Mai Chau was our first stopping point, about five hours on the bus eastwards from Hanoi. We got there after dark, but during the journey were really lucky to get chatting to a Vietnamese guy called Kuong, who spoke fluent English, and when we arrived he walked with us to a homestay he knew of and arranged dinner and a room for us. And we stayed there for three nights, a stilt house in a small, quiet village called Pom Coong, a mile or so from Mai Chau itself, sur...

Halong Bay is absolutely stunning. The same Karst peaks that characterise Yangshuo in China, but set in the sea rather than amongst rice paddies. And even the fleet (literally, in terms of numbers) of tourist-filled boats don't spoil it, as the seascape is so incredible, and the boats are all attractive, wooden "Junk" boats that fit the backdrop perfectly anyway. We went on a three day / two night tour (which is how you have to do it, unfortunately; we...

(Good morning) Vietnam! (Sorry, very unoriginal, but I felt compelled!). And no chill-out time permitted to come down from our rollercoaster China ride. We thought Ulaanbaatar was a bit crazy, then Beijing was a slightly crazier still, but Hanoi is the craziest of them all! An absolute frenzy of motorbikes, which must outnumber all other modes of transport combined by about ten to one, and all trying to navigate streets only usually a single lane wide. And with p...

We stayed overnight in Nanning before getting the bus to Hanoi the next day. Nanning was alright, the small fraction of it we saw, and the Lotusland Hostel was possibly the nicest we stayed at in China, but it was only a flying visit. I can't believe our China adventure is over! It was mad and brilliant and unforgettable, and I think we'll have to go back for more before our travels have finished!

Matt and Katherine from Beijing / Manchester and the Lonely Planet all told us that Yangshuo was well worth visiting, despite the notorious "hawkers" (a term we've learnt to describe locals who hassle tourists for business of some sort). And they were right! Plus, it was on our route to Vietnam anyway. But it was a nightmare of a journey to get there, taking three full days, as opposed to the one and a half we'd hoped for. Our plan being to take a thre...