Author: Ed

  • Marble carvings – Vietnam

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    Whilst driving between Halong Bay and Hanoi we stopped at a stone and marble carving center where you could spend a couple of thousand dollars to purchase an intricately carved marble statue. I resisted the temptation but did take the opportunity to get a few snaps of the masons at work… One of the more…

  • Halong Bay – Vietnam

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    Halong Bay was one of the places I had always wanted to go, added to that, I love Asian food and the landscapes, so a trip to Vietnam was a no-brainer. Of course all the photographs I had seen where with blistering blue skies and turquoise water. The water in Halong Bay was indeed some of…

  • Hoi An to Hue mountain hop – Vietnam

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    Prior to a tunnel through the mountain being built the mountain pass between Hoi An and Hue was the main way to get to Nothern Vietnam, so the Americans built heavy battlements on top of the hill. The mountain pass is free whereas the tunnel is a toll so a lot of locals still have to…

  • Hue motorbike tour – Vietnam

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    On arrival in Hue the heavens opened and it was really raining hard, but with the addition of a rather smelly local poncho we were on our way round the back streets of Hue on the back of motorbikes. I was dubious at first being driven around, rather than driving myself but it gives you the…

  • Hoi An beach and streets – Vietnam

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    Alongside with the very beautiful old quarter I posted previously there is also a beach outside Hoi An. I only visited the section closest to town but it was quite a strange experience, the place seemed to have an abandoned feel about it and was fairly dirty with large scale tidal defenses apparently rapidly put…

  • Hoi An markets, old quarter and countryside – Vietnam

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    Hoi An was definitely one of my favourite places in Vietnam. A beautifully preserved old quarter, not too busy and amazing countryside just outside the city. Hoi An is a city in Vietnam that has a very well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century, surrounding it the modern…

  • Nha Trang to Hoi An train – Vietnam

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    Sleeper trains are one of the cheap, interesting ways to get around Vietnam. I had read a lot of horror stories about them being dirty and disgusting but my experience was that they were certainly noisy and bumpy, but clean and safe. However some other people in the next carriage had a major cock roach…

  • Nha Trang boat trip – Vietnam

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    Over the years I have been on quite a few tourist boat trips, so I wasn’t expecting too much form this one, but it turned out to be both fun and educational. We started off by crossing the bay to a nearby island where we walked through the back streets visiting the local houses and…

  • Nha Trang Temples – Vietnam

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    In Asia the number of temples can sometimes be overwhelming but with not much else to do we went to see a few in Nha Trang. This temple was quite different to the others being built from brick, and for some reason completely invaded by bus loads of Russian tourists… The city seems to be…

  • Mekong Delta – Vietnam

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    Having left the village huts we were staying in we got a boat nearby to travel up river to the floating markets. People from around the whole Mekong Delta bring their produce here by boat and sell it on the river. There were amazing colours and textures all along the river banks, the buildings looking…