When I bought myself a motorbike in Vietnam, I accepted the fact that a motorbike accident would happen sooner or later. In a country with one of the highest traffic injury rates in the world, all I could hope was that when it was my turn, it’d end up ok. Well, the inevitable finally happened […]
Vietnam
The Clash of Beaches
What do you think of if I ask you to imagine a Beach? Translucent turquoise waters lapping the warm silky sand of the pristine coastline, with a few perfectly placed palm trees bordering the natural greenery of this secluded beach where it just happens to be just you? Or a packed shore full of stressed, […]
The Scenic Routes of Phu Quoc
First, a disclaimer: This all happened in November 2015, at the end of the rainy season, so don’t take this as up-to-date fact, but more as an entertaining story. I’m sure Phu Quoc is very different nowadays – and outside the rainy season. The Phu Quoc islands – I’d always heard loads about them. They […]
What I think while motorbiking in Vietnam
So, an entry I’ve been looking forward to doing for ages: Back to my beloved Vietnamese motorbike, and thoughts I have whilst dodging all my fellow traffic on the streets of Bien Hoa, the insane streets of Saigon and a few scenic countryside roads too. Firstly, a nice photo of my exploration north of Bien Hoa, where […]
An Ode to Milk Tea
Some late night poetry inspired by the joyous experience of MILK TEA SOUP… Oh Milk Tea, Oh Milk Tea, How I adore to have you within me, The way your bubbles squelch so gloriously, and your condensed milk adds to the taste so scrumptiously The way the sprinkles on top add a bit of controversy […]
‘ruising and canoeing HALONG BAY
One of the musts of being in the north of Vietnam is visiting the stunner which is Halong Bay. Gorgeous natural beauty, an ancient bay full of, erm, little tree-covered mountains (‘towering limestone islands topped with rainforests’, describes google a bit more poetically) popping out from the sea. The name translates as ‘where the dragon […]
Hanoi, the turtle and the donuts
Xin chào mes amis!! Yes, yes, long time no see. That shall be rectified today… So, HANOI. 🙂 I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Hanoi before going there. When first thinking about moving to Vietnam, I had half-heartedly considered moving there, but then the simplicity of travelling from Saigon, the apparent […]
The Pass of the Ocean Clouds feat. Hue
One of the main sights I wanted to do on this trip was the Hai Van Pass. It was made especially famous in Europe through the Vietnam episode of Top Gear, where the not-easily-impressed Jeremy Clarkson described it as one of the most beautiful rides in the world. My guide book called it the ‘Pass […]
Two days in the gorgeous Hoi An
Hoi An was a stunner. All of our’s favourite destination on this trip. Yes, Hoi An is becoming a tourist trap and was packed with tourists but, you know what? We were tourists. And we enjoyed it. It was amazing. Hoi An is a World Heritage Sight and “an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East […]
Crazy, cold, colourful, canyony Dalat
Our first stop on our 10-day whizz-tour through Vietnam was Dalat City, about 300 km from Ho Chi Minh City. A pretty, hilly town, with a stunning lake and surroundings, many cute cafés and restaurants, Dalat is a get-away for many Saigonese and an increasing amount of foreign visitors who want to escape the eternal heat […]