So after much deliberation at the Vietnamese border, from the border control staff, we finally got to leave Vietnam. They didn’t seem too happy about my emergency passport but in the end gave me a piece of paper saying I could leave. We then drove the 5 minutes to the Laos border control. Again I got the disgruntled look about the passport however we had already had our visa for Laos so the process was much easier. We must of paid around 5 different types of charges including a 10000 kip (£1) overtime fee as it was a Sunday. After passing through the border we got back in the taxi (no buses due to Tet 🤦‍♀️) and after a short while we arrived at Muang Khoa.

The next day we took a boat to Nong Khiaw our first stop in Laos. This boat was meant to take 5 hours but took around an extra two hours which in South East Asia this is a common occurrence for all transport. Along the river they have built a dam so we had to get off and transfer to another boat. However there was a lot more people that needed to get on this boat. Of course the only normal solution was to get a meat knife and start hacking the chairs out and bashing the nails down so more people would fit in. Eventually a very cramped ride later we arrived. As we get off I find out that my bag has been laid in a puddle on the floor- cue a grumpy Jess with a very wet bottom from carrying a wet rucksack. My grumpiness soon disappeared though as my clothes that were inside bags in my rucksack had survived the wet! We then went for a walk to discover the sunset and for a bite to eat.

The next day we had booked a tour to go see some local villages, a waterfall and then kayak down the river. Our first stop was a village with only 200 people, we saw the school and how the locals lived. One little boy followed us around, we found out he has some kind of learning difficulty and therefore doesn’t go to to school as they didn’t see the point. Unfortunately although provision for the disabled people in these countries has improved it still has a long way to go.

We then hiked to the waterfall the scenery was so beautiful more impressive for me than the actual waterfall. When we reached the top we had some food on a banana leaf. Whilst we were dubious at first as it had been in our guides rucksack for most of the day in the 30°+ heat it tasted good.

We then got to Kayak down the river we spent two hours kayaking until we reached the end as the sun was setting.

The next day we spent the morning relaxing before we hiked up the Phadeng peak for sunset. When we arrived there was warning sign about unexploded bombs, sticking to the path was a must. After a very exhausting and hot hike up we got to see a pretty spectacular sunset. We then hiked back down with our head torches on and as it was away from any lighting we got to see a full sky of stars.

Luang Prabang

My favourite city, with a french feel to it. The atmosphere was calm yet busy and the people were very friendly. We met up with our friends Dave and Stacey and had a lovely dinner with great company.

During our time here we went to Kuang Si waterfall. The waterfall was so pretty with a blue colour. We hiked up to the top of the water fall and discovered some of the area and walked to the springs. When we came back down we decided to have a swim in the waterfall. Not of course without Chinese tourists taking photos of us (we seem to be a tourist attraction for some Asian tourists as this hasn’t been a one off occasion). However aside from that the waterfall was refreshing. It also housed some bears that had been rescued as they are poached and killed for their bile and paws for use in Chinese medicines.

We also saw Mount Phu Si and the Royal Palace museum, they were both interesting and added more to our Laos experience. I even found a Saturday Buddha- the day that I was born (I’m reminded of a story that when I was born my grandad got brought baby shopping instead watching the the Final of the FA cup).

Vang Vieng

This town had more of a party vibe which is a shame as tourism is spoiling the town but I guess fun for those looking to party. We spent our time here tubing down the river. When planning this trip I pictured this as a relaxed experience stopping off at bars down the river and relaxing. It was more of a glorified pub crawl but with lots of drunk people in and out of the water. We had a good night however and the tubing was definitely entertaining. We spent the rest of the time relaxing and soaking up the sun and again meeting Dave and Stacey for Mexican this time!

Vientiane

We have spent the last 2 days of our time in Laos here before crossing the border into Thailand. We have been to the night market and had a cute little valentines date. We of course ate the British eat and had fish and chips and beer.

We have spent today visiting the Buddha park and the COPE centre. The Buddha park was fun and different a big exhibition of different buddhas each telling their own story.

The COPE centre was a real eye opener for me and again hit home about the devastating impact the war had on innocent people. It still is having a massive impact to this day with many people dying or being injured due to UXO (unexploded bombs). Children are collecting scrap metal from the bombs to sell for money to help their families without questioning the fact it could explode. The COPE centre is a organisation that supports people getting prosthetics mainly due to bombs but also other accidents or disabilities.

We now are going to cross the border into Thailand tomorrow, meaning we only have just over 2 weeks left of our trip.

Next blog post will be of Thailand. Bye for now x

This will be the last blog post for my time in Vietnam. We have been here 2 months and I’ve loved every minute. Everything has been an adventure (including writing this post being squashed into 16 seater minivan with 19 other people including their luggage).

The first place I shall talk about is Hanoi we made several trips here to commute to other places and to get an emergency passport and visas sorted. Sorting out a passport and 2 visas was relatively straight forward but time consuming and was a bit of a faff. It involved 2 trips to the British Embassy, around 5 trips to the Laos Embassy and 3 trips to the travel agency who dealt with our Vietnamese visas. The whole process took around 8 days. However we didn’t wait around in Hanoi too long as we visited Cat Ba island in between this.

During our time in Hanoi we had some great food, Vietnamese and western (including McDonald’s and an amazing Pizza at Pizza 4P’s).

We ventured to train street which is literally in the name. It is a narrow street that is home to a train track running through the middle. The train runs twice a day and fits snuggly when coming through the street.

We visited a night market which had a lovely vibe. They had closed the streets off around the market. So first of all it was a relief not to feel like you might get hit by a motorbike every 2 minutes. Second of all, there were so many people playing games and socialising it was lovely to see.

We also went to a water puppet theatre. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before but I was mesmerised. The puppeteers are very talented and control the puppets by wooden sticks in the water.

Whilst the city showed us some exciting things it is much to hectic and fast paced for me. Anybody who knows me knows that I like to go at my own pace.

So we move on now to Pu Luong- the place that’s known as mini Sapa without the tourists. We found this to be very true, only bumping into around 10 other tourists whilst we were out. The village had an unspoilt feel to it. The villagers were very welcoming with every single person that we went past either waving or shouting hello (it almost makes you feel like a celebrity)!

During our time here we hiked around the village (14km) saw a waterfall and got to soak up the scenery whilst reading. We even went for a walk one night and a family invited us in to their home to have food. We were served rice, cabbage, pork and bacon bits (I’m calling them bacon bits but in reality I think it was finely chopped fat 🙄). It was lovely not to be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. We got the true feel of rural Vietnam.

After our peaceful stay in Pu a Luong we headed to Sapa. We got a 5 hour bus back to Hanoi then a night bus at 9:10pm to Sapa. The roads were so windy to get to Sapa so between this time and 6am I managed around 1 hours sleep. The night buses aren’t built for tall people (me being 5’7 which isn’t exactly tall) so you spend most of your time with awkward leg space.

We arrived in Sapa and got a taxi to Ta Van a local village. The 10km journey took around 30 minutes due to the shocking condition of the road but we made it safely. During our stay here we hired a motorbike to get into Sapa town. After driving on the road back to Sapa I can now successfully say I’ve mastered off road motorbiking! Our first stop was to the bus station to try and get a ticket to Laos. My emergency passport stipulates that I needed to cross the border on the 3rd of February. We were out of luck however and could only get a bus to Dien Bien Phu which is 30km to the border due to the celebration of the new year. So we purchased that with the thought we would sort something in DBP.

The next day we hired a motorbike and drove around Sapa and to Lai Châu which is a local town 70km from Sapa. The scenery was amazing. The traffic on the roads, less so, the bus and lorry drivers seem to think that the whole road is theirs. We also saw many motorbikes carrying cut off bits of trees which we think may have some significance during the celebration of Tet (new year) on the 5th of February.

When we arrived in Dien Bien Phu we were disappointed to find out there was no buses to Laos due to Tet but we weren’t surprised. We did successfully manage to find a taxi that would take us across the border. With much debate at the Vietnamese border control we managed to leave the country!!!

I shall write about this in my next blog. Cheers

X

These two places have to be up on the top list of beauty spots in Vietnam. Oh and the most tiring! Despite my generally low levels of fitness we still managed to climb all the stairs and hike to some amazing viewpoints.

Tam Coc

We decided to stay in Tam Coc due it’s more countryside feel, as opposed to Ninh Binh which was around 7km away but more like a small city and not a lot of natural beauty surrounding it.

We arrived in Tam Coc at around 4:30am on a sleeper bus from Phong Nha, this bus had to be the smelliest trip I’ve had to date 🤢 but nonetheless we got there safely. When we got off the bus Tash directed us and I sleepily and slowly followed. We found our homestay only to find the gates locked despite the owner saying they wouldn’t be. So at 5am in the morning we scaled the fence, Tash first as I passed our bags over to her. 30 minutes and half a pack of Oreos later the owner awoke and showed us to our room where we could take a much needed sleep.

We spent the rest of the day getting refreshed after 24 hours of activities in Phong Nha and travelling. In the evening we ventured to a restaurant called Chookies which had a fire pit. We returned to be invited into the owners home for some birthday cake as it was his daughters 8th birthday.

The next day we decided we wanted to go on the boat tour of the Trang An grottoes. It didn’t disappoint, the water in places was so still it reflected like a mirror and the whole place was peaceful. We bought our tickets and was directed to a small boat with an older woman rowing us (we did our bit too and got the oars out to row). We chose to see the 9 caves and 2 temples. The caves were small and we had to duck our heads in places to avoid being hit by the limestone stalactites. When we left the mouth of the cave the reflection was amazing from the water. We kept seeing little birds disappearing from the surface to go under water. Despite the weather which was a bit misty but unavoidable at this time of the year it still looked beautiful almost mysterious. Also it means that tourist season is low so we got to explore without the hoards of people.

After this we then drove the 60km to the Phat Diem Cathedral, this was pretty but as it was dusk we didn’t get to soak in the full sight. There was a service on so it was nice to just sit and listen. As much as I do not believe in religion I can respect it and understand other people’s need for it. On the way to the cathedral I spotted one of the many ways to transport a family on a motorbike, look at the little boy hiding on the bike.

The next day we had a busy day and covered 14km and 70 flights of stairs. We first visited the bird valley. A little nature reserve that had caves, bird spotting and a (unimpressive) 1000 year old tree. We first went in the mermaid cave and spent the time walking through it crouching. It was good though as we were the only people there so we were left to explore on our own. After the cave we had a walk around the park and spotted the 1000 year old tree, it looked half dead and it was very small, there was just a man watering all the dead branches.

We then went to a cave on the way back, it was 500 steps up but again deserted so we got there views and cave to ourselves. Which is kind of a good thing as I now resembled a tomato!

We then went to Bích Dong Pagoda, another climb into the mountains to see the pagoda nestled within.

After this we went to Bai Dinh temple, the largest in south east Asia and only built in 2010. I found the temple fascinating, for me it was the rows of stone monks each one different, there was hundreds of them. The temple was in many buildings the main ones containing the huge gold statues of Buddha, the carvings so intricate and beautiful (photos were banned inside the main temples).

The day after was our last day in Tam Coc but probably my favourite. We first went to the Hoa Lu ancient city whilst it was pretty I didn’t see the hype and would have missed it. The next part of the day is my highlight! We went to the Mua cave (we didn’t see the cave but climbed to see the viewpoint and the lying dragon mountain). Tash drove until we got to the off-road bit. Despite my lack of coordination skills I seem to tackle off-road driving pretty well. When we go there it was a 500 step hike to the top but the views just blew me away. I enjoy the feeling of being on top of a mountain. You get a birds eye view.

We then had to leave Tam Coc to get back to reality and head to Hanoi to sort my emergency passport out (this will come in a later blog).

After our ventures in the city (which we will have to return to several times due to passport and visas) we decided to head to Cat Ba island. Another national park, another beautiful place. We had to take a bus then a ferry and another bus. Tash managed to document the true reality of travelling in the below picture 🙄

During our time here on one day we hired bikes (mine making some debatable rattling sounds) and explored the National park. We went to the Hospital Cave which was interesting to see and to think that only 40 years ago it was in use. It was advised to go through the cave with a guide but due to it being low season there were no guides around. The cave was over three floors and was actually very warm in there.

We then drove to a bay then the National park, where we did some more hiking but we were rewarded with some great views.

We also spent the rest of the day driving round the island which was beautiful but incredibly cold. We managed to document what idiots we looked like in order to keep warm!

After a good sleep we had an early start for a boat tour. We were first met by our crazy tour guide called Ryan. Everything was funny to him he sounded like a Hyena. We went to monkey island first which in the name was full of monkeys. We climbed to the top to see the view over monkey island but it took soo long as an older bloke in our group decided to go up in flip flops then got stuck! When we returned the the bottom there was lots of Chinese tourists feeding the monkeys and teasing them. The children were running away from them. One boy who had been teasing a monkey ran away with the monkey chasing him but then ran and fell into the sea fully clothed, backpack and all. It was quite comical.

After this we went on the boat to Lan Ha bay and had the opportunity to go swimming, it was only around 17° but why not! I jumped from the roof of the boat into the water getting salt water up my nose. I then decided to swim to one of the secluded beaches. The scenery was so beautiful.

We then went past pencil island.

Then we went to a quiet part of Ha Long Bay and went kayaking. Before we got in the Kayak Ryan showed us this 80kg fish and was feeding it with his feet…

We then got into the kayaks and kayaked around Ha Long bay. The scenery was beautiful, the currents were a bit more testing. After getting swept away by the current multiple times trying to pass through a cave and a strained relationship we finally got the hang of it. Try kayaking for a team building exercise. Through one cave we were gliding through until someone crashed into us and we managed to get stuck on the rocks. We then reached the part where Ryan showed us the part that James Bond Tomorrow Never Dies was filmed.

We then sailed around the bay and looked at the fishing villages and the part where The new King Kong was filmed. The day was very good!

When we got back we had a drink with the other people on the tour then the 4 of us went to find the sunset. We climbed up and managed to find a great sun, we also got to explore some bunkers from the war too. We ended to night on a few beers (quite a few).

The next day we went to the beach, and to the cannon fort which is quite literally a fort with cannons on. It offers the best views over Cat Ba so we got to watch another sunset.

We now have headed back to Hanoi to sort Visa’s!

Bye for now!x

So on the 2nd we left Hoi An for a few days of luxury for Tash’s birthday.

Da Nang

In Da Nang we visited Ba Na hills which is where the Golden Hands Bridge is. We rented some motorbikes which were in great condition and amazing to drive.

In this process however we discovered that Tash’s visa was missing (just our luck). The weather wasn’t on our side either, we did know this as we had come in the winter season. We decided that we would still visit despite the weather as we really wanted to see it. When we arrived at Ba Na hills we took the cable car up to the top which offered some great views.

As we got further and further to the top the more mist and fog we saw. We ended up not being able to see a few metres in front of us. When we got to the bridge we braved the weather and got slightly wet in the process. We still had plenty of laughs as well as the typical expectation vs reality experience.

We then returned back to our hotel in the now, miserable rain. We had managed to hit rush hour traffic though and there was motorbikes coming in all directions. It’s kind of like a battle of who dares wins and a game of ‘chicken’. We made it though, even after getting considerably wet!

The next day – Tash’s birthday! We had a lovely day which started with a trip to the immigration office to try and sort out Tash’s visa. We then had a spa day which involved getting massaged, scrubbed, wrapped in this oatmeal liquid that left me smelling like ready brek and a facial. The spa even surprised her with a beautiful cake!

That evening we got to put on our tailored outfits from Hoi An and have a few cocktails, wine and a delicious meal.

The 5th of January, we spent the afternoon by the infinity pool in our hotel soaking up the views. We even managed to get in the freezing cold pool but we were glad of some nice fluffy towels when we got out! We then took a train to Hue.

Hue

Hue is the city of tombs and the Imperial City. We first visited the tomb of Tu Duc it is built for the Nguyễn Emperor Tự Đức and took three years to build from 1864–1867. It is in a large area and also has the tomb for his wife and son.

We then had some really tasty Vietnamese cuisine at Madam Thu’s restaurant. There were seven different dishes (which you can see on the menu). My least favourite was probably Banh Nam- the rectangular dumpling as the consistency was like savoury jelly. The rest of the dishes were so good!

The next day we woke up bright and early to ride Hai Van Pass. It was around 1:30hrs away from Hue but definitely worth the trip. The Hai Van pass is a road that leads from Da Nang to Hue. The roads are fun but can be dangerous in bad weather and if you don’t take care, and the scenery is simply stunning. This is one highlight of the trip so far!

Pictures do not do this justice! On the route we managed to find a local restaurant that served the prawn spring rolls still with their heads and tails. We also found a pagoda with a giant Buddha on a hill.

The next day we planned to leave for Phong Nha Ke Bang, but not before we explored the Imperial City. The outside of the wall was more impressive at night time as the walls had a colour lightning show.

The inside of the City however was impressive in the day time. Having been extensively damaged by all the war in Vietnam it has been mostly restored. Inside it has many monuments and places to visit and is huge! We spent 3 hours there but could of spent longer! But we had our bus to catch at 2pm. We grabbed pizza and off we went!

Phong Nha Ke Bang

This is one of the places I was most looking forward to visit due to its nature and natural beauty. It definitely did not disappoint. This is also one of the places where we’ve had a barrel of laughs.

We stayed in a homestay along the riverside with this view.

During our time here we have visited caves, zip-lined, swam, kayaked, went in a mud bath, became duck leaders, rode a motorbike and then subsequently fell off on an incredibly muddy dirt track road and drove around the national park.

We started by doing a day tour of the Paradise cave, the dark cave and the botanical gardens. The driver picked us up at 9am and we went to the botanical gardens. A beautiful place which would of been more fulfilling if we had time to explore. However we had a busy day ahead!

We then headed to the Paradise cave. This cave is incredibly beautiful and was only opened to the public in 2010, despite it being 31km in length only the first 1km is open to the public. The cave was first discovered in 2005. We first had to walk up many flights of stairs (which made me realise I really need to get back to the gym)! This resulted in us being very sweaty 🤷‍♀️

However, the walk was worth it when you got to see inside the cave, pictures do not do any of the national park justice. It truly is a beautiful place.

We then went and had our BBQ lunch along the river where we would soon be heading into the dark cave. The food was so tasty! It was served on a big tray on banana leaves, it was bbq chicken and pork.

After lunch we headed to get changed for the zip-line. It was rather strange getting a harness on over a bikini! After we were strapped in we walked up the tower to zip-line to the main part of the cave. I was second it was great. When we all got to the dark cave we swam across in the very cold water to a bit where we walked with our head torches through to another bit of water. As we were swimming I bashed my foot on multiple rocks I could see! We then walked through a narrow part of the cave until we reached the mud bath and by which point I’d managed to cut my hand of the rock wall. We walked into the mud bath and it was very slippery. The further you walked in the higher the think gloopy mud got. We covered ourselves in mud (apparently it’s meant to be good for the skin) then rinsed in the muddy water on top. When I was time to leave the mud cave we had to then crawl through a muddy tunnel to get back out. Me and Tash were the last two out so I’m kinda glad it was only Tash that had full view of my bum and not a total stranger 😂.

We then came out of the dark cave and kayaked to the river side where there was another zip line but this time you held on then dropped into the water. I failed miserably on my first attempt dropping into the water instantly, on my second I fared pretty well and managed the full length. All in all the tour was fantastic.

The next day we went to visit Phong Nga cave which you had to get to by boat. It was an equally beautiful cave. It was discovered in 1899 and was used as a hospital during the American war in Vietnam. It was opened for tourism in 1995.

After this we went to a place called the Duck Stop. After stumbling upon it on trip advisor which it’s fantastic reviews we thought we’d give it a ago. We got a motorbike and headed to the place with is in Bong Lai valley which is one of the poorest areas in Phong Nha. The trip there was enough laughter for us already as it was along a muddy dirt track road. We were on a bike suitable for city driving. We slid everywhere and at one point slid over… all unharmed and with lots of giggles in the process. When we made it there we had some delicious food and were greeted by the children in the family run business. Their English was fantastic. We decided to go for the duck experience. During this the ducks are from our hands, we got to be duck leaders (we got them to follow us and control them) and they are from our feet which in my experience wasn’t the best as it was too ticklish. On the whole the experience was the strangest thing I’ve ever done but we couldn’t stop laughing so what more could you ask for…

On our last day in Phong Nha we took a motorbike bike around the national park and soaked in the scenery. Phong Nha is just a beautiful place and I have loved every minute of it.

Our last stop was to the 8 ladies cave. During the war in the 70s, four men and four women were trapped in a cave after they had been repairing the road and bombs were being dropped. One bomb had caused a giant rock to block the only entrance to the cave and instantly killed 5 soldiers that were near the cave. Despite their cried for help after 8 days rescue crews could not save them and the unfortunately died. We paid our respects and lit an incense.

We are now on a sleeper bus on the way to Ninh Binh, as you can tell from our faces we aren’t impressed. The stench coming from the toilet is particularly strong!

Until next time!x

We arrived in Nha Trang on the 20th of December ready for celebrating Christmas here. Unfortunately on the day we arrived we had some bad experiences with motorbike taxis. Tash had some money taken and I had my bag stolen by a drive by grabbing, it contained my passport, visa, money and bank cards. However, we were both unharmed and lessons were learnt. P.S thanks mum for applying for an emergency passport for me!

However onwards and upwards we were determined to not let it spoil our trip. We have spent the the last 2 weeks with it raining the majority of days but with the trusty pack-a-Mac (also thank you mum) I have stayed relativity dry when going out and about.

We spent a few days visiting old Cham ruins, doing some shopping on the markets and visiting Buddha on the hill. I definitely feel like I’m getting the hang of haggling. A smile and laugh go a long way in persuading the market sellers to agree to the price you want to pay.

On Christmas Eve we managed a chilled day and a night out in the evening. The reason we chose to come to Nha Trang for Christmas was the mud baths. 100 egg spa was our choice. We arrived on the drizzly Christmas Eve to 100 egg and were bombarded by bus loads of Chinese tourists. We were the only western tourists there. We decided to go for the egg mud bath and herbal mineral bath for afterwards. When we got to our egg it was filled up with warm liquid mud. It felt like bathing in warm chocolate milk, an odd sensation. After 20 minutes we were then taken to our herbal bath which smelt amazing (not exactly sure what it did for our skin). We then treat ourselves to a foot massage which was also an experience that was slightly painful but clearly worked.

We then returned back to our hotel rang family and got ready to go out. We had got chatting to a person from North Korea called Neo a few days earlier who suggested we should go to Skylight bar which offered views over the city and was hosting a Christmas Eve party. We partied into Christmas Day with a lovely group of people and a little too much alcohol.

Christmas Day arrived and I was nursing a slight hangover, however the sun had come out to play. This made the day for me as sunshine makes me happy. We went for our Christmas dinner at the Sheraton hotel which was a posh hotel (got to have a little bit of luxury). We had a buffet dinner which was delicious. Afterwards we took a stroll along the beach to soak in the sunshine. We managed a 10k walk back to our hotel along the beach front.

We ended Christmas Day with a pizza 🤷‍♀️.

Boxing Day we managed to find a Christmas afternoon tea before we took our 10hour train to Hoi An for New Year. It was nice to have a little bit of England served in the style of afternoon tea (which is one of my favourite things at home). At 8pm we boarded our night train to Hoi An, I managed to get a few hours sleep. It was great travelling with the local Vietnamese people as you feel like you are involved in their culture.

The temperature has dropped significantly over the past few days- we have gone from 31° heat to around 37° humidity to around 20°. Although this may sound warm still, we have had to don the trousers, long sleeve tops and coats. The amount of rainfall we’ve had recently has caused the river to flood in Hoi An.

Hoi An is a beautiful place as is definitely on my top 5 recommenced list. On our first nights we wondered around Hoi An old town. There is a burst of colour from all the lanterns and shop holders stalls.

In our homestay we could use their bicycles so one day we decided to bike to An Bang beach. Of course it was raining and cloudy but nonetheless we were at a beach.

We spent a few days cycling around the town and getting used to the Highway Code of Vietnam. (Green light means go, red light means go if you don’t want to wait, always look out for the people in front of you don’t worry what’s behind you, there is no right of way). We visited The Japanese Covered Bridge which we weren’t too impressed by.

We also went on an Eco tour with our friends Dimi and Georgia who we volunteered with in Cambodia who happened to be in Hoi An at the same time as us. The Eco tour involved a trip to the market and a trip to the local fishing places on a boat. We first went in the smaller circle fishing boats and went through the local water ways and fished for crabs. I managed to catch a crab! Our boat man also made us a ring from palm leaves.

We then went on a local fishing boat and had a turn throwing the net. I failed miserably at this I’m not the most coordinated person and my brain didn’t tell my both my hands to let go only one but nevertheless third time lucky I managed to throw it! 🤦‍♀️

After this we went on a 3 hour mindfulness/meditation/yoga/writing course. This was great and made you focus on goals that you want to achieve for 2019. The 3 hours went by very quickly.

During our stay in Hoi An we also went to get some clothes tailor made, I struggle to find trousers to fit me so went for a top and trousers suit. I love it so much and it fitted perfectly so thank you to Bi Bo tailors who made, fitted and altered this in 2 days.

Finally was New Years Eve a big event in my family so I was looking forward to celebrating in style. We managed to dance the night away in the street and watch the fireworks at midnight. I also managed to see the new year in with my family on video chat so all was good. Hoi An was a fantastic place to celebrate new year, it was a great vibe, friendly, safe and exciting.

We now have moved to Da Nang for another celebration,Tash’s birthday.

Bye for now x

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh formally Saigon on the 13th of December. We went for a walk and discovered the busy city. There is traffic everywhere! We went to get some much needed food and decided to treat ourselves to some much needed western food. We went to a place called Marcels and had burgers.

The next day we visited the Cu Chi tunnels and to an art museum which employs disabled people as a result of the wars in Vietnam. It was very interesting and great to see how innovative the Vietnamese were during the wars.

During our visit in Ho Chi Minh we also visited Ben Thành market a very large market with lots of stall holders that try to rip you off. We then got a very expensive taxi ride to the war museum. The museum which documents the 60 years of wars. It was quite harrowing especially the part that documented the aftermath of the Napalm and agent orange bombs. These caused many genetic mutations throughout generations of a family. We also visited the post office. We then experienced our first sleeper bus trip to Mui Ne in which we arrived there around 1am.

We arrived in Mui Ne and had another trip on a motorcycle with our things to the hostel. Luckily the hotel served food 24/7 so we got to have a very late tea.

Mui Ne is one of my favourite places in Vietnam so far purely for its beach and beautiful scenery. We had a few days topping up the tan and spending some days on the beach, trying not to get attacked by sandflies. I went in the very rough sea which just involved getting hit by waves as opposed to swimming.

We also went a tour which took us to the white sand dunes, the fairy stream, a fishing village and red sand dunes. We woke up at sunrise and went to the white sand dunes in our own car. When we arrived we got a quad bike to the top, we were greeted with a beautiful but once again cloudy sky.

We then visited the fairy stream, this was my favourite place. I loved the mix of the red and white sand creating a two tonal effect. I even got to make a face with the sand, my is the darker coloured one.

The last stops were the fishing village and the red sand dunes and of course we had to get the typical tourist photo.

Next stop is Nha Trang for Christmas and Hoi An for New Year!

So Monday morning arrives on the 3rd of December, our visa runs out for Cambodia and starts in Vietnam. We have a bit of a lazy morning until we check out at 12. The reality of how heavy our bags are and having to carry them for 3 months is starting to kick in. 5 months of all my belongings fitted into a rucksack that weighs 25kg, ouch.

We check out and walk the 5/10 minutes to the bus stop where they are going to collect us at 4 o’clock. We ask if we can leave our bags there which we could luckily so we headed out to get some lunch. A couple of hours later and lots of chatting we had chance to grab a desert before we caught the bus. I had banoffee pie and ice cream. The bus arrived a little after 4 to take us to the boarder, by a man that knew little English.

The journey to the boarder which took about 45 mins was uneventful until he dropped us right at the boarder told us to get our bags by gesturing then drove off with us still being around 20 minutes drive to our destination. All the while the Vietnamese boarder control officials where shouting at us to hurry up and move onto passport and visa control. We passed through with no issues having already secured a 3 month visa before arrival. However, after passing through the boarder we had the slight problem of how we were going to get to the hotel with no Vietnamese money. After 10 minutes a minibus turns up and tells us to get in. What the company had failed to tell us what that we would be getting another bus at the boarder. We eventually arrived at our hotel, left our stuff and went to find food, we settled on vegetable noodles which were very nice!

The next day we got a ferry to Phu Quoc island. The ferry left at 1:45 so we headed out to get brunch. We each ordered eggs and sausage with bread. What turned up was eggs sausage a bit of fish in a tomato sauce. Tasty but interesting…

We then got to Phu Quoc around 2 hours later. We found a minibus that would take us to our hostel. However it dropped us off about a 10 minute walk from the property. This would of been ok if it wasn’t for our baggage and 30° + sweltering heat. When we got to the hostel (very sweaty) the owner was so lovely and welcoming, and what’s better, we each had a king size bed for the small price of $7 a night. That night we ventured out for some lunch and caught up on the diaries. The next day we hired motorbikes but with a small catch, only one turned up, so here’s to two people on a motorbike. Tash drove this day as I had never carried a passenger before. So I jump on the back and we go to explore the island. After getting slightly lost and ending up in the harbour. We eventually ended up at our destination, we went to the old Vietnamese prison which documented the terrors that happened there during the war.

We then headed to Bai Sao beach, this beach was on the other side of the island from where we were staying. We didn’t stay long though as we wanted to head to the pagoda. The pagoda was a stunning place which was so peaceful.

We then took a trip to the night market, here we experienced our first lot of street food. It was so tasty, we had a hot dog, Vietnamese pizza and some spring rolls. Oh and some ice cream to finish, yum.

The next day was the turn for me to drive. So Tash hopped on the back and off we went. It was strange at first but I then got used to it, to the point where I forgot she was there. We headed to the Suoi Tranh waterfall. The waterfall was pretty and peaceful, it wasn’t flowing very much but we did decide to come in dry season! We walked to the top and had a very refreshing swim.

After this we went to the beach it was a beautiful afternoon, it was definitely strange seeing a Christmas tree on the beach. We watched the sunset and of course the cloud that covered it!

When we got back to the hostel we had booked a cooking class. We learnt how to make fresh spring rolls. We had prawns, squid, and pork with lettuce, cucumber and sauce to dip it in, it was very tasty.

The next day we left the island to head to Can Tho (home of the floating markets). We caught the ferry to Rach Gia, a place we had planned to spend the night but decided to have an extra night on the island. From Rach Gia we caught a bus to Can Tho, not before a man tried to rip us off for a bus ticket. Research beforehand does really pay off. On Saturday the 8th we ventured to watch the sunset over the city and to find a boat tour for the next day to visit the floating markets. We headed to sky bar, got a cocktail and watched the sunset.

We then went to find a boat tour. We had read about hiring a boat from one of the local people rather than going on a guided tour with other tourists. So we headed to find one. We found someone who was half the price of a tourist boat but still lovely. We had to hand over half of the money up front which you could be wary about due to scamming. However it is part of trust on both sides. She made us take a photo with her. In which we definitely look like giants!

We then headed to get some street food. We got a sugar can drink, Vietnamese pizza and a crepe all of which was delicious.

Sunday morning we got up at 4:10am to be at the river front for 5am for our trip to Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets. We went with Rob who we met a night earlier who had lots of tips to tell us about the North of Vietnam. We arrived and was greeted by our driver who must of only been around 13 but knew the waters so well. It was still pitch black when we started to head to Cai Rang and we arrived there a little before dusk. Rash and Rob wanted a coffee so we told the driver and within minutes two boats had attached themselves to our boat and made the coffee. We drove around the market, the boats had poles with their products hanging on the end so you know what they are selling.

We then headed to a place that make rice noodle. It was great to see the process and how they use everything to make something work. They use the rice husks for the fire.

We then got to see the sunset on the way to Phong Dien. It was so beautiful. I liked Phong Dien market better, although it was small it seemed a lot more friendly. We also got part of a Mekong Delta tour with our trip as we got to go down all the canals, we also stopped off midway for lunch. It was a lovely morning.

On the way back the sun came out and I got a little burnt…oops.

On Monday we headed to Vinh Long , we caught a local bus to Vinh Long, with the motto of squash as many people on as possible. When we arrived we let our Home Stay which is on the island of An Bình in Vinh Long know we were here. They organised transport which involved a motorbike (there is no cars on the island due to the roads being so small) and a ferry. The motorbikes turned up and I hauled myself and my 25kg backpack on the back. We get to the car ferry and my driver insists on putting my backpack in between him and the handlebars. How we didn’t fall off was crazy, I praise his skill. I arrived at the Home Stay unscathed and went to the riverside to watch the sunset.

We spent the next day relaxing, eating, swimming, sunbathing and drinking. On Wednesday we had booked a place to stay in Vinh Long on the mainland. We said our goodbyes to Rob and then hopped on the motorbikes to go back. This time a little less traumatic.

When we arrived at the hotel we asked at reception if we could find anywhere to do a tour of the coconut candy making and the fruit orchards. She obviously called a friend because the next thing we are doing is going to a boat ready to do the tour. Our driver was lovely and so happy, he did his best to chat in English to us and explain things.

We first went to the candy making place. We got to see rice corn being made, happy juice (which is rice wine) and the coconut candy being made. The first was the rice corn, which he explained as a magic trick and the sand is ready to pop the popcorn at 170°.

We had a great guide who told us lots of information, especially about the rice wine. We particularly focused on the snake wine, which he said isn’t ready until 7 months as the snake venom can be deadly. He said only men can drink it because is makes them happy, the kind of excited happy. We got to taste a banana one the mixture is about 50% alcohol. It definitely burnt my throat!

We then also got to see the coconut candy.

Next we went to a honey farm, Tash held a comb with bees on but I kindly declined. I still have a slight phobia of wasps and bees ever since I walked into a wasp nest 7 years previously.

We then headed down the canal and the driver wanted to take a picture of us on the boat.

Along this canal was the fruit orchard. We got to eat lots of Rambutan a yummy fruit that looks a bit like a lychee. I wasn’t particularly keen on the other fruits as they like to eat a lot of fruit that isn’t quite ripe yet. However the orchard was great. The owner went round and got us some rambutan off the trees.

We also saw a Jack fruit of the tree which was huge. The Jackfruit isn’t very nice, it literally smells like a garage truck and tastes not much better.

After this boat trip we headed to the night market and tried to get food slightly unsuccessfully. I ended up getting a Bánh mì (a Vietnamese style sandwich). This was tasty, it was beef wrapped in seaweed. We then headed back to the hotel. We were going to head to Ho Chi Minh city the next day.

So far we’ve had a great adventure and we have only done a little snippet of the country. By the end of January we should be the furthest north of Vietnam.

Until next time!

Monday arrived after our fantastic week off and started another amazing week. After breakfast I sat and planned my lessons ready for that day. Whilst I was planning Jobi asked myself and Tash if we would like to go to the new school to help for a morning class at 12-12:45. So at 11 Jason (the director of the school) picked us up to go to the knew school on his motorbike. The three of us all managed to squash on his motorbike and off we went along the bumpy roads (the poor suspension).

We returned back to the school in the village ready for our 1 o’clock lessons. My 1 o’clock lessons is with Little Leprechauns a complete beginner class with lots of potential and amazing children- this week they worked particularly hard!

I then taught the Dizzy Dinosaurs- a complete beginner class with lots of cheeky personalities. After this I get a TukTuk to the new school and teach another complete beginner class with children from the ages of 3-11 (which can be quite a challenge) and a beginner class- a group of very intelligent teenagers.

After tea that night we went to Bits and played with a lovely little girl called Chi Van- her English was very good and again she loved taking selfies!

Tuesday- I went to the new school again in the morning whilst Tash went to the orphanage. This was followed by another day of lessons. My last lesson I taught plurals to my beginner class. We learnt about the s/es rule. They picked this up very quickly- however we focused on the pronunciation of the words. Whilst they are taught English in Khmer schools it is by Khmer speaking teachers so therefore we help significantly with their speaking.

After tea our usual football with the orphanage kids took place. After dropping Kong Kia off all the children hopped on. A new record was set for the amount of people on the Tuk Tuk. 24 people managed to squeeze onto the Tuk Tuk!

On Wednesday, Tash, Kev (a fantastic friend and volunteer with a heart of gold) and myself took a stroll to the temple in the village. A lovely place with a beautiful temple on the inside, however, we were only allowed in for 5 minutes before we were shooed our because the Monks were eating.

This was followed by another successful day of lessons. In my second lesson myself and Mike brought some clothes to the lesson to teach clothing. The children thoroughly enjoyed this!

On Thursday Jobi asked us if we would like to go and check on the ducklings we delivered to the two poorest families on the food bank. The first house we went to is the poorest families. This is the family who have no flooring (only a mud floor), no separate cooking area like they do in most poor families, bricks and wood for their bed, no running water, no proper sanitation. Some of the volunteers are currently fundraising to buy a concrete floor and money has already been put aside to build them are bridge as in rainy season access to their house floods. When we arrived all the ducklings were running around- we found that 15 of the ducks also hadn’t made it but the other 25 were doing really well! One of the children had also built a kite using wood and plastic bags.

After this visit we arrived at the second poorest families house. This is the house that myself and Kev delivered the ducklings to last week. This family have a concrete floor and a separate building for cooking but are still very poor, yet in comparison to the previous family they have a lot more. This family have only lost 3 ducklings so far!

That evening we decided we didn’t want a quiz. We wanted to join for the grand opening of the Palm Tree bar. This is Chantha’s bar, he is Jason’s brother and an interpreter at the school. He was very pleased and proud to have us there that night. We had a fantastic time and were plied with very strong cocktails and brilliant company!Thanks Chantha!

Our last day now arrived with lots of mixed emotions- we are wanting to explore more of the world but are sad to be leaving behind our little Hope family. We got to end our last Friday on fun Friday which was lovely. For my first two classes- little leprechauns and dizzy dinosaurs we did some arts and crafts. They were so absorbed (I’ve never known them so quiet) and of course I was given so many beautiful drawings. Sart- as the saying is in Cambodia which means beautiful.

Little Leprechauns.

Dizzy Dinosaurs.

Chack and Vanny- two amazing children!

It was then time to move onto the new school and my other two classes. These students pay a small fee to study so therefore I decided to play educational games with my younger class and the older class wanted to study still. It was nice to end my last lesson on teaching especially when the students gain so much.

My complete beginner class had lots of fun playing and they are growing in confidence everyday.

Sokchea- one of my youngest students- he’s 3.

My CB class at the new school.

My older beginner class I taught countries. They were disappointed when I told them I was leaving and said they had enjoyed their time with me.

I cannot forget my other beginner class the Leaping Leopards (a class I had to stop teaching to go to the new school).

We then headed back to school to finish packing and say our goodbyes ready for our next step of our journey. We said goodbye to Bit with our final farewell beer.

We said goodbye to many of our great friends ones that will stick with me forever and of course Jobi- the schools coordinator. He is the most hardworking, caring person I have ever met. He has a heart of gold and would do anything to help you out or make you more comfortable at the school. He deserves a huge well done for the job he does at school!

Whilst we were planning our trip we decided on 2 months in Cambodia- this time has flew by and had taught me so much in the process.

It’s taught me how to be humble, to appreciate the value of the opportunity I have. It’s easy to complain about the things you don’t have being a 1st world citizen. It’s not until you have the opportunity to go into the lives of people who have very limited resources like some of the families on the food bank that you realise the true value of proper sanitation, running water, food, cooking facilities, the health system, a bed, a house. All of these things we take for granted- it’s an expectation.

The children at the school have taught me the gift of happiness, they are happy no matter what. I decided to come travelling and to volunteer-yes to help others but mainly to get away from the same same of home life. It sounds cliche but being out here helps you- I knew the real me before coming out here I just didn’t know it, this experience has helped me realise this.

Cambodia and Hope School alongside some of the most amazing people I have met out here (you know who you are) will always have a place in my heart!

We have now headed to Kampot for our final weekend in Cambodia. We are having a weekend of relaxation (which involved a massage and pedicure) and meeting up with a lovely couple Mick and Doreen for some dinner before our next stop on Monday, Vietnam.

The next blog post will document our travels in Vietnam.

Bye for now Cambodia and Hope school 🇰🇭.

Here commences our week off, time for a holiday and to explore more of Cambodia.

We had originally planned to visit Koh Rong Sanleom (the island) Battambang and Siem Reap, however, after travelling to the island we realised that this was too much to do in one week. The state of the roads in Cambodia means that everywhere takes twice as long to get anywhere (I swear I will never complain about English roads again). The roads were also as equally as busy because of the Water Festival, a national holiday which meant everybody was travelling. Especially to Phnom Penh, the capital where the main celebration takes place. So we spent our week, visiting the island and Siem Reap (stopping off in Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh).

Koh Rong Sanleom

Our travels started on Saturday with a 5 hour journey to sihounoukville where we caught the ferry across to Koh Rong Sanleom. This worked well for us as we wanted to visit sihounoukville however had run out of time and had been given bad reviews. After arriving there we were glad we were only there for a few hours, it was far too busy, with a lovely beach but not a relaxing atmosphere. We bought our ferry tickets, had some lunch and waited to catch our speed ferry to the island.

We boarded the speed ferry to the island which took around 1hr to get there. Upon arrival we were greeted with beautiful views and quiet beaches. A piece of heaven.

We arrived and took a swim the water was so warm, we stayed in the water until sunset. The sunset made the water ripples turn purple and orange. Incredibly beautiful.

The next day we awoke at sunrise to see the sunset on the beach, despite the clouds (which were blocking the sun) it was still peaceful and another sight to see. Along with a cooler walk along the beach.

We spent the rest of the day soaking up the sun. Despite being out here for 2 months now, it’s either been too hot or no time to sunbath, so it was nice to top up what little tan I have!

In the late afternoon we ventured out to get a massage. We decided on a Khmer massage- this is a massage with no oil, whilst it was interesting to experience it was a good massage!

The next day was another lazy day (what a shock). It was a lot cooler and cloudier as we had had a thunderstorm the previous night, with spectacular lightning.

We headed out for lunch and got a cocktail and of course the stereotypical photographs on the beach. Our cocktails then somehow turned into shots as one of the bartenders offered us free shots (why not?).

We decided to take a walk through the forest (barefoot- what a stupid decision) to lazy beach, the part of the island that has the sunset. However, yet again we had no sunset- the swim was nice though. We ended the night by dancing on the bar and going for a swim at midnight to see the bioluminescent plankton.

Tuesday arrived and it was our time to leave the island (here commences the 12 hour travelling). 2 hours on a boat and 7 hours (a journey to Phnom Penh which usually takes 5 hours). We were stuck in traffic in Phnom Penh for 2 hours due to the water festival traffic! We arrived at 11pm met our friends from school and returned back to the hostel at 2:30am. 7am we were up for our bus to Siem Reap- another 7hr journey. We met up with Antoine again and his friend Sok Meng.

Siam Reap

We arrived in Siam Reap around 4:30pm on Wednesday. We were that tired we went to find food and was asleep by 9.

Thursday arrived and we set off to the National Museum which explained all about the temples of Angkor particularly Angkor Wat. We then went to the riverside to join in the celebrations, it was very busy but amazing to be part of the culture and to soak it up- especially in a place that isn’t tourist heavy (we were literally the only ones).

During the day boats race along the river and during the night candles are lit and sent along the river.

So the main part of our trip to Siem Reap arrived. The trip to Angkor wat. We decided to go for sunrise so 4am arrived on Friday morning and our TukTuk driver arrived at 4:50. We arrived at just before sunrise, found a tour guide who told us some great information and good photo spots. A fantastic experience that I would recommend.

The photos of the star and our heads are at the central point of Angkor Wat. After our visit here we then visited Bayon. Another temple of Angkor which had faces carved into the stonework.

After visiting many other temples- meaning we had around a 12 hour walk- equating to 15km in total. One of the other memorable temples was where they filmed Tomb Raider. A beautiful temple with many parts in ruin and trees growing on top of the temples.

When we finished around 4:30pm our TukTuk driver called us crazy for doing the amount of temples we did. He said usually people do them in 2/3 days. I would have to agree with him. 15km in 30° heat is not fun!

On Saturday we had a much needed lie in. Around 2pm we decided to go to the silk farm. This was very interested and made you realise how much hard work goes into it. (Also I now know silk is made from worms cocoons).

In the evening we met up with our friend Livia and her friend. We watched some traditional Cambodian dancing, had street food (I had chicken fried rice) and walked around the night markets. This involved several beers and some very successful bartering.

We then ended up on ‘Pub Street’, we had a fantastic night out with lots of dancing. However we didn’t learn from the middle of the week and returned home at 3am ready for our bus back to school at 7:30am!

We are now ready for one last week of teaching!

Bye for now!

Monday was the start of a busy but lovely week and marked the start of the opening of the new school. We left by TukTuk at 3 o’clock and the children arrived at 4. We got to know them and organised them into their classes. I’m in a complete beginner class with 4 years olds that know no English to 10 years who can speak a little English. I started with teaching the phonetic alphabet. Whilst they are taught the letter names in Khmer schools they aren’t taught the way we say the letters. I taught this with the actions (good old Jolly Phonics). We also did simple actions, numbers and colours. All of which the children loved!

Tuesday came and the day was filled with lots of learning and happy, smiling children. Even after 5 weeks I find it so heartwarming when the children are so happy to see you, which is normally followed by lots of cuddles. Tuesday evening was another orphanage football day, after taking Kong Kia and Ravi back to the orphanage, we picked up the children. We managed to squeeze 3 adults and 15 children on a TukTuk (a new record for me I think).

Wednesday saw the children bringing in lots of flowers the had been turn into bracelets and necklaces.

Myself and Tash were also given the job of buying sanitary products at the market that would be turned into packages for some of the girls at school and on the food bank.

Thursday was a very busy but fulfilling day. Myself, Jobi and Kevin got the opportunity to deliver some ducklings to the 2nd poorest family in the food bank. The whole package (40 ducklings, cage, feeders and food) cost £140. This enables the family to become more self-sustainable, the family can raise them, eat their eggs, breed them and then sell the adult ducks and repeat the cycle. A big shout out to one of our volunteers who donated the money for us to be able to do this. Hope Agency have also started to build a building just outside the school which will hopefully become the duckling project and therefore we will be able to breed ducklings for us to be able to help out more families in the village.

Upon our return to school we were greeted with more flower necklaces and spent the day teaching. After the teaching day, me and Tash took Ravi and Kong Kia home. We then returned for the villains and convicts quiz were we unfortunately had to say goodbye to lots of lovely people.

Friday was a lovely end to the week. Despite having to say good bye to lots of fantastic people. After teaching we said our goodbyes and sent them on their way.

During the day I received two gifts from the children. A bracelet from Chack, a lovely little boy in my second class (who is pouting the the photo) and a sandwich from one of the girls in my older class at the new school. The children melt my heart!

We now have a week off for the water festival week. Our ventures for the week include visiting Koh Rong Sanloem, Battambang and Siem Reap. Read about it in the next blog.

Bye x