes. I am not exaggerating when I say that at some points there are about 8 motorbikes wide across a road with another 8 motorbikes going the opposite way and it is all just a mash of mayhem. Trying to cross the road is a nightmare – we just had to start walking and hope that they would go around us. Thankfully they are probably used to tourists being lost in the area and we managed to find our destination.

One of the things I had been looking forward to the most about getting back to Vietnam was the food. I am a huge fan of their cuisine and I couldn’t wait to try a genuine bowl of Pho (noodle soup). We wandered down May May Street and found New Day Restaurant. Packed to the gills with other tourists for the exact same thing – Pho Bo. It was great to sit out on the street and people watch as I devoured fresh spring rolls and a beef soup, washing down with a Bia Ha Noi.

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