The Horror of Halong (to be immediately followed by) Hedonism in Hanoi (Incorporating wild motorbike rides and some serious drunken ditch falling...) After arriving in Hanoi from the annoying spectacle that was Ninh Binh, what does silly old me do? Chill out for a few days and soak up the atmosphere of one of my favourite places in Vietnam? Dont be ridiculous. No, I booked a tour to Halong Bay. It wasnt a completely ludicrous thing to do. What with tropical st...

No need to loiter in Ninh Binh I suppose there is one good thing about Ninh Binh. One of the hotel workers managed to fix my shonky Vietnamese lighter which after about twenty attempts would send out a eyebrow singeing flame. Nowadays, it is usually about 3 attempts and the flame is more to my desired size! Not that Ninh Binh is that bad. The scenery is awe inspiring, surrounded as the city is by the most amazing rock formations which are somewhat reminiscent ...

Return of the Huda (Ammended to include the tale of the Deaf Dupan) The Sunday following my dreadful hangover I departed for Hue. Hue was a favorite last time in spite of the 45 degree heat every day. This was due to the fortunate proximity to my hotel of a cafe called Cafe on Thu Wheels. It was directly opposite and saved me last time from saturation sweating by being a great place to welter under the fans with barely cold Huda Beers in the presence of a compl...

Be Careful What You Wish For Last we caught up, I was bemoaning the rather pitiful track record of hangovers in Vietnam and was thinking that a night out might be in order so as to change that situation. Mission accomplished! After a rather uneventful but enjoyable sojourn to the beach, I headed back to my hotel and whilst supping a few beers to get me in the mood ended up watching the doggies get trounced by the Cats. Yes I know. Football! Me! Anyway headed ...

I only spent a couple of days here last time. Funny how a place doesnt really appeal one moment in time, but come back a year and a half later, and u absolutely fall in love with it! I was dropped off by the mini bus about 10 kms from town where the local xe om riders tried to extort a ridiculous sum of money out of me to get me into town. Luckily my staunch determination to drop the sum siginificantly alongside my staunch conviction that "I will walk into ...