There was no better way to say goodbye to Vietnam than on my last night having a few drinks in the backpacking area of Saigon with my Australian friends Mat and Mark and some others who were in the bar. This was the 5th time we had met up during our journeys, and none of them were organised, our paths just crossed along the way, first in the waiting area at Hanoi train station going to Sapa, then at the market square in Sapa, breakfast in Hoi An, dinner and drink...

I was a bit nervous, five days on the back of a bike, five days in the heat and dust of the central highlands and border country of Vietnam, the only white man to be seen. I now know when I look back at my travels, past, present and any to come this will be a highlight I will always remember as one of the best experiences I had. No organised tour, no tourist experience could ever give me the smells, sights, tastes and exposure to the local people I got over the...

Arrived at Dalat in the Central Highlands after an hour flight from Danang, what an easy way to travel and only a few dollars more than a 12 hour overnight bus pod trip! The early morning cab (4am) to the airport from Hoi An showed me early morning Vietnam, I am impressed, many people walking and stretching along the roads having their morning exercise and lots of refuge collection trucks, all staffed by ladies. Dalat is an old French colonial hill town which h...

A short bus trip from Hue to Hoi An and I arrive in this lovely port town. Reminds me of Luang Prabang but busier and lacking some of the calmness of the Laos town. The bus was an 'open tour' bus which consisted of three rows of bunk pods across the bus, if you are longer than 5ft 9 then you are stuck in a kind of bent position, so lucky for me at 5ft 6.5 I fitted in just right, although after an hour my bum was numb and i was left feeling grateful that it was ...

A 14 hours sleeper train to Hue from Hanoi, shared the sleeper cartridge with a really nice Swiss family, Mum and Dad and 21 year old daughter who is at university in Berlin, we chatted for hours about traveling, I am in awe of these people who have been traveling for years, the Dad Jean-Claude told me stories of his travels through south east Asia over the last 20 years, they are in their early 60's and now they are both retired they are spending six months trav...