Not Approved by LP

Just completed a long 33 hour bus journey from Phan Thiet to here, Hanoi. Never the best time to arrive, 9pm on a Saturday night but at least not as hot as expecting and raining – it always seems to rain in Hanoi !.  Seems fairly quiet and not as many backpackers around as usual.

After HoiAn returned to MuiNe for a night. Ate my words and used a tourist bus as more convenient for MuiNe only to have my dislike of them reinforced with their usual late arrival, unfriendly attitude and hassle to get you into their own hotels. 

Would have liked to spent longer as like the place but with my visa running out wanted to get to Hanoi to get an extension and hopefully a Chinese visa. So next morning took a local bus to the next city and then planned to get a bus north. However put on a magical mystery tour by  a taxi driver and eventually had to tell him to stop and walk the few kms I has just come.  I wanted to be annoyed but with all the kids shouting out hello and waving it was hard to be angry and the charm of Phan Thiet won me over and I stayed a night there. Not much in the way of sites but the fishing harbour photographic and people lovely.

Next day was able to get a bus for Hanoi.  A long journey but this time went with Hoang Long, a decent bus company who put on a good spread of food for free at each stopping point.  The route ok but long.  On one side the sea, the other the highlands with just a narrow flat plain to follow.  Besides settlements the rest mainly paddyfields and cemetaries and war memorials.  However despite the Vietanamese tunnel building skills and ability to get things down the HCM trail, for some reason they seem to be very slow at constructing a decent highway along the country.  Narrow, potholed, busy and an average speed of 50km per hour says it all.  At least made it without mishap.

Hopefully tomorrow leave the internet world and have a week in CatBa.

If I had been writing this post at any stage bar now within the last few days, I would be saying how incredibly hot it is with temperatures over 38 degrees and 85% humidity.  In fact some of the worst heat I have know in SE Asia and quite soul destroyng.  However the way things going at the moment should be able to swim back to the hotel !!.

Have been in HoiAn the last few days.  Easy place to enjoy but  less heat would have been better.  A pleasant riverside atmosphere, nice colonial style buildings, and lots of tourist artisan shops selling the silk for which it is famous, beautiful dresses, and the chance to get made to measure clothes, shoes etc.

Yesterday took a boat trip to Cham island for some swimminig in the sea and snorkelling.  Good to be in the water and outside of an airconditioned room the only place to be.

Today went to My Son, a world heritage site for its Champa ruins but ruins probably the operative word.

After here will make the long trek north. 

A first chance to catch up with the world in a few days.  Now in a very hot, sunny HoiAn.  Is a world heritage site so plenty of visitors and is a nice little town on the river with lots ... [Continue reading this entry]

Had a few enjoyable days in MuiNe as the weather improved and the resort a good place on the beach in a nice surroundings to relax.  However the sea only suitable for watersports enthusiasts which Muine becoming famous for. Yesterday took ... [Continue reading this entry]

Plan to head inland went astray due to the bus becoming a "tomorrow".  So instead continued up the coast to here, MuiNe.  The last time I was here this was an out of the way stretch of beach consisting of ... [Continue reading this entry]

Left PhuQuoc island Friday as the good weather came to an end and torrential rain had taken over.  The boat crossing  back to the mainland no problem and then decided to take the overnight bus to here, VungTau.  Unfortunately an ... [Continue reading this entry]