Part 67: Bus from hell.... Barely an hour had passed before I began losing some feelings in my legs, hopelessly trying to contort them into impossible positions just to get comfortable; it wasn't happening. The narrow walkways now housed the passengers luggage as well as large packages for the drivers. Finding out they use these over night sleeper busses to transport goods to make extra money, which wasn't the safest arrangements, but there was literally nowhe...

Part 66: On the road south.. Hanoi so far had been an amazing experience and I could quite have easily stayed a few more days. I found the people extremely welcoming and friendly, even if communications were sometimes challenging with English not being widely used here. We explored this authentic city, overflowing with culture, mainly on foot, which unless you brave the tidal-wave of scooters and motorbikes, is definitely the best way to see it. The result wa...

Part 65: Halong bay.... I woke early at 7.00 am very much looking forward to the Halong Bay trip, and to see if it lived up to the hype of being a UNESCO world heritage site. The weather was damp and drizzly, much like it had been since I arrived in Vietnam - and it didn't look like I'd be getting my sun cream out today either. Both me and Martin patiently waited in hostel reception for the bus to the bay which was 170 km east of Hanoi, taking around 4 hours. ...

Part 64: Snake Village..... Hanoi was my first experience of Vietnam, so I came without any preconceptions at all - but so far, other than the rain, and occasional blocked toilet, all was good. And for the first time since I began travelling, it was actually a struggle to spend money here. Its a bustling, noisy slice of South East Asia that I didn’t find as in your face as other Asian capitals. Bursting with tonnes of local character, maze's of alleyways, l...

Part 63: 'Good morning Vietnam'.... It was surprisingly easy to obtain an online Visa for Vietnam a few days before I left. Some basic info and few clicks of a keyboard later, and there it was in my inbox, along with a signed letter from the immigration office for me to print out. All I had to do next was get some passport photos, then hand this in on arrival at the Noi Bai airport to get stamped. My flight was a late night one to Hanoi and thought it best to...