We had a great time on the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue. It was a 16 hour journey so we'd booked two soft sleeper beds in a 4-berth room. A couple we knew were staying in the room next to us but managed to swap so that we were all together. Result :-) Beers on the train were only 50p; we sank a few of those each and stayed up chatting until quite late. When we did eventually go to sleep we could lock the door on our room, which was quite handy as otherwise w...

On the morning of our trip to Halong Bay we checked out nice and early. As we paid we were told about the free breakfast that the hotel offers every morning. Not quite sure why that useful snippet of information wasn't passed on to us as we checked in, rather than when we checked out but better later than never I guess. After breakfast we were picked up and driven to Halong Bay in a minibus with 'Halong Bay Party Cruise - No Fun No Pay!' emblazoned across the sid...

Forget Kuala Lumpur, Phuket and Bangkok; the world's craziest traffic surely has to be in Hanoi. There are literally no gaps in between the cars, motorbikes and cyclists so you could easily spend 15 minutes waiting to cross the road if you're going to be all British and health and safety about it. After watching the Vietnamese we have learned that the best way is to inch forwards into the oncoming onslaught of traffic slooowly - giving it a chance to split in two...

We've been stuck in Vientiane for 4 nights, as the earliest flight we could get to Hanoi was on the 31st January. There's not a huge amount to do here so at first we were disappointed but we've not had a bad time for two main reasons: 1) the food here is delicious and 2) we have cable TV with HBO so there's been a good film on each night. In addition, the locals are lovely and there's a nice, relaxed vibe. It's certainly the calmest capital city we've visited! T...

On Tuesday 24th we went tubing in the Nam Song River with the couple we met on the way down from Luang Prabang. To tube the river, you have to each pay 55,000 kip (about £4.50) plus a 60,000 kip deposit. You are then driven 4km upstream and dumped by the roadside with a bright yellow rubber ring tucked under your arm. Most people buy a drink at the first bar before they even get their feet wet (guilty) then jump into their rings and head down the river. It is no...