Devastating earthquake in Eastern Türkiye 14.2.23 The highs. We didn’t have any intention of going anywhere big this year, although there was discussion about maybe doing a family trip to Bali to celebrate the end of my sister Jackie’s treatment for lymphoma but realistically it got complicated with everyone in different place, annual leave and…
So excited to go back to one of our favourite countries -Vietnam 16.2.23 Breakfast at the Tune Aeropolis Hotel, Kuala Lumpur would have been great if it had been hot. We gave our options yesterday, John went for traditional chicken, rice, noodles etc. I opted for the American with the hash browns. It was buffet…
Wonderful Hanoi Old Quarter, Train St and a night market 17.2.23 We made our way to Hanoi Old Quarter for a wander.Just as fabulous as we remember, mad crazy atmosphere, impossible to walk on pavements because of scooters and my head was on a constant swivel avoiding cars, scooters, sellers and people who just walk…
Hanoi Vietnam, Ho Kiem Lake and Hanoi Hash House Harriers 18.2.23We didn’t wake up until 9.30am.It was the first time I’d slept past 5am since leaving home.We definitely needed it. Our plan today was train street and the lake, but not time to do both as we’re meeting the Hanoi Hashers at 1.30pm. Hash House…
19.2.23Our alarms went off at 5.30am.We had a message last night to say meet at 6.30am at 26 Hang Tre for the bus to Sapa.I had booked from Hanoi SSB bus stop as close to our hotel and we’d even checked out where it is.Hang Tre is an additional 15 minutes walk which was a…
We heard it’s tough. Did we listen? 20.2.23We received a text yesterday saying to be ready for trekking by 9am.We packed what we needed for an overnight as we will be staying in the mountains tonight. There are just 3 bathrooms between everyone. In the end I decided to wait by the sink area so…
Maybe day 2 will be dryer and easier? 21.2.23 We all slept surprisingly well, at Buffalo homestay, but all struggled to be brave enough to come out from under the duvet. I’d slept in my clothes as the pjs I laid on the bed on arrival felt damp. When first dozing off I swear I…
Mixed feelings, can we, can’t we manage it? 22.2.23 I could have so easily opted out of today’s trek. It was cold and our clothes still haven’t dried out fully. Getting out of bed was hard. We sat with Saffron, Josh and Nick at breakfast debating what to do. In the end it came down…
Sapa Town Funicular fun and back to Train street 23.2.23We slept well at Heart of Sapa and went down for breakfast. The hotel is so quiet, and the staff are just lovely.We chatted to a guy from New Zealand. Not sure what his job is but he’d spent a lot of time in Turkey with…
Wow, Tam Coc is stunning 24.2.23 We’d been told to be ready by 9 am for our 9.30 am minibus pick up. We’re off to Tam Coc.A big similarity to Turkey is Vietnamese time. At 9.30 I asked the reception girls to call and check they’re coming. 15 minutes later they arrived, then we had…
We’re falling in love wıth Tam Coc 25.2.23 I was so excited by the pineapple pancakes on the Anh Buong home stay breakfast menu, John chose the same. They were a stack of yellow pancakes containing slices of banana with a side dish of a sort of pineapple jam and just ok, they didn’t warrant…
Being very brave in Tam Coc 26.2.23 We opted for eggs and bread for breakfast today at the Anh Buong Home stay in Tam Coc. We’d suddenly realised at 9.10 am that we only had 20 mins before we were too late for breakfast. We decided to take advantage of the Homestays’ motorbike hire, an…
A different bike was a good idea. 27.2.23 Another day a different motorbike as we didn’t want to use yesterdays again. Yayy, we have one with good back brakes, a working horn, although no speedo or fuel guage working. We had a large loop planned and hoped we would have time to do it all….
Good morning from Anh Buong Home stay, Tam Coc. 28.2.23 Happy birthday to my mum, 84 today. Gosh, we’re all getting old and it flies by. We contemplated going to Cuc Phong National park on the motorbike today, but it seems to be anywhere between 45 and 70km away depending what leaflet or map you…
Not sure why we picked this town 1.3.23Onward to Dong Hoi. We felt very sad leaving Tam Coc, we loved our time there so much. The train took 8 hours, we arrived in Dong Hoi exactly as scheduled at 4.35 pm. Nothing remarkable to say about the journey, poor for people watching blogging apart from…
Wonderful to have the freedom of a motorbike 2.3.23 John discovered a very pleasant roof terrace at the top of our Dolphin Homestay building. It was nice to see Dong Hoi in the daylight. After reading up on options to get to Phong Nha caves a motorbike gives the most freedom.There’s a bus at 8am,…
ERRRRGGGHHHH 3.3.23 I needn’t have worried about getting chilli bottom because at 2am I was very sick, and again at 4.30am. I felt so tired but at 5am the noise started downstairs, food chopping, small boy alternating between grizzling and repeating the same couple of words over and over (I’d forgotten that annoying stage) and…
My daughter is coming to meet us from Australia. 4.3.23Today was another train journey, 8am Dong Hoi to Danang, 5 and a half hours.Luckily John looked at train tickets online a few days ago, we were shocked to find all the soft seats had sold out, so we had to book a 4 birth sleeper…
One of our favourite places, hoping Lauren loves it too 5.3.23Slept well in the Raon and none of us died from any mould induced illness. It was lovely to go up to Lauren’s room and have mummy daughter time while John slept. Mornings are my usual photo upload and publishing blog times but they’re on…
Beautiful An Bang, Mummy and Daughter day 6.3.23 Each evening we have to mark on the hotel sheet what we want for breakfast.Lauren & I opted for the crambled egg, fried for John. John has had a sore throat for a few days and decided he needed to stay in bed as he was now…
Totally blessed to be with Lauren and John in Vietnam for my birthday 7.3.23Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to meeeeeee, happy birthday to me. At breakfast Thuy, the gorgeous young lady on reception brought me a cardboard flower decoration with a red rose in it. She has a habit of…
Off to my Son temples 8.3.23 Happy Womens Day to all those wonderful women we know and love from near and far. Lauren & I opted for banana pancakes for breakfast today. Not the best move, it seems that pancakes are only cooked on one side in Vietnam, apart from the Banh Xeo savoury ones….
Lots of laughter today in the Hoi An countryside 9.3.23Crambled eggs for breakfast, fried for Lauren and noodles for John, with no rush to eat the prawn. We decided on a chill morning, and played Phase 10 for a while.John took the laundry while Lauren and I visited a coffee shop we’ve passed so many…
Bana Hills, do we or don’t we? Mixed reviews . 10.3.23Crambled eggs for breakfast. Thuy booked us a car to collect us to go to Bana Hills at 8am, we get picked up again there at 5pm. We took a pack of cards in case it was really naff. We’ve seen posters, it looks a…