Toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball in canopy jungle the Odyssey group slip into Vietnam.
Oh hey hi out there so what news? Trust all is good. Have just heard that my eldest niece has just done brilliantly in her A levels so we are all needless to say very proud of her.
Ok so what news this end, well a fair bit actually so grab a coffee, get some cake...yeah you know what I am saying, settle in for a bit.
Last blog saw us still in Laid Back Laos. It was from here that we had to say goodbye to Calypso as she is not allowed into Vietnam. We, ok I, opted for the cross border bus. Not a bad sleeper bus, when it was running with the AC on so can someone please explain to me why they set a time for departure that sees us getting to the border so early that it is not yet open! They then turn engines and hence AC off for 4 hours. I mean come on people where is the common sense...ah ha that is it, never forget where you are! Come back Calypso all is forgiven!
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| Crossing the river |
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| Ben, river walking |
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| Refreshment, Laos-style |
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| Sally giving Mae Uak a cuddle |
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| Melissa and Mae Uak |
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| Elephant riding in Laos |
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| Sally swimming with and washing an elephant |
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| Colonial Luang Prabang |
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| The Arc de Triomphe, Vientiane style |
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| Golden temple, Vientiane |
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| Visiting the Nam Ou caves near Luang Prabang |
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| Up to the caves |
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| After all religions are gone, there I will be looking into the distance |
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| Typical Laos - Mekong scenery |
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| Temple time |
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| The ladies on tour |
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| Daily devotions |
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| Not your everyday view |
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| Belief |
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| Biker dudes and dudettes |
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| Monk in typical garb |
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| Laos temples |
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| Big Laos temples |
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| Sleeping Buddha in the Buddha Park, Vientiane |
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| Sleeping Buddha, gold styleeee |
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| Tuk tuk to bus station |
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| Only one way to survive... wine in a water bottle! |
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| CJ looking comfortable on the bus from hell... |
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| Ben, yet more prison practice |
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| Bus hell (yet still smiling... fun in adversity, all a matter of perspective) |
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| Colin settles in for a night on the bus |
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| The walk from Laos to Vietnam |
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| Come back Calypso - our chariot has a well-earned rest |
Anyway we passed through relatively easily and got to Vinh. A place about all I can say is it is on the road between Hanoi and Hue, enough said. Well suppose the showers in the hotel were pretty good after the torturous bus.
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| And we thought it was crowded on the bus... unique chicken transport |
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| Anyone need a hat? |
From there we hired our own 29-seater bus, perhaps made for smaller people who have no luggage, and headed north to the manic and brilliantly vibrant Hanoi. We normally stay in hotels but every now and then it is good to get back to basics and get into the travel scene. So in order to keep things upbeat and interesting we had booked into the massively busy, very central and totally funky Hanoi backpackers at 9 Ma May St. There were a few room issues but all in all a top spot, great place, where everyone had a great time. There was the BBQ with free beer one night, footie on the telly, lasagne that Steve had to admit got close to his home cooked one, loads of other travellers to talk to and of course all the great sites to see in Hanoi. A place that quite literally buzzes, check out the electrical wiring when you are in the old quarter, oh my god!
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| Audience in Vietnam |
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| Jim enjoying the burgers |
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| Roof top BBQ, with free beer - result! |
We split our stay here with a trip out to the UNESCO big boy Halong Bay. Think, nice warm ocean, brilliant food, I mean really tasty, private cabins, hell private boat, over 2000 islands dotted around, throw in some swimming, boat jumping, sundowners and there you have it. As we had not been before we opted for one night but would defo recommend two nights on board. We sorted through the hostel, they gave us our own boat and knocked $20pp off for us, result. Another great place, I mean my god it is so hard to explain all the great places we have seen on this trip.
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| Our Halong Bay boat - very well appointed |
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| Tender taking us out to Halong Bay boat |
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| On the tender |
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| Aoife and Sally onboard |
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| Jen and Lucy |
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| Denis and Ben jumping into Halong Bay |
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| CJ taking a leap |
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| Steve and Mels working hard at relaxing |
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| Limestone carsts, over 2000 of them! |
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| Bay sunset |
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| Bay food... simply divine |
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| Mandy & Lucy |
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| Zoe's leap of faith |
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| Jim, Denis and Lucy |
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| But will they all return?? |
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| Jim boards the small boat |
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| Wendy and Mandy |
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| Sundowners on deck |
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| Looking out into the bay |
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| The Bears |
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| Fishing village |
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| Kayaking |
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| More kayaking |
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| Jim, sunscreened up! |
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| Sea, sun and friends - does it get any better? |
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| Never forget where you are... |
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| Chill time |
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| Class sun protection |
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| Denis and Steve - the boys |
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| Halong Bay cave shot |
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| Time to get in! |
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| Halong Bay |
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| Halong Bay |
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| It really is a tough life... |
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| Our Halong Bay guide showing me up with smart clothes and a microphone... |
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| Halong Bay sunset |
I guess if you are reading this and wondering whether to go with Odyssey or not I would say do. Sure it has not all gone to plan, but maybe it has. The plan surely is to have the trip of a lifetime, tick, see some great sites, tick, meet great people, tick, have the most amazing time, tick....ok sales pitch over...just slipped that in as I am actually enjoying things so much have just asked Pete and Kirsten if I along with the ever reliable Mr Jim can run the Kathmandu to Istanbul trip next year, fancy coming? Well then get in touch with the office and sign up.
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| Jim and CJ |
Ok get back on track CJ, yeah so got back to Hanoi for another night before dividing to conquer the trip to Hue, our current locale. Now I know adversity helps bring out the best in people but that does not mean to say that you relish the moment of adversity, here read sleeper bus journey, which was again the option due to the distance of the trip to Hue. Please note here that we do normally hire our own transport and had not done so here as reckoned the sleeper would be more comfortable for such a long journey.
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| Jim looking pensive |
Anyway so a few of the guys opted for the train down whilst the rest of us took another beating on the sweaty sleeper from hell. Actually truth be told I found it ok, but then I was wedged on a sleep platform with three ladies (and Jim). Colin and Wendy also seemed ok but then they came prepared with a bottle of red wine. The long and the short of it is here we are. Hue feels tiny after Hanoi, a rather pleasant change of pace as we have three days here to potter around the town, its ancient tombs, citadel and river..delightful.
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| Desperate times call for desperate measures, the NZ sleep inducing potion as used on Vietnam buses |
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| There were 5 in the bed and the little one said... |
Everyone has bomb burst and is off doing their own thing but will meet up on the last day as we head out to the DMZ for what will I feel be a rather moving and sad tour looking at war sites and the infamous tunnels, reminding us of the recent turbulent history of the country. Maybe it will also make us realise, or at least remind us, just how lucky we really are, not just being here on the trip but in our lives in general. We really do have a wealth that is beyond the grasp of so many and we have so many opportunities. Sad thing is I am not sure we all see this. We look down not up, think negative not positive. The glass is half empty not full. Why do we do this?
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| Street seller |
But fear not let us not end with doom and gloom. Take a look at the photos and enjoy. Loads of smiling faces and happy times. Now that is what works for me...brilliant memories to bounce around in my head for the rest of my life...fantastic. Laters CJ
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| It has been a long trip, and people are starting to act strange, or is this normal? |
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