After 25 hours on a bus we arrived in Saigon - this city is unlike anything else we've seen in Vietnam. The traffic is crazier, the noise is louder and overall it just feels more like a Western city than anywhere else in Vietnam. Audrey (a friend from Ireland for those of you who don't know her) was also in Saigon when we were there but unlike us she was staying in a very nice hotel so Gareth and I got all done up in our good clothes to meet her for breakfast ove...

Being the shopaholics that we are, no trip to Vietnam was going to be complete without some retail therapy and where better to indulge than in Hoi An with literally hundreds of tailors and cobblers fighting over who will get to make you custom made clothes and shoes! We indulged and set upon a stream of browsing through catalogues of styles, warehouses of materials and having every inch of our bodies measured all in search of the perfect item of clothing!And in t...

Another town, another day, another motorbike trip! Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty and by some miracle most of its tombs and historical sites weren't damaged or destroyed by the various wars Vietnam has fought. Aside from the usual traffic we also passed a lumbering elephant on our journey this time - we made sure to avoid him! We visited the Tomb of Emperor Tu Doc which was impressive but in ruins, which is fitting as the emperor had over 10...

After a long bus, boat, mini bus and then local bus journey we arrived in a town called Ninh Binh. The local bus was a pleasure as always with the conductor trying to force Gareth to sit in a smaller seat (he of course refused pointing to his long limbs that just don't fit) and then the stopping and screaming out the window at every tiny town, oh and of course lots of honking the horn for 5 long hours! Hiring a motorbike in Ninh Binh we set off to Tam Coc which...

Most people who know me well know that I am petrified of motorbikes but it seems that in Vietnam there really is no alternative mode of transport and in Cat Ba Island that is particularly true. This explains how I found myself clinging to Gareth on the back of a motorbike as we toured around Cat Ba Island - after a while once I relaxed and opened my eyes again I must say the scenery was worth it. The whole area of Halong Bay is famous because of the beautiful lim...