My roommate is suffering from jet lag so she (and therefore I) went to bed early last night and consequently woke early this morning. I got up at 6am hoping for a sunrise and coffee but had to wait for both. Overcast day and the crew were busy cleaning the boat and setting up for … Continue reading SE Asia Day 25: Huê

It was a 4 hour bus ride to the very beautiful, very busy Ha Long Bay, famous for its thousands of limestone islands and islets. At the halfway point we stopped at a rest area run by a disabled group. G Adventures ethos consists of giving back to the local communities wherever they travel, especially … Continue reading SE Asia Day 24: Ha Long Bay

Woke up to 100% chance of rain all day and AQI of 222. The elements were against us. Plastic rain ponchos were handed out as the morning consisted of riding around town on the back of lady-driven motor scooters. Our first stop was Hao Lo Prison, aka “Hanoi Hilton”. Originally built by the French in … Continue reading SE Asia Day 23: Hanoi

Local readings actually say 277 but I like this emoji Not a great day to be outside so I limited myself to just a walk around the nearby lake and a bit of window shopping before checking out at 12. The new tour officially started at 2:30pm at the new hotel. Lots of introductions as … Continue reading SE Asia Day 22: Hanoi

I do a lot of my travel research in Facebook Groups and the Vietnam ones highly praised Ninh Bình as a must-see destination so I booked a full day excursion with a local agent to check it out for myself today. Google says it was the first capital of a unified Vietnam from 968-1010, has … Continue reading SE Asia Day 21: Ninh Bình

I’ve a free day to explore Hanoi as I’ve decided to take a full day tour tomorrow to Ninh Binh so here’s what I got up to…. At 8am I set out into the bustle of Old Town Hanoi looking for Train Street. First impressions: lots of trees, beeping scooters, locals setting up for their … Continue reading SE Asia Day 20: Hanoi

Transfer Day today so basically a day of waiting until it was time to head to the airport. I took an early morning walk at 7am and the cool mist was already lifting. I walked around the peninsula that is this end of the Old Town until I saw stairs that led up to the … Continue reading SE Asia Day 19: Hanoi

One of the must-see sites locally is the Kuang Si waterfall and since my G tour didn’t include it, I booked a half day tour through my guesthouse. It only cost $23 so if it’s anything more than transport to & fro I’ll be thrilled. And we did more! On the way we made a … Continue reading SE Asia Day 18: Luang Prabang

My first tour ends today in LP, but I have 2.5 more days here to chill, then 2 free days in Hanoi before my next tour starts. Sharon and Dean, who are also here till Tuesday, and I took advantage of the cool morning mist to hike up Mt Phousi, a steep hill in the center … Continue reading SE Asia Day 17: Luang Prabang

Early coffee at 5am to get me going for our morning alm’s giving. The monks of the local temples walk the streets at dawn and collect their day’s food as offerings from the public (mostly sticky rice; other food is brought directly to the temples by locals). It’s a strong tradition for the faithful as … Continue reading SE Asia Day 16: Luang Prabang