At 5:30 AM, the sound of a gong echoes in the distance and dawn starts to break. Shortly afterwards, the first monks appear In the silent backstreets of Luang Prabang. I could just make out the rhythmical padding of feet. Gravel crunching beneath the bare soles. Over 200 Bhuddist monks form a solemn processional line.
Read Morestreetlife
Never Offer To Teach Fish To Swim - Vietnamese Proverb. Saigon
The market is primarily a food market for locals that sells Chinese and Vietnamese produce. It feels like an indoor market but it’s anything but. The roof is a patchwork of umbrellas which can only be fully appreciated when you venture up the into the residential walkways of the apartments above and look down over the scene below.
Read MoreRoom with a view - Saigon.
Constant Dripping Hollows Out the Stone - Vietnamese Proverb. Saigon
As soon as we arrived on a hot wet grey day, I immediately fell in love with Saigon. It’s big, it’s friendly, it’s full of orderly traffic, it’s a cosmopolitan city with a mix of old and new and it’s developing rapidly. Skyscrapers are emerging across the skyline. I wouldn’t say it was a particularly attractive city and it certainly doesn’t have a huge list of tourist attractions but it has bags of local life, intriguing quarters made up of webs of alleyways and bags of friendliness and no hassle.
Read MoreHoi An - Room with a view.
If you Run After Two Hares, You’ll Catch Neither - Vietnamese Proverb. Hoi An. Vietnam.
I thought it might be like Venice and be a little emptier and quieter once the tourist coaches had left and the cycle buggies had stopped wheeling people around but no - the crowds of people are just more condensed to the river area. The river is crammed full of boat rides and the bank on the opposite side has a horrible tourist night market that sells nothing more than the tat you’ve seen in the shops.
Read MoreYou Can Catch More Flies With Honey Than With Vinegar - Vietnamese Proverb. Hue. Vietnam
Our visit coincided with the the full moon lantern festival which was unique and fun to see the trees lit up with beautiful lights as well as yellow and red dragons dancing clumsily through restaurants getting tangled up in ceiling fans and wires. We unfortunately brought the rain with us, not ideal for a lantern festival.
Read MoreOne Drop of Poison Infects the Whole Tun of Wine - Vietnamese Proverb. Hue. Vietnam
Wishing for something completely different, we located Hue Abandoned Water Park. It sounded interesting on-line but wasn’t quite the secret it was made out to be. Once a bustling aquatic playground, nestled amidst the pine hills of Hue, this water park spans an area of 50 hectares.
Read MoreA Swallow Doesn’t Make a Spring - Vietnamese Proverb. Hanoi.
I really like the Non La - the cone hats, they look so simple but are beautifully made. We tried to locate a hat maker, it took forever - asking everyone who passed us as well as negotiating a big car down teeny tiny lanes. It was mad… Our driver did so well and the next thing we knew we were both riding pillion on a hat-maker’s motorbike and arrived at a little square.
Read MoreThe guarded section of Train Street
Adversity is the Mother of Wisdom - Vietnamese Proverb. Hanoi
It then became one of Hanoi’s most visited places. Now, having been closed for a while following a near accident', the main entrances are guarded and limited people are allowed in. Many of the coffee shops have closed due to the Government’s clamp down as well as the lack of tourists. We were not allowed onto the tracks at a couple of guarded sections so we quickly hopped onto another section just in time…
Read MoreA Day of Travelling Will Bring a Basket Full of Learning - Vietnamese Proverb
We learnt pretty fast that you just go with the flow - when you cross the street, you walk like an elephant - slow and steady, don’t stop, look forward, keep moving, and trust that scooters and cars will either stop or move around you. Except Buses - they don’t Stop. You run.
Read More