Perfect blue skies, warm tropical waters and the glistening green of one of the natural wonders of the world. This wasn't our Halong Bay experience, but it must have been someone's. It was cold, grey, dull and rainy, but that wouldn't damped our spirits. It is paradise after all. We left our hostel in the early hours and drove all over Hanoi picking people up before we finally began the journey east - why we walked around the previous day I don't know as we saw...

Widely documented as 'Asia's greatest city', Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, was our first base. A day didn't go by in Laos, Kenya, even Thailand, where the skies weren't picturesque blue and the sun didn't shine. Thang Long (Hanoi - City of the Soaring Dragon) however, had different ideas. We emerged into the grey gloom from our hostel and explored the 'Old Quarter', an area where people play chicken as they cross the roads, challenged by scooters, taxis and ...

Vietnam. A country America put on the map and in many cases, also blew it of it. With the stunning islands of Halong Bay, maybe the freshest food available on the entire planet and the country's amazing heritage, this is the place I've been looking forward to visiting for many years. We had two options for how to get from Laos to Vietnam. Road or Air. The road journey is known on the backpacker trail as being gruesome, long and uncomfortable - in many cases las...