After a few weeks of work work work we were extremely excited to be back on the road and to explore a part of Vietnam we had not been to before, the north. We also couldn't wait to breathe in some nice clean fresh air. It was strange being back in a hostel and needless to say we did not get a great nights sleep. To add to the equation it seemed as though Chris had been attacked by bed bugs. But we were up early and raring to hit the road. It took us (mainly C...

Amelia and I had a week of 'normality' before my dad arrived. ‘Normality’ being - inhaling potentially harmful levels of smog, avoiding countless near-misses on the chaotic roads and teaching hyperactive Vietnamese kids English. My dad landed at Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport on the morning of the 1st October. I’d helped him organise the hotel transfer to ensure his safe and trouble-free arrival into the city. Along with this and not know...

Chris and I had flown back to Vietnam, and specifically Hanoi, to find work and somewhere to live for a little while. We were not ready to fly home but we were both ready to settle in one place for more than a couple of weeks. Having met some fellow travellers who had lived and worked in Hanoi for three months teaching English with little experience and no qualifications, we thought why not give it a go. We both like a challenge and love trying new things. Beside...

Having bought our ticket from the train station ourselves, and being told it was for the 'locals' cabin and not for the 'tourists' cabin, we weren't entirely sure what we had let ourselves in for. However, it seemed to turn out pretty good for us. We had opted for soft beds, in a four bed cabin, but it was just the two of us, and in fact, the whole carriage was empty, so we even had our own toilet. It was a ten hour train to Lao Cai, and then ...

A bus, a boat, another bus, then a taxi later we arrived in the capital, from Cat Ba Island. We travelled with Alex and Annika, who had wisely pre-booked accommodation on a busy weekend in Hanoi. Us on the other hand, decided to risk it - to try and get a good deal on the door, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake.After two hours of wandering around Hanoi, visiting many hotels, which were either full, or charging way too much, we found a room in a hostel cal...