The pace is much slower here in Hue - we were even two hours late arriving on the train! We enjoyed a cruise on the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda where we saw the novice monks,and the tomb of Tu Doc. We then braved the traffic on our bicycles on a hairraising trip back to town - not to be attempted by the faint hearted! On 2nd David and I toured the citadel in Hue,visiting the Forbidden Purple City which is being restored to its former glory with the aid of UN...

On 28th we stopped for a few hours in the port of Vinh before catching the overnight train to Hanoi. The Vietnamese trains are not as comfortable as the Malaysian and Thai trains. We had 6 berths to a compartment. We arrived in Hanoi at 5.30 a.m. Quite a shock- Hanoi is VERY hectic - motor scooters everywhere all sounding their horns constantly. On 29th we travelled by bus to Halong Bay where we had an overnight cruise. I'm sure Halong Bay is stunning when the su...

The seven hour drive to Lak Sao took us through some spectacular limestone karst scenery high in the mountains. We arrived in Lak Sao (close to the Vietnam border) in time to visit the local produce market where apart from fresh fruit and veg,local specialities included rats, crickets and frogs. We can recommend stir fried cricket as a tasty snack before the meal! The local Vietnamese/English school welcomed us and we enjoyed conversing with the young stude...

On Tuesday 25th we had a 6 hour journey by local bus to the capital ofLaos,Vientiane.The bus had seen better days,but we made it to Vientiane and enjoyed the experience of travelling with the locals. Vientiane is probably the most relaxed capital city in the world. There is a strong French influence here particularly the wide boulevard,just like the Champ Elycee,which leads to Patuxai, which is similar to the Arc de Triomphe! Patuxai is known locallly as the ...

On Sunday 23rd we travelled for five hours by road across the mountains to the village of Vang Vieng. This village has become a backpackers haven situated on the Nam Song River and surrounded by spectacular limestone karst scenery. This place is wild - we went kayaking and joined hundreds of western backpackers floating in tyre tubes downstream, partying at the makeshift bars that have popped up on the river bank. There's plenty of loud music and buckets of...