The day today didn't start off as we had planned last night because Tom had decided to stay out drinking until late into the night and when we tried to wake him in order to go and collect our motor bikes I think he was still drunk. So it looks like it is just Eva and I that will be going out today.We went off to pick up our bike, Eva got an automatic and I went for a manual again. We agreed on the price of 100,000 Dong (£3.44) and would pay this amount on r...

Arriving in Hue, All I can say is what a bumpy ride it was last night. I had got to know a few people on the bus and Neil (English) and Nick (American) and his family were staying on the bus for a further 13 hours heading further south, I don't envy them one little bit. Tom (Irish) and Eva (German) were the only ones to get off in Hue that I knew, and as they hadn't got anywhere booked to stay, they came with me to the Hue Backpackers Hostel where I had...

This morning Quong met me for the last time at my hotel as it was my last day in Hanoi as I was booked on the overnight bus to Hue this evening, but Quong wanted to show me around the museum where he volunteered before I left. When we arrived at the museum, Quong showed his ID badge to the guard at the door and managed to get me in for free.The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology features a collection of art and everyday objects from Vietnam with maps, videos and dioram...

This morning I had a lay in trying to catch up on some of the lost sleep during the 3 days in Halong Bay, so I didn't leave the hotel until after 2pm, so I went for a walk around the city to some of the places in the Lonely Planet that I hadn’t seen yet.The first place I headed that was called The Memorial House, which was a restored traditional Chinese-style house that shows you how local merchants used to live in the Old Quarter. The house was quite ...

Today we were up as told at 7.30am for breakfast except for Rob and Sara who had decided to stay on Cat Ba Island for a few extra days to see some more of the island as we hadn't really had the time to explore it properly. They were going to catch the boat back another day and they tour guides had already confirmed that this was OK. I wonder who was looking after their pig at the hostel or whether there had been bacon for breakfast for a few days while I ha...