Sand Dunes, Ostrich and Vietnam's Best Seafood

The supposedly close by Mui Ne ended up being another 18 hour journey, not so painful though, my ability to sleep squashed up and bumped around was finally developing! I left the bus a stop too early and (in my stubborn "I don't need a moto" way) ended up doing a good 45 minute trudge, backpack heaving with Hoi-An goodies. Checking in to the dorm was sheer pleasure, it was possibly that best I'd been on the journey so far my jaw kept dropping as the lovely Aussie owner gave me a tour round the pool, air-con dorms and best of all sun-loungers on their own beach front decking. Heaven.

It was a pleasure to be so close to the sea again, especially after spending so long in land locked Laos. The whole beach had a very cool edgy feel to it and my "tan" started to look very poor in comparison to the beach bums who worked there! I arrived in the height of kite surfing/sailing season and just off-shore hundreds of kites cut through the sky, whilst colourful windsurfing sails scattered the sea. It seemed the laid back atmosphere was infectious, everyone I'd met had ended up staying longer than planned and had done little more than sunbathe, swim and be mesmerised by the talents of those at sea.

I met my new room mates that night and joined them for tea. It seemed the only viable option was seafood, it was the cheapest I'd seen and incredibly fresh! After a few beers and a walk along the seafront we settled in for an early night.

Whilst I'd planned to go on the infamous Mui Ne tour sand dune tour the next morning I found myself seduced in to a full day of beach lounging. It's rare that I enjoy spending so much time on the beach but here was perfect. In the evening we took in an interesting performance - a Filipino man with a cold singing Robbie Williams songs.


The next day I started off with similar activities but in the afternoon forced myself to do the obligatory tour and was delighted with all the little extras on offer! In the space of 4 hours I'd ridden an ostrich suffering from eczema, surfed the sand dunes and got some gorgeous pictures of a Lion King-esque sunset.


We went out for another seafood dinner that night, this time venturing a little further from the hostel down to a string of live sea food restaurants. For under £4 each a group of us shared a couple of squid, a mountain of mammoth tiger prawns and a huge snapper And to think five years ago I wasn't such a seafood fan. We finished off my last night with a trip to a Russian tourist favourite. A bar with house music and an ample selection of vodka. Neither were of interest to us but they had a pool table and two for one beers so we'd found our spot.

By the time my bus arrived the next day I'd had chance to soak up a final few rays, shake off a heavy head and prepare myself for another hectic city - Saigon, my last stop in Vietnam.

Hoi-An, Shopper's Paradise

From the minute I stepped out of the taxi the streets of Hoi-An brought back the memories of Luang Prabang, a magical city that's able to retain it's charm even with intense tourism. I'd visited with the intentions of getting a few pieces of clothing made for when I got back to the real working world. On the first night I set out to the market and ordered 3 things for myself and a shirt for pops. It took me ages to decide on the items and the fabrics but Na the comical manager had no problem with me climbing around her shelves and pulling out almost every piece of material there! After my first real fitting I accidentally ordered another 2 things AND shoes. Oops. By the second fitting they were practically perfect, good quality, custom designs and a beautiful fit. If only we had this service for similar prices back home!


My budget was blown and I resigned myself to spend the rest of the my time eating market food drinking the cheapest of beers and enjoying a few early nights to get back on track. Well half of this worked - the market food was better than the restaurants and Na had given me a few tips on where to eat. In all but a few of the bars beer was cheap - 4,000 dong along with this and bumping into friends from Hanoi and Muang Ngoi meant early nights were once again off the card. I stayed in Hoi-An 3 nights and left on the fourth. By the 2nd night I'd sampled the interesting nightlife which consisted of being moto'd around to empty bars and then being served drinks in jam jars, or paying way over the odds to drink in one of the classier places.

Hoi-An is not just known for clothing, it also has some of the most distinctive food in Vietnam. Cau Lau was one of my favourites, it was like the equivalent of a roast pork sandwich - thick doughy noodles instead of bread, tasty roast pork slices finished of with crackling! No stuffing or apple sauce though. I had my first bowl of Cau Lau on my second morning in Hoi-An and was told by an English ex-pat that I'd chanced upon the best Cau Lau stall in the whole of Vietnam!
Hoi-An's also famous for it's many Chinese influenced dishes, including shrimp wontons, steamed buns and green tea. On the last day I got to learn more about the food in a cooking class, I went with Gen, a girl who I was sharing a dorm with. We had a 2 hour class for under a tenner in which we learned how to make spring rolls, spicy grilled aubergine (which was actually fried), papaya salad with shrimp and BBQ mackerel. We cooked a course and then ate it meaning by the end we were super full and pretty pleased with ourselves. I have the recipes so nearest and dearest prepare yourselves!


It's a lively and beautiful town, the sort I could have got stuck in if it hadn't have been for the time constraints. I braved another sleeper bus and headed for the sand dunes of Mui Ne
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48 hours in Hanoi

I'd been forewarned about the craziness awaiting me in Hanoi but I arrived before rush hour kicked off so saw it for the first time eerily quiet. Joggers padded along the pavements and motorbike taxis patiently waited for the tourists to arrive. I checked in to my hostel, had a much needed shower and bumped into a chatty old guy by the name of Larry who invited me along on a little group outing to the citadel. Knowing my time in Hanoi would be brief I decided to work through the sleepiness and join him. There were 3 others with Larry including a lovely English boy from Brighton who kept me laughing all day. We grabbed a Vietnamese "fusion breakfast", hello chicken kebab! And then made a pretty successful go at navigating the bus system of Hanoi. One the 2 buses we met pretty interesting conductors - one constantly shushed us whilst the other slapped all who got in his way. By mid morning we reached our destination.

The citadel was a series of pagodas and buildings dating back 2000 years. We looped round the main ones taking in beautiful sights and yummy beef and ginger noodle soup before heading back to the centre. In the afternoon I wandered the city before taking decisive action and booking not only a train to Hoi-An for the next evening but a flight out of Vietnam and into Singapore! With that in mind I made the most of my little time left, going out for a meal with a big group from the hostel and then on for 20 pence beers! This was my first beer corner experience and I loved it, the beer (which is made from rice) was admittedly a little warm but it went down easily enough. The atmosphere is almost as good as the cheap cheap prices with groups of friends (locals and tourists alike) crouched on tiny stools amongst the hustle and bustle of Hanoi's streets.

The next day I made it my mission to get lost, not such a hard task but always interesting. I walked for hours seeing the most amazing things; women carrying huge shoulder baskets of fruit crossing 10 lanes of traffic, exercise classes outside the main cathedral and the infamous spit roast dog, teeth included! It left me cursing the less than reliable Asian batteries in my camera! In the evening I tried my hand at a few new card games, enjoyed the hostel's free beer and had high hopes that it might even help me sleep on the train.

A motorbike taxi took me to the station and it was definitely more fun being in the middle of the traffic than just watching it from the pavement. Whilst waiting I met a lovely Chinese man who introduced himself by showing me a picture of myself on his phone followed by his passport, amused and a little unsure of what to do I showed him mine. He seemed to enjoy this and gave me a handful of satsumas before returning to his seat. The train boarded early and I found myself the only Westerner who'd scrimped and opted for a seat rather than a bed for the 19 hour journey to Hoi-An. It paid off, I was fed wafers and eggs with sugar from the locals, and they found great delight in some of the cheesier songs in my collection. By the time I arrived in Hoi-An I'd shook of the sleepiness and was ready to shop.

These photos sum it up better than I ever could...

Good Morning Vietnam...

We left Laos at 4am and spent the following 17 hours on two different minibuses, both built in the 70's, crammed full with 10 too many people, rice galore, baskets of fruit, suitcases, our rucksacks and to top it of at one point there was even the obligatory chicken. All this time and we didn't even get to the right place! One thing is for sure though, Muang Khua was definitely the right starting point for the journey. Regardless of the rats and the rickety old buses we went on one of the most memorable journeys through all of my travels. From Muang Khua to Dien Bien Phu our little bus piled on the locals, climbed mountains that took us through and above the morning clouds, trudged through streams (not flooded roads - actual pebble streams!), and while the brave/crazy driver may have burnt his clutch out in the process, got us safely to Vietnam.


Myself and 3 other travellers were trying to get to Northern Vietnam - Sapa, but ended up in Lai Chau. This was the second leg of the journey that was considerably longer and scarier than the first half. We were kicked out around 9pm but to soften the blow the driver, who'd frequently stopped to toke on a suspicious smelling bong, gave us a 50,000 dong refund and helpfully said "No Sapa". Welcome to Vietnam.

My short time in Vietnam had introduced me to the beauty and diversity in landscapes, the friendliness of the locals (who were greatly amused at our attempts to order food and beer) and the unfortunate hostility towards tourists that seemed to breed mostly in those who worked in the tourist industry.

I finally got to Sapa after a good sleep in Lau Chau and similarly overcrowded bus the next morning. It wasn't how I imagined it but was still amazing. A take on a Vietnamese ski resort, with no skiing of course! The town is perched on a mountain top, blanketed in clouds morning and night, and has become a hub for literally hundreds of tribes ladies who are looking for someone to take home (on a homestay, nothing sinister!)

I only spent 2 days there, despite the ridiculous journey. After a little refreshing nap and shower Dan, the guy I'd been travelling with, and I explored the markets and a little of the surrounding area before falling victim to the incredible coldness and the tempting sight of a "Traditional English Pub". Curiosity won and we climbed the steps to a funny little room that was the spitting image of a country pub - but put to the test they had no English beers and no roast peanuts, we settled for a beer Hanoi and a sauce full of sunflower seeds. We stepped up our cultural experience in the evening, going for a traditional Sapa banquet featuring deer and lots of Chinese style spices, all washed down with a lethal "wine".

The second day was incredible, an early 7am start was necessary for the trip to the nearby Bac Ha market. The market is an undeniable tourist trap, but simultaneously is the one day a week when locals can get anything they need, from new cooking pans, to a toke on fresh tobacco, to updates for their i-pods or even a live buffalo!


I stood for a while watching the bidding on a buffalo and was amazed to find the selling price was incredible - in dong and dollars! We were left to our own devices for dinner and I was going to do what I normally do - follow the locals, but it turned out they were eating offal soup, apparently from all the undesirable parts of the horse! So I gave that a miss and went to seek something a little less stomach turning.

From here the day trip included some unexpected extras - a trip to a local village where the children instantly cried at the sight of 20 tourists tramping around their garden, and finally a quick stop at the Chinese border. Though I was shocked we were this close to China I was also at a bit of a loss - what do you do at a border if you are not crossing it!? I took a few snaps, declined having my flip flops shined and grabbed a tea before jumping back on the bus.


I was dropped off at Lao Cai on the way back and had three hours to fill before catching my first Vietnamese sleeper bus. I mainly spent time eating - a really light noodle soup with thin noodles and lots of mint, followed by an abundance of fresh fruit including my first taste of Asian satsumas! I got extra snacks for the bus, charged my ipod and set off.

It was neither comfortable or pleasant and the 12 hour journey was only punctuated with one toilet stop with urinals for men and women! I dozed a little and sometime after sunrise, while the traffic was still quiet the bus pulled up to Hanoi bus, the bus driver didn't stop shouting until we were all off. As the bus pulled away I shook the tiredness off and got ready to explore.