Archive | May, 2010

Not a paddy field in sight!

Shunning the normal tourist route that visits Nha Trang, an old fishing port that has developed into a purpose built tourist resort on the sea, we head for Dalat in the central highlands. What a contrast this place is to other towns we have visited in Vietnam! First off it is cool. Helped by an […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }

Hot, humid Hoi An

Hotter than Hanoi and just as humid, Hoi An is a charming little town about 5 km inland from the sea and around 180 km south of the old demilitarized zone in what was South Vietnam. At the moment, it is unspoilt but that is not going to last much longer as the entire coastline […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }

Soggy Sapa

We are off trekking again, this time to the very north of Vietnam to the Tonkinese Alps. An area of outstanding natural beauty that is home to a number of minority people that live in the hills and mountains bordering China. Over the years, the region has been intermittently under the control of the Chinese […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }

Hanoi: the grand old dame of Asia

If an airport is a reflection of the destination city, then Hanoi is going to be a challenge. It is a throwback to the seventies with lino flooring, escalators that don’t work, yellowing walls and cardboard-constructed immigration booths manned by officials dressed in soviet-style uniforms. The capital’s airport had two baggage belts serving both domestic […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }

Hong Kong: the colourful city

Hong Kong. One of our favourite cities. To visit that is. I am not sure I would want to live here and don’t have an intention of finding out if I do but, it is one of those wonderful places that lives on water, enjoying a freshness and a feeling of space that relieves the […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }

Yangshuo and the dreamy river Li

On our way to Yangshou, we have a stopover night in Guilin. We do not want to linger because Yangshou (so we have been told by fellow travelers) has everything that Guilin has to offer and more. So we take a morning boat trip down the Li River for the 4 hour journey though some […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }

Lijiang & Tiger Leaping Gorge

Lijiang is a town that is a complete contrast to anywhere else we have been in China. Set among the rolling hills of north Yunnan province, it has a backdrop that reminds us we have escaped the huge sprawling, heavily populated cities we have visited so far. We are staying in the old town which […]

Continue Reading Comments { 0 }