Now in Sydney. Good news - we've bought a campervan, a 2 year old 6 berth Winnebego that looks pretty good and it is fully kitted out.  Having touched down at 8:30 on 21 st Dec it was ours by 5:30 that same day. So the next phase of the journey is taking shape already and a really big, big thanks must go to Jean for meeting us at the airport, feeding us, and taking us down to Mona Vale to get the van. Interestingly where we bough...

Bangkok was warm and sunny, and very westernised compared to other places in SE Asia.  They even drive on the left hand side of the road, tho' it did take us a while to notice.  We were pleased with where we were staying in Khao San Road; the backpacker area had a real buzz and was very lively.  We were only staying in Bangkok for a couple of days in order to catch our flight to Sydney, so were determined to make the most of them.  Th...

Gosh it was cool when we arrived in Hanoi and it was real hat and gloves weather.  This is apparently typical, although it did warm up nicely as the week went on.  Hanoi was really great.  We loved the narrow, busy, motorbike-filled streets (and got really adept at weaving our way across the roads!) and the hustle and bustle of street sellers and shops full of everything.  We stayed in the old town, which is the most interesting part of the ci...

Just arrived in Hue by bus from Dalat to Nha Trang then overnight train. Update soon! Hue is renowned for it's wet weather and it's own peculiar climate, and it certainly rained while we were there.  However, it's also renowned as the ancient and royal capital of Vietnam.  After HCMC and Dalat we enjoyed getting back into some culture and less recent history. The Citadel and, more significantly, the Purple Forbidden City ...

Stopped for a couple of days in Dalat, a small town in the Central Highlands. It was a refreshing change from Ho Chi Min City, not just in terms of size but also climate (cooler and less humid but still lovely and warm) and topography (set in a mountain landscape, it reminded us a lot of the Italian lakes).  It's very famous in Vietnam for its strawberries and strawberry jam.  It's also known for it's wine.  We sampled all three and can...