Having caught a bus from Ninh Binh to Hai Phong, then a lot of haggling with a taxi driver to take us to the ferry, then working out which ferry to catch, we did eventually make it to Cat Ba Island. The ferry was a hydrofoil, which travelled at 75km/h, only taking 45 mins to reach the island...an experience. Although Cat Ba Island is 285Km2, all the accommodation and restaurants are in the main Cat Ba town. Cat Ba Island is known, and home to, the highly endanger...

We arrived by sleeper bus at 4am (our first sleeper bus with no issues!), half asleep, at a random hostel in the middle of nowhere, just outside the old capital - Ninh Binh.Luckily the hostel was open for business, and the owner was a very friendly, helpful man. He arranged for a mini bus to take us, and two other couples, to our hotels. The first couple arrived at their hotel to find it was closed. It then suddenly dawned on us that we would likely have the same...

A ridiculously early start for a day trip, 6am, to have breakfast and head North towards the DMZ (De-militarised Zone). Our first stop was at Dakrong Bridge, which belongs to part of the Ho Chi Minh trail, over 1,000km long and running from the North to the South of Vietnam. It took 17 years to build.We then made our way up the mountains to an old American military basecamp, 'Khe Sanh' Combat base, where restored bunkers, abandoned helicopters, tanks, and...

We decided, after speaking with many people, and watching the 'Top Gear - Vietnam Special', the only way to travel between these two destinations, was on two wheels! We had discussed doing this journey for a while. Amelia wasn't as enthusiastic as me about travelling this way, but after speaking with a few people, such as Jay and Charlie, I think she felt a little less anxious at the thought. The plan initially was to hire the one motorbike, and Ameli...

The crazy local bus from Danang to Hoi An was the most terrifying journey we have experienced so far, and not just for the driving. The driving was absolutely insane, I can't even describe how bad it was! Not only that, the ticket man had it in for us tourists, and would not accept our 20,000 Dong each for the ticket (the actual price written on the bus) and kept demanding for 30,000 Dong each. So every so often he tried to chuck us off the moving bus...grabb...