Up early this morning, ready to spend the day exploring some of the larger islands with the rest of our group. The first port of call took us to Cat Ba Island, which we toured round on mountain bikes, which had very questionable brakes!! We learned a little history of the small island, so called as the legend would have it as a result of the dragon who fought off warriors with his tail and in doing so, carved a large island into a series of much smaller ones, lik...

After an early morning pick up from our hostel, we made the 3 hour mini bus trip north to the coastal town of Halong, where we were to board our 'junk boat'-their name not ours! which was to be our accommodation for the next couple of days. Arriving at the dockside, we were welcomed by the sight of around 70 other boats destined for the same trip. After a sopt of lunch aboard our boat 'Imperial Junk II', we set sail. Despite the cold and foggy weather, the views ...

After the worst sleeper bus journey as of yet, we were dumped on a chilly anddeserted Hanoi roadside a little earlier than scheduled. As it was only half five in the morning, we were a little worried about securing accommodation for that night, so we headed off in a taxi with the Canadians in search of the Old Quarter, where we were reliably informed, lots of accommodation lay. After the driver going round in circles and pulling up outside his friend's hostel and...

Despite having been recommended to do a motorbike tour of the town, we decided to opt for a private 'perfume pagoda' tour instead, having had first hand experience of the interesting driving skills demonstrated by the locals! Having been promised an English speaking guide, lunch on board and a tour around all of the tombs and monuments up the river, we were a little apprehensive when we were picked up bright and early by a Vietnamese lady with a welcoming smile ...

We started the day, much as the previous one had ended, as we continued on a gruelling 18 hour bus ride, which took us through the winding traffic filled streets and then out into rural Vitetnam. Various near misses, stints on the wrong side of the road and continuous blaring of car horns later, we were dropped off in the seemingly rundown area of Hoi An, famed for its tailors and dressmakers. Our time here was to be shortlived however as a couple of confusing ho...