So, we finally found the sun again! Two days ago we got a 4 hour bus from Vientiane to Vang Vieng. That was an experience as Steph was suffering with the flu/stomach upset/dying in general. Laos is the most beautiful country. Vang Vieng is a small town surrounded by gigantic mountains with a blue sky and huge sun. There is one central road that runs throughout Vang Vieng which we were staying just off of for the first two nights in a hotel. As we found some...

Hello from a very rainy Vientiane! We've had quite a chilled out few days here. Considering it's the capital of Laos, there's not a lot to do or see and little nightlife. It's safe to say we're a little disappointed but there are lots of exquisite French coffee shops everywhere, a popular pass time. Yesterday we headed out to explore the town. We walked to the Mekong river - a distant sight with all the 'riverfront' restaurants and hotels set back behind a ro...

Today we headed to Laos, the fourth country of our trip. We made sure to stock up on provisions for the 20hr bus journey as we've heard a few horror stories. Some include no stops, no toilet on the bus and trouble at the border crossing. So safe to say we were really looking forward to it! On our last afternoon in Vietnam we spotted some whole BBQ'd dogs on the side of the road, from teeth to tail. Definitely not the hot dogs we are used to seeing back hom...

A few days ago we set off from our Homestay for a trip to Halong Bay and Monkey Island. It took about 3 hours on the bus to reach Halong Bay City, where we arrived at our boat and checked into our cabin. It was surprisingly luxurious! We had a spacious room on the second deck with panoramic windows, a huge ensuite and a private balcony. After lunch with the rest of the group, we arrived at the picturesque Halong Bay. As we expected, there were plenty of ot...

A happy hello from Hanoi! After a bumpy first day including a delayed flight and our hostel overbooking, meaning we had to stay in a dodgy prison-like twin room in a hotel round the corner for our first night, we are now thoroughly enjoying Hanoi. When we stepped off the plane, we were shocked by the weather - the drop in temperature to around 20 degrees feels huge and we've had to wrap up! We're staying in the Old Quarter of the city, which has a great feel ...