Archive | Vietnam

Ha Long Bay

12 Mar

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage  site, with more than 3000 incredible limestone islands, scattered around in the water. We stayed on a boat for 2 days and 1 night. It was a beautiful boat with even nicer surroundings. We went kayaking into hidden lagoons, did some squid fishing and had a cooking class.

We also visited some caves and ate fantastic sea food. Overall a brilliant little trip. It did get a little cold at times being northern Vietnam, especially since we are used to hotter weather.

Hanoi

11 Mar

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. I found that Hanoi was nothing like the other places that we have visited in Vietnam. The weather was much colder and people were very serious, nearly unfriendly. Anyways, it was still interesting walking down the streets and seeing the locals doing their everyday things.

We also went to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. This performance of water puppets originated from the northern part of Vietnam, and was very different to any other entertainment I have seen.

Hue

8 Mar

Hue is quite a small place so we only spent 1 full day here. We visited the Citadel, which is a former imperial city that was heavily bombed by the Americans. A lot of this area is now used for agriculture, and a lot has been restored.

Hoi An to Hue by Easyrider

8 Mar

We decided it was about time to use a different type of transport from Hoi An to Hue, and there is no better way than going by motorbike! I sat on the back of our guide Quang’s motorbike with all our luggage on the back, whereas John (the daredevil) drove his own little scooter.

We drove the coastal route, which is a route that Top Gear made famous here in Vietnam. The scenery was stunning. We stopped at Marble Mountain and old bunkers made by the Americans and the French throughout the war.

Quang was a brilliant guide, giving us lots of information about the scenery we passed and the history surrounding it. He also made me feel very safe driving up steep roads and sometimes in the middle of Vietnam’s crazy traffic (for those who know me this is a big achievement).

We also stopped by the China Beach (which is a series of beaches along 30km between Hoi An and Danang). This is one of the BEST types of transport so far.

Hoi An

4 Mar

Hoi An might be one of the most charming places I have been to this ‘year’. Influences from Chinese, Japanese and European cultures can be seen in the architecture and style of the town.

We went for a quick and fun cooking class, where we choose something from the menu and learnt how to cook it, then had it for lunch afterwards. Click here to look at the recipes of Red ‘Vietnamese/ Thai’ Curry and Chicken Chili.

Hoi An is also know for their affordable tailor made clothing, so there is no better place to do some shopping!

We rented a bike on our last day and cycled 4km to a beach nearby. On the way we passed many rice fields.

We had a great day at To An Bang Beach, relaxing on the sunbeds and went for a swim in the cold South China Sea.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

3 Mar

The traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, was insane. I have never seen so many scooters on a road in my life. Hi Chi Minh City is a huge city, population is about 10 million, and there are more than 5 million scooters here, that is more scooters than the population of Norway! We went to the War Remnants Museum, where there are pictures on show taken through the Vietnam War.

We spent one day at the Sai Gon- Cai Be Floating Market Vinh Long. This is where locals come and trade fruit and many other commodities on board their boats.

Then we went to a local village to see how coconut candy and crispy rice popcorn are made.