Trips and Travells

I haven't been able to write on here much in the last 3 weeks. I have been moving around so much I don't really have time to come online for updates. 

I've been all over Vietnam and I've met so many interesting people and been so many beautiful places. After spending nearly a week in and around Sai Gon I moved to a beach resort called Mui Ni. It was a nice mix of action or relaxing. Good spot for surfing (wind, board or kite) or spudding on the beach. The waves were dissapointing but the local area that we explored was amazing. 

Stayed in Mui Ni for 2 days and then got on the wrong bus and ended up in a city on the coast called Nha Trang. The beach was filthy and it was HOT. Walked about 8km that day in the scorching heat and it was not fun. Went to a big Cham historic site. It was nice but the heat had me beaten down. Hopped onto a night train for some rocky traveling and a lovely sleep on the floor where I was eaten alive by bugs.

10 bleary hours later I arrived into Da Nang (I forgot to mention that the 10 hour train journey only cost around €20 dollors) what we thought was an extreamly friendly local showed us where to get the local bus but it turned out he was only showing us where the bus was so he could book us into his sisters hotel in the town we where heading to, Hoi An

I've been in many beautiful places and have had my heart captured by flowing rivers, breathtaking mountians and humble markets but never have I been so lulled and in love with somewhere but the beautiful and relaxed town of Hoi An in central Vietnam. You can get lost down it's many worn cobbled lanes, lose track of time in it's old French style houses or visit some of the local countryside that hosts sone amazing sites like My Son or the Marble Mountians. We spent 3 days there and I was heartbroken to leave. Spent the 3 days exploring on a motorbike and it certianly was a mad expierence.  

Flights are amazingly cheap here. Booked a flight from Da Nang to Hanoi for about €46. Hanoi is a moderen busteling city that is alive and kicking. I only spent one night there and got a bus to Ninh Binh. It's a tiny town compared to Hanoi but the surrounding countryside has some amazing places to visit. Van Long national park is like something from a fantasy novel. We rented out a motorbike again and drove around, under and over the massive limestone mountians. Ended up in a tiny and I mean tiny villiage where none of the locals spoke english. These people live off the land and spend most of there lives supporting their familys by growing there own food. 6 generations of family often live in the same house over the years and some traditions are still going strong. Driving around on the bike and doing my own exploring was so freaking rewarding and Sophie and I had some great laughs along the way. At one point I was about to overtake another bike that had a big basket on the back of it. On closer inspection we noticed a brown tail sticking out the top, attached to that tail was a cow. There was a guy driving at about 45kmh on a main road with a cow wraped in a basket on the back of his bike. I almost wet myself laughing. 

I know this has been a long update and there is plenty more to come but il cut it here for the moment. My advice is if you go on a trip, please, do your own thing. You don't need a guide to show you everywhere and you don't need to book into tour groups to see the country. Get yourself a bike.

Redman out