Hanoi and Halong Bay

On Friday morning we had breakfast in Chiang Mai before taking aTuk Tuk to the airport for our 1 hour flight to Bangkok. At Bangkok airport we had four hours to wait until our connecting 2 hour flight to Hanoi in northern Vietnam so we wiled away the time with lunch, planning our Vietnam itinerary and perusing the hundreds of shops in the terminal. We landed at Hanoi airport at 8:30pm and went straight to the Vietnam Airlines desk to book some onward flights for next week to Hue and Ho Chi Minh City. It is so cheap to fly here that in our opinion it is hardly worth the discomfort of a 13-16 hour train or bus journey especially when it is overnight and you see little scenery along the way anyway!


With taxi scams in abundance at Hanoi airport we decided to take a private transfer to the city centre for a whopping $30USD (this is supposed to be a third world country!). After several changes of driver that left us feeling a little nervous we were taken 38km to the city centre to our hotel, smack bang in the old quarter by Hoan Kiem lake. There was a foggy haze to the air and as we approached Hanoi centre it was an instant eye opener. The city has what we would describe as a delapidated French colonial look and it was completely chaotic with people everywhere and narrow roads absolutely jam packed with tooting mopeds crazily zig-zagging all over place. We checked into the hotel, dumped our bags and headed out for dinner at a local cafe.


We were up early for breakfast before heading out in a taxi to the Ho Chi Minh Mausuleum about 2km from the old quarter, one of Vietnam's most revered sites. It is only open for a few hours in the morning so we had to be on time. We were ushered into the huge granite building and quietly walked around Ho Chi Minh's embalmed corpse, which looked a lot like Madame Tussauds had done the designing! It was fascinating to see his actual body as he was such a pivotal character in Vietnamese history. We also then visited the palace and the house he lived in as well as his pagoda on stilts next to a small lake. We also walked around a museum dedicated to his life. After the Mausuleum we took a taxi to the Hanoi Literature Temple, a 10th century university with pleasant courtyards and which is suprisingly peaceful to stroll around considering the chaos of the streets surrounding it. The outside wall of the temple was lined with local men, some very old, sitting cross-legged on the ground and handpainting oriental symbols onto paper. They were beautifully done. We passed one man who had set up a chair and was cutting hair on the street. Ash took a photo and was later chased for a photo fee of 15,000 Dong. He had completely missed the tiny sign above the little mirror saying "take my photo for 15,000"!!


The streets here are a rush of culture in your face and crossing the road is a real challenge. The old quarter is a myriad of narrow lanes crammed to the brim with traffic and gubby looking shops and eateries. Above these are flats with their washing hanging from the windows. It's utterly mad but fantastic.... until of course the pollution gets the better of you. Our eyes were stinging within one hour of being outside! There are endless streams of tooting mopeds on the roads that appear completely lawless and it is the most amusing thing to see. They don't observe traffic signals and they don't even stick to driving on the correct side of the road. .. it is a complete free for all!! We have seen whole families (eg: up to 5 people) crammed onto the back of one moped, tiny babies propped up against the front handlebars which would have the child protection agencies of the western world in a complete tizz. We have seen people carrying trees, doors, up to 7 big water tanks and all manner of things on these tiny vehicles. The streets are lined with shops selling all manner of things that spill out all over the pavement. We especially love the lantern shops as they add so much vibrance to the street. There are woman walking up and down in their traditional Vietnamese conical hats carrying fruits and other goods which hang from a long wooden pole carried across their shoulders. They are constantly trying to put these things onto your shoulder so they can charge you for a photo!

We stopped for lunch before spending the afternoon wandering around Hoan Kiem lake in the city centre and then heading out to see the famous Water Puppet show in the evening. We have to admit that crossing the major intersection to get to the theatre was probably more memorabe than the show!



On Sunday morning we headed 3 hours east to Halong Bay to embark on a 2 day/1 night trip to Halong Bay, a beautiful bay containing over 3,000 limestone karst islands and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We boarded a beautiful Vietnamese junk boat called the Halong Ginger Junk. We decided to splash out and booked onto a 4* junk seeing as this leg of our travels is doubling as a honeymoon! We had a deluxe cabin with queen bed and a marble bathroom and three huge windows. It was luxury! There were 15 people on our boat and amongst them were two famous photographers from New York who had even had their arrival in Vietnam announced in the main newspaper! They were an extremely charismatic pair and great company on the trip. One of the highlights of travelling is the interesting people you get to meet and speak to along the way. So many stories.



As we cruised out into Halong Bay, lunch was served......a 7 course seafood banquet (Bi of course going for the vegetarian option!). The Bay is absolutely beautiful and well justifed as a world heritage site. The waters are a complete flat calm and the area reminded us of a hazy version of the Milford Sound in New Zealand. The serenity and tranquility of the area was such an amazing contrast to the frantic chaos of Hanoi and it was so relaxing! In the afternoon we stopped at Thitop island and climbed 400 steps to the top for 360 degree views over the bay and shortly afterwards we were taken by bamboo raft through a small inlet and cave. The silence of the place was deafening. In the early evening, we visited a small fishing community where all the houses are in the water and floating on empty tanks. There was even a floating school!


We had a five course dinner at our own candlelit table which was lovely and we treated ourselves to a glass of wine each (wine is exceptionally expensive here and usually a bit beyond our backpacker budget). The two photographers we met kindly topped up our glasses from their bottle of wine after dinner and we sat with our wine and had a game of chess. Ash won but only just!!




We were up and on deck early this morning for a Tai Chi lesson but we got bored within 5 minutes and gave up! The boat we are on is so so quiet and overnight when they turned the engine off, it was bliss. We both slept like babies, it was so peaceful out in the bay. We left all the blinds open on our windows and it was lovely to wake up to the sight of the water and hundreds of limescale Karsts dotted as far as the eye can see. After coffee and pastries, we boarded a small launch boat and visited 'Surprise' cave which was an enormous cave over 10,000 sq m and full of rock formations. It was interesting but not particularly exciting. When we returned to the junk and had a traditional Vietnamese brunch (noodles and broth with various condiments) before packing our things and returning to the port for the conclusion of our trip at 11am. We took a minibus back to Hanoi which did the all annoying customary stop at a big tourist handicraft outlet full of absolute rubbish and all at rip off prices!


Back in Hanoi, we decided to soak in the craziness of the city and the pollution and sat drinking a beer from a balcony at the city view cafe. Tomorrow we take a very early flight to Hue where we will spent 5 days in central Vietnam.

Chiang Mai

On Sunday morning we left Bangkok and took a cheapy Air Asia flight one hour to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. We had no pre-booked accommodation so we selected a hostel recommended in our Lonely Planet and got a taxi to drop us off in hope that a room might be available... it was and what a nice little find (despite the fact our bed cover is a massive towel!) . We dumped our bags and set out to wander the narrow streets in the old part of Chiang Mai. It is lovely here, so peaceful and quiet, with a very easy-going atmosphere and pace of life.... all so different to the frantic hustle and bustle of Bangkok although there are still zillions of tuk tuk's and mopeds zipping in and around everywhere!! There are many beautiful temples scattered across the town which makes for an interesting combination of ancient and modern.

We had lunch in a local noodle shop (Bi yet again opting for her favourite Pad Thai...while Ash had beef noodles that came topped with a mosquito garnish!) before wandering a small handicraft market near the town gates. The market was full of the usual tourist tack with every second stall selling the same thing making you wonder if anyone ever made any money! There was an area with many different food stands selling noodles, pancakes, meat & fish skewers along with many strange, unidentifiable foods that we have become accustomed to seeing in Thailand (there is nothing they don't eat!!). We took the safe option and tried the banana pancakes before heading to one of the many massage stands and treating ourselves to an open air foot massage!! We selected a seat from a line of comfy chairs situated under a big tarp cover for shade and sat back and enjoyed a 30 minute Thai foot massage whilst watching the market buzz around us. It was heavenly and cost 1 pound each!

We spent the whole evening wandering Chiang Mai's main Sunday market otherwise known as 'Sunday Walking Street'. The main street in town is closed to traffic and literally hundreds of market stalls are erected selling everything and anything from handicrafts to basketware to food. It was a great atmosphere and absolutely jam packed and we spent about 4 hours walking around the streets and stuffing ourselves full trying all the different foods on offer! The local street food in Thailand has been of a very high quality, in terms of both food preparation hygiene and taste. It is much better than we were expecting although it has taken us a little bit of time to get daring with our taste buds... especially Bi who still has a few hang ups from her time in South America!

On Monday morning we were up at 7am for an early breakfast before being picked up by the Thai Farm Organic Cooking School for a 1 day cooking course that we signed up for. We were driven 17km north of Chiang Mai to a local market where we saw the many different types of rice, spices and herbs used in Thai cuisine and watched the making of coconut milk. From here we were taken further out of the city to an organic farm and after a guided walk around the farm (picking different roots and spices for our recipes) we assembled and spent the rest of the day being taught how to make 6 different dishes each. We were each given our own cooking station and the course started with a lesson in making Thai sticky rice and Jasmine rice followed by us making and pounding our own green and yellow curry pastes from the roots and herbs we had picked earlier. We then turned our pastes into a delicious curry (Thai green chicken curry for Ash and yellow Thai vegetable curry by Bi!). Our next lesson was on how to make Tom Yam soup with shrimp and for Bi, Thai Vegetable Soup. This was followed by Tofu Stir Fry with Cashew Nuts for Bi and Tofu with Thai Basil for Ash. At lunch, we all sat outside and ate the dishes we had prepared all morning which were delicious but there was so much to get through. By the end of it we felt we had had our lifetime share of coconut milk!

Our lessons reconvened in the afternoon where Ash cooked Mango with sticky rice and Bi made Bananas in yet more coconut milk. It was delicious but we could not manage more than a mouthful of the stuff! We then finished our day with the most complicated dishes. Ash made Bi's favouite Pad Thai (the idea being he will be making it plenty back home) while Bi learnt how to make spring rolls filled with glass noodles, tofu and vegetables and rolled in rice flour paper .... they were great and clearly a favourite for the day! We went home very pleased with our new found knowledge of 12 Thai dishes and our bellies completely stuffed so there was no need for dinner!

On Tuesday we took an easy day in Chiang Mai, following the old city walking tour in our guidebook and visiting the many different Wats (temples) dotted around the city. We visited Wat Chiang Man, Wat Phan Tao, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh before stopping for a western lunch as we could not stomach any more Thai food after yesterday's cooking course. In the afternoon we took a Tuk Tuk to Wat Suan Dok, a pretty temple just outside the city and when we returned to Chiang Mai centre we treated ourselves to a bit of a pamper session with a difference. We headed into a massage parlour operated by ladies who have recently been released from Chiang Mai correctional institute. They are all fully trained whilst still in prison in order to prepare them for making an honest living when they are released. We were a bit dubious at first but breathed a sign of relief when a few more tourists came in soon after us! The girls were actually very friendly and gave a great massage! We both opted for a 2.5 hour Lila Thai Massage which included a full body massage (head, neck, shoulders, back and legs) as well as foot reflexology, a hand massage and finishing with a hot herbal massage. The herbal massage involves large balls of herbs wrapped in muslin cloth which are steamed until they are very hot and then pressed over the body. It was the best part of the whole experience and we walked out very chilled and relaxed.

On Wednesday morning we were up at 6.30am and collected from our guesthouse for a 1 day tour to the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is the very northern tip of Thailand where the three borders of Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos meet and where the opium trade used to be prevalent. We are normally adverse to organised tourist trips but with limited time and slow transport links we decided that it was the best way to see some of the important sights in this part of the country. We drove two hours north and visited the temple, Wat Chedi Luang in the town of Chiang Saen before continuing on to the area called the golden triangle. We took a boat out onto the Mekong river (that flows 600 miles from China through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) to the point where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos converge before sailing to the Laos side, opposite, and (illegally) entering Laos... to stop at a small handicraft market. Ash sampled the local delicacy, Snake and Scorpion whisky... yes, that's whisky with a whole snake and a whole scorpion inside the bottle for added flavour! He said it was like rocket fuel and Bi was disgusted! They also had Tiger Penis Whisky on offer but Ash declined as he thought it was going a step overboard.

After a brief stop we returned by boat back to Thailand and made a stop for a 'salmonella bar' buffet lunch which we largely avoided! We then headed to the Burmese border to observe the crossing and wander markets. We always find border points very interesting as one country blends into another. There was a slightly more indigenous look to the people especially seeing the women with their babies wrapped in cloth and strapped to their backs. From the Burmese border we headed to the Karon hill tribe village to see the Long Neck tribeswomen. These women from a very young age seemingly stretch their necks to great lengths by wrapping heavy bronze rings around them. In fact all these rings do is push their rib cage down, giving them the illusion that their necks are long. Still, the illusion is impressive! We had both seen these women in National Geographic so it was interesting to see them in real life although with hordes of tourists around it felt a little voyeuristic and to be honest, it wasn't really our thing. The visit to the Burmese border was the highlight of the day for us!! After the village, it was a long and slow 3.5 hour drive along windy roads back to Chiang Mai and we arrived late.

This morning (Thursday) we negotiated the hire of a sawngthaew red taxi (which is like a tuk tuk) up Doi Suthep, a 1,676m peak 16km out to the northwest of the city. We stopped near the summit and wandered one of the most beautiful and sacred temples called Wat Phra That Doi Suthep before getting our driver to return via a small, peaceful forest temple called Wat U Mong. Today is our last day in Chiang Mai and for now, Thailand. Tomorrow we fly to Hanoi in northern Vietnam where we will start two weeks of travel down the length of the country and into Cambodia.

Farewell to Melbourne and Hello to Bangkok

On 7th January, one week after our wedding and 5 months after our arrival into Australia we packed up our belongings, reluctantly said goodbye to family and friends and boarded a 9 hour flight to Bangkok for the start of our next leg of travels. We ended our time in Australia the same way as we had started it...enjoying a big roast dinner with the family! We are 10.5 months into our travels and have just 9 weeks left before we have to be back in the UK for work. We cannot believe that our career break is almost at an end as it feels like only yesterday that we set off for Rio de Janeiro on the start of our adventures.

Our next 9 weeks of travel will be a real adventure as we have done absolutely no planning except to book accommodation in Bangkok. We were originally due to fly to Mumbai on 4th January for 9 weeks in India. However, we decided to re-route our travels due to the terrorist attacks last month. At the time we did not know what the repercussions would be and we decided not to take any risks including that of invalidating our travel insurance. With limited alternative options we re-routed our tickets into Bangkok which means our next leg of travel will take us through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. We also plan to make our way over to Nepal and from there journey overland by bus into Northern India. Our return flight back to London is still from Delhi as we are both determined to set foot in India and visit Varanasi and the Taj Mahal!

We had a smooth flight to Bangkok and arrived just before midnight. It was still 28 degrees at that time of night!! We collected our luggage (it is always such a relief to see your bag appear on the conveyor belt no matter how crappy your belongings are!!) and headed straight to the taxi rank for the 45 minute journey to the city centre. We shared a taxi with a couple staying at the same hostel as us which worked nicely and saved us a few pennies. We have decided to ease ourselves back into the backpackers lifestyle gently and booked a 'flashpacker' style hostel which has slightly more upmarket facilities than the basic hostel and attracts the 30ish traveller as opposed to the 18 year old party types!!! It is in a superb location by all the historical points of interest in Bangkok and the well known Khao San Road where there are loads of restaurants and markets.

After a good night sleep we were up early and ready for the sights of a very congested and polluted Bangkok. We are so excited to be travelling again and we have adapted into our old routine like ducks to water! We started the day with breakfast in the hostel cafe....a rather odd brown porridge with sliced banana and a cappuccino before heading out into the heat armed with our Lonely Planet guide. After navigating our way along crowded pavements and risking life and limb to cross a few roads, our first stop was the Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace which are two of Bangkok's most famous attractions. En route we wandered through the Amulet market which is a maze of tiny alleyways lined with stalls selling millions of different amulets pertinent to the Buddhist faith. Wat Phra Kaew was an awesome sight and we spent 2 hours wandering around various different temples and into one temple that houses the famous Emerald Buddha. The temples are adorned with coloured glass, stones and gold leaf and statues which makes them look very opulent and despite the hordes of tourists it was a really peaceful and tranquil place to wander around.


Next stop was Wat Pho to see the huge reclining Buddha which is 46 metres long and 15 metres high, completely covered in gold leaf and squished into a temple almost the same size as itself. After Wat Pho we made a lunch stop at a western patisserie and had soup served in a bread roll bowl and then soaked up the airconditioning as it was stinker outside. Our next steps took us on a river ferry across the Mae Nam Chao Phraya river to Wat Arun, another temple, where we climbed up the steepest stairs we have ever seen for commanding views out over Bangkok. We stood and admired the views and rested for a while in the cooling breeze feeling exhausted from the heat.

All 'templed out' we made our way back to the hostel in early evening via some of the local food markets... which included delicacies such as stir-fried cockroach! After dinner that night we wandered our local area called Banglamphu where we caught sight of our first 'ladyboys'. There were three of them walking in front of us dressed in short skirts, high heels and wearing handbags. Ash noticed them first but Bi didn't believe him as they had the best legs she'd ever seen! However, on a closer inspection, their huge ungainly feet gave it all away! We wandered along the jam-packed Khao San Road lined with restaurants, stalls of home cooked food that reminded us very much of our time in South America, lanterns, cheap clothes, bags, fake cd's and watches and more. There are Thai massage places everywhere and they are so so cheap. It's only 5 pounds for an hour foot relexology and back massage and so we shall be making the most of it!! Feeling a bit jetlagged and worn out from a long, hot day of sight seeing we retired to the hostel for an early night at around 10pm.

On Friday morning we were up early and after a shabby breakfast we took a taxi (with some hard bartering as they'll take you for a ride... literally) through the heaving Bangkok traffic to Hua Lamphong station where we boarded a rickety old train heading 1.5 hours north to a place called Ayuthaya. Ayuthaya is a popular day trip from Bangkok and was the royal capital of Thailand from the 13th to 17th centuries. The city is covered in temples which now lie in a state of ruin after the city was sacked by the Burmese 200 years ago. The sacred city has been restored somewhat over the last 50 years and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Arriving at the train station we jumped in our first tuk-tuk akin to an automated rickshaw (with more serious bartering!!) and headed across the city to the Historical park. We visited Wat Phra Si Sanphet, one of the most photographed temples in Thailand and famous for its three impressive bell-shapped chedis and spent a while walking around the ruins, soaking up the very peaceful atmosphere... it is so much quieter than busy bustling Bangkok! Next up we walked further through the historical park to visit Wat Phra Mahathat where there is a Buddha head enbedded in twisted tree roots among the ruined temple and across the road to Wat Ratburana. This temple retains one of the best preserved prang towers in Ayuthaya and we were able to climb up and inside the tower which afforded great views over the rest of the city's ruins.

With our thirst for archaelogical sites quenched by early afternoon we jumped back in another tuk-tuk and returned to the train station and headed back to Bangkok. Arriving back at our hostel we freshened up and then we grabbed an early dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant called Ranees where we were invaded by hordes of mosquitos. Bi has become addicted to pad thai and where better a place to get it than here!! After dinner we stopped into a Thai massage centre and treated ourselved to a 1 hour package of foot reflexology massage and a back massage. The masseuses were tiny but very strong and were getting Ash to do all kinds of weird stretches. It was so relaxing and we will definitely be going back for more! Afterwards we wandered the frenetic Khao San Road and headed home late via a street stall selling banana filled pancakes!

Today (Saturday) we had breakfast at a local cafe (because the hostel breakfast is rather dire!!) and then spent the day around Chinatown, Little India and the modern end of Bangkok city which is all shopping shopping shopping!! Instead of a taxi we jumped on a Phraya Express Boat for transport and headed south down the river, getting off at Tha Ratchawong on the edge of Chinatown. We spent the morning walking around the heaving, bustling chinese markets which are fascinating. Shuffling with the crowds down the tiny narrow lanes where the sky is completely obscured and bargains lie in wholesale ambush was quite an experience. We budged and shoved our way past shops and market stalls selling an array of nick nacks, stationery, stickers, stuffed animals, dried fish and some very very weird and unidentifiable food stuffs (you can imagine the look on Bi's face!). We eventually stumbled onto one street dedicated to selling nothing but counterfeit (oh... but of course they are real the vendors tell you) Rolex, Omega and Tag Heuer watches and Oakley, Ray Ban and Police sunglasses!

Next we wandered into the neighbouring district of Phahurat, the 'Little India' of Bangkok. We had a well needed rest and shared a thali at the Royal India restaurant before heading through the Indian fabrics market which was comparatively boring against our morning's fun in Chinatown! We then hopped in a taxi to ultra-modern Siam Square and in startling contrast to the morning had a Starbucks coffee and muffin and walked around one of the huge shopping malls which was brimming with shops selling absolute rubbish and with one whole floor dedicated to mobile pones and fake Ipods!!! Exhausted by the crowds and bored by the endless shops, we jumped on the Sky Train, Bangkok's speedy overland high rail system and travelled to the Saphan Taksin pier where we caught a very busy express boat back to the pier near our hostel in the much more interesting old part of Bangkok. We freshened up then headed out for dinner by the river and enjoyed some more local thai food ( Bi enjoying her 4th bowl of Pad Thai in 3 days!). There is no serving of alcohol today in Bangkok as it is election day... we are hoping it is a peaceful one in light of recent events affecting Bangkok!

Today is our last day in Bangkok as tomorrow morning we take a short flight to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand.