Shopping and beaches

After a five hour journey we arrived at Hoi an but this time we just took the normal seated night bus and although the driver was all over the place again it wasn't as bad.Now this a place that all three of us really liked.We were in heaven,for a week every day we went to two or three different restaurants trying the the local food (plus they all cooked western food for the days when Jan couldn't face it)if we wasn't eating we were looking around all the shops and getting some clothes made to measure or buying something for our appartment in Mallorca.Afew times Me,Jan and Robbie would meet up with two or three groups of people of different nationalities that we'd met during the day for a big meal and some drinks at night.Jan and myself decided to go on another cooking course after enjoying the one we did in Thailand near the start of our trip.This time though we were learning vietnamiese specialities.Then after cooking it all we sat down for a big meal with the rest of the group.After another twelve hour seated night bus we arrived at the start of the proper beach areas of vietnam,Nha trang.This again was another area which we really liked although it is alot more touristic and reminded us abit of parts of Spain.The same thing happened here as in Hoi an and we met alot of nice people,shared stories ,ate good meals ,got drunk and went shopping,it was great.So far all of vietnam has been brilliant and basically one big piss up, where we've met lots of different people,tried lots of new foods,been shopping and learned alot about vietnams past,and i'm pretty sure thats how it going to keep going.Appart from the first day here the weather has improved alot too which is nice.

Chinese Hospitality

In the transportation hub of Guangzhou our trip took an unexpected turn. Here we parted way with the girls who were homesick and Chinasick, which I understand is a common malady of travelers to the Middle Kingdom. In culmination of over two months of traveling through Asia, we ate the greatest eggplant in the world and noted how clever we'd become with chopsticks.The girls headed straight for Beijing and Radek and I for Shanghai. Immediately things started to be different. As a group of two rather than four we became approachable curiosities. People came from all over the carriage to make our aquaintence and ask what we thought of China. We were shown how to write and interpret our names in Chinese, we exchanged email addresses and were escorted to a fantastic hotel in our price range that we never would have found on our own.At 16 million, the population of Shanghai exceeds many small countries. Wherever you go you jockey for space with the swirling masses. One resident told us of the time she rode the metro and it was so crowded that her body made into the train but her hair didn't. She had to wait until the next stop to yank it free from the automatic door. So it's a bit intense.Despite all of the interesting and peculiar people that surely live in a city of this magnitude, we still made an impression. It was unusal to walk 50 meters without someone yelling hello and we were often approached by young Chinese students eager to share with us the English names they had chosen for themselves. (The random approaching was not limited to foriegners, as we saw several young men forced to turn their notebooks over to police on the lookout for "bad thoughts.")Our greatest insight into Chinese hospitality came the next day, when we accepted a dinner invitation from a kind doctor, his son and Abigail, the woman who showed us our hotel. We ate a meal that we never would have managed to order in a restaurant that would have been too intimidatingly Chinese for us to enter. It was fantastic and our talents with chopstciks seemed to impress!This was our first opportunity to see the curious and welcoming nature of the Chinese and it was both fascinating and exhausting. For a change of pace and space, we visited the ancient gardens and canals of Suzhou...just a half hour by freakishly fast train from the city. As one of the Chinese's most prized touristic locations, Suzhou took the spotlight and we were demoted to only mildly interesting.

Princess Junk Cruise Halong bay Vietnam

Princess Junk Cruise Halong bay: What could be more romantic or more memorable than spending a special occasion on Halong bay. Whether its tying the knot in a wedding ceremony, going on honeymoon, celebrating a special anniversary or renewing your marriage vows, Cruise Halong can find the perfect cruise for you. Launched in September 2007 with 2 first private junks named Princess I & Princess II which offer luxury and perfect services in the World Heritage of Halong Bay.Based on the Ancient Chinese Sail-Boat Style, Princess Junks are designed perfectly by wood, stone and bronze in harmony between tradition and luxuryWith a fully-equipped dinning room, a deluxe cabin with en-suite bathroom, sunbathing and relaxing area, a professional kitchen, a captain cabin and a separate staff area, Princess Junks give you a special private space.Professional in design, Princess Junks can bring you to the wildest, farthest and less touristy places with magnificent scenery in Halong BayDo not choose Princess Junks just because of their luxury. Further more, Princess Junks have well-educated and professional crews who are very friendly and hospitality. Our experienced captains can take you explore every tranquil scenery in the safest conditions.Let join us to “relax on your own way”. Princess Junks offer you the best services and unforgettable trips in Halong Bay

I would love to tell

I would love to tell you more.I made some amazing friends in Kunming. The food is amazing! I am planning on going back there sometime in the near future.

HaNoi - HaLong - NinhBinh - MaiChau - Hue - DaNang - HoiAn - MySon - SaiGon - CuChi - TayNinh - MeKong Delta - SaiGon

Day 1. Arrival in HanoiGreetting at Noi Bai airport and transfer to hotel. Overview of the Old Quarters by ricckshaw. Water puppetry show.Day 2. Hanoi – HalongHanoi city tour : Tran Quoc Pagoda, Temple of Literature. After lunch, proceed to Halong via Red River Delta . Overnight in Halong.Day 3. Halong – Ninh Binh6-hour cruise in Halong Bay with lunch onboard. Transfer to Ninh Binh. Overnight in Ninh Binh.Day 4. Ninh Binh – Mai Chau3-hour sampan ballade to visit “Inland Halong Bay”, then Hoa Lu.. Drive to Mai Chau . Overnight in a house on stilts of Thai minority.Day 5. Mai Chau – Hanoi – HueA short trek around Thai minority villages before driving back Hanoi. Leisure time before taking night train to Hue.Day 6. HueOn arrival at 07.50, visit to Hue , last imperial capital of Vietnam : the Imperial Palace, Royal Tombs. Enjor costume royal dinner.Day 7. Hue – Da Nang – Hoi AnBoat cruise on Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda. Heading south, visit Cham Art Museum, then visit Hoi An Ancient Town.Day 8. Hoi An – My Son – Hoi AnTransfer to visit My Son – former sanctuary of Indianized Champa Kingdom in the First Millenium. Back to Hoi An for overnight.Day 9. Hoi An – Da Nang – SaigonTransfer to Da Nang airport for flight to Saigon. Saigon city tour : visit former French Quarter and former Chinatown.Day 10. Saigon – My Tho – SaigonDrive to My Tho to visit Cai Be floating market on the Upper Mekong Branch. Back to Saigon for overnight.Day 11. Saigon - Cu Chi - Tay Ninh – SaigonTransfer to visit Cu Chi Tunnels, proceed on to visit Tay Ninh Cao Dai Holy See. Back to Saigon..Day 12. Saigon – DepartureFree time for shopping before transfer to airport for departure flight

Trekking (ok a short walk) in the Mountains

We also travelled North East to Sapa which is the hub for trekking in the mountains and visiting Hill tribes. Its an overnight train journey (only 9 hours) and a bus ride to an Alps-like town (minus the snow) with stunning views of the mountains. Sapa is beautiful.We wouldn't call ourselves trekkers more 'walkers' and we opted out of organised tours for a 5 hour trek just us and a guide. Quin was brilliant, he had lots of stories and local information as we walked over the mountains in two villages - Lao Chai & Ta Van. We visited the villages of the H'Mong & Zao tribes, saw the local schools, visited a home and witnessed the whole rice production business from harvesting to drying the grains.Jay also got to sample the local 'pick me up', a tobacco bamboo bong. See the pictures for the before and after shot - look at Quin's face!Apparently (from his coughing and spluttering) one puff was enough....(Editor's note: Let's get this straight. I thought it would be no stronger than a puff on a Marlboro Light. So not wanting to appear like an amateur, I inhaled as deeply as possible... which resulted in half a minute of coughing and head spins - much to the amusement of the local people and our guide (and yes it really was tobacco).We can really understand why everyone raved about Vietnam before we left and we have a long list of places that we'd love to come and see (Hoi An, Hue, Mui Ne, Saigon...) on our next trip...Photo's to follow... slow connection...

Festivals and Holidays in Vietnam

Vietnam has a huge number of festivals. Listing all of them under one group is not possible. Many festivals (in different areas) are the same as other festivals in other areas, but are known by different names and/or are celebrated at different times. Below you will find some of the more important ones.Festivals are good places to learn about various crafts and customs of the area in which they are held. For example, the Master Pagoda Festival (HaTay) has puppet shows, the Hung Temple Festival (Vinh Phu) features Xoan folk songs, the Phu Giay Festival has Chau Van folk songs and the Lim Festival has Quan Ho folk songs.Other festivals feature games and contests, such as rowing, rope pulling or climbing, wrestling, rice cooking or chess. There are also competitions between animals such as buffalo and cockfights or pigeon races.Note: Some events are linked to the Western calendar, but others follow the lunar calendar.Main Holidays & Festivals (Official Public Holidays) 1 January: New Year. 1 January L.M: Lunar New Year. 3 February: The Foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam. 30 April: The Liberation of South Vietnam. 1 May: International Labor. 14 May: Buddha’s Birthday 19 May: Ho Chi Minh’s Birthday 2 September: National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 25 December: Christmas Day. Popular Culture Festivals 2 January L.M: Lieu Doi Festival (Ha Nam Ninh). 5 January L.M: Dong Da Festival (Hanoi). 10 January L.M: Elephant Race Day, M’nong Ethnic Minority’s help in central highland. 13 January L.M: Lim Festival (Ha Bac) “Quan Ho” Folk song contest. 15 January L.M: Spring Festival on Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh). 10 March L.M: “Hung” Temple Festival (Vinh Phu). 9 April L.M: “Giong” Festival Performing Day (Hanoi). 26 April L.M: “Chua Xu” Festival “Chau Doc”. 16 June L.M: Greeting “Mr. Whale” Festival (Tien Giang & Ben Tre). 26 August L.M: Greeting “Mr. Whale” Festival (Can Gio & Duyen Hai). 30 July L.M: “Lang Ong” Festival (HCMC), Le Van Duyet’s Anniversary old-age Worshipping. 9 August L.M: Buffalo fighting festival (Do Son & Hai Phong) and “Tran Hung Dao” Festival at Tran Hung Dao Temple. DESCRIPTION OF SOME HOLIDAYS CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT VIETNAM(Western) NEW YEAR'S DAY January 1 Fireworks, dancing, feasting and general revelry abound in this colourful New Year celebration. TET (TET NGUYEN DAN) Late January/early February is the most important Vietnamese annual festival. This marks the new lunar year and the advent of spring. This is a three-day holiday, usually at the end of January or the beginning of February (according to the solar calendar).Preparations include clay trees to ward off evil spirits and lime dust spread around the house to gain additional protection from Buddha. People prepare food, a robe and boots to appease the Tao Quan, the gods of the earth. On the evening of New Year, fireworks, drums and gongs frighten away the devil Na A and his wife.The following lunar New Years are: 12 Feb 2002, 1 Feb 2003, 22 Jan 2004, 9 Feb 2005, 29 Jan 2006ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN VIETNAM February 3 THANH MINH (worship and renovation of the dwellings of the dead) April 5 and 20 LIBERATION DAY April 30th is the day on which Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) fell to Hanoi in 1975. This holiday is commemorated nationwide.MAY DAY May 1 (Labour Day) Celebrated throughout the country, parades, feasts and fireworks go hand in hand.BIRTHDAY OF PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH May 19th This is another good time to party.TRUNG NGUYEN (Feast of the Wandering Souls and Hungry Ghosts) August/September (Full-moon of the seventh lunar month) Vietnamese All-Souls' Day. Food is laid out in temples to feed the hungry ghosts that wander the earth for one day. Burning paper money supports the praying for absolution.NATIONAL DAY OF VIETNAM September 2 Celebrated with parades, dances, fireworks and music. This is a photographers delight.MID AUTUMN FESTIVAL September/October (15th day of the eighth lunar month) This festival is especially dedicated to children, but adults also take part. The children sing, dance and parade with lanterns shaped as stars, the moon or animals.CALENDAR OF SOME FESTIVALS OF ETHNICAL MINORITIES IN VIETNAMTHE LONG TONG FESTIVAL third day of the Lunar New Year until the end of January is celebrated by the Tay ethnic group. It involves religious ceremonies in honour of Geniuses and of persons credited with building their first settlements and various games, including the "luon" song performances and the lion dance.THE "SEC BUA" FESTIVAL prior to the Lunar New Year's Day It is a time-honoured custom of the Muong ethnic group to organise. "Phuong bua" teams visit households in the village and sing congratulatory songs on the occasion of the New Year's Day. The songs, which are accompanied by gongs and cymbals, later shift from congratulations to "rang" songs and "bo meng" songs (dialogue songs).THE SEN BAN, SEN MUONG FESTIVAL Is usually held by the Thai ethnic group in February (lunar calendar) to express best wishes to their own villages and districts. The festival involves processions, religious ceremonies, a contest in shooting firearms and crossbows and a contest in "con" ball throwing.THE "CA TE" FESTIVAL July Is held by the Cham ethnic group. The festival involves visiting and taking care of tombs and visiting pagodas and stoops to express thanks to the Geniuses with song and dance performances.THE BUFFALO SLAUGHTERING FESTIVAL Early Spring The Bahnar ethnic group thank the Geniuses for good harvests and good health. Buffaloes are slaughtered as offerings to the latter. The festival also involves a shield dance, javelin throwing, slick fights, dances and feasts of roasted buffalo meat with liquor drunk through bamboo tubes from a jar.THE "LEAVING THE TOMB" FESTIVAL Ethnic groups dwelling in the High Plateaux do not observe the anniversary of the death of their parents and relatives but visit the tombs frequently and hold ceremonies there for a period of 4-5 years and thereafter leave them forever. The "Leaving the tomb" festival is a big festival, involving mainly dances and songs.THE "CHOM CHO NAN THO MAY" OR KHMER NEW YEAR DAY FESTIVAL April Usually held by the Khmer ethnic group of South Vietnam at the beginning of the New Year's Day of the Khmer calendar. It involves visits to and ceremonies in pagodas, kite flying, dance and song performances as well as "du-ke" theatrical plays.THE KHMER "THANKS GIVING TO THE MOON AND BOAT COMPETITION" FESTIVAL 15th of October This festival is held by the Khmer ethnic group in South Vietnam and involves ceremonies with fried rice as offerings and a boating competition. THE "KIM KHAU MO" FESTIVAL October (also called the Lau phua, Lau Man) Held by the Kho Mu and Xinh Mun ethnic groups, Son La province is to welcome newly produced rice and involves arts performances.CHRISTMAS DAY December Held throughout the country wherever Christianity is practiced. There are literally hundreds of festivals throughout Vietnam therefore to list each and every one of them would be a mammoth task. It is therefore advised that you ask your hotel concierge or at the local tourism office on arrival for more details.