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I can't believe the time is going so fast, its been 3 weeks already! At this rate we are definitly going to have to extend the holiday :) We've been having a very action packed time. Firstly we went trekking in Sapa for 2 days and stayed with a local family. That was so exhausting that we were glad it was only for the 2 days, but it was so beautiful that it was worth it. The trek took us all through the rice paddies and very local villages. The sleeping trains are good fun, the first one was so loud and jumpy that we barely got any sleep, but after getting used to it I have no problem with getting a full 10 hours sleep. Our Vietnamese is coming on well, we can now say 'hello' and 'thank you' so we have the basics under wraps. We then went to Ha Long Bay for 3 days and 2 nights, which was just amazing. The first day was quite foggy so we couldnt see too much, but the second day was clear so you could really see how massive the outcrops were. We went kayaking in the morning then went to quite a big island and went for a cycle around. We are glad that we are not doing a cycle trip because when the weather gets hot, it gets ridiculously hot! Plus the roads are not great. We then took an over night train down to Hue where our latest adventure was a motobike ride from Hue to Hoi An (we arrived this afternoon). It was all up in the mountains on the original Ho Chin Minh Trail so very wiggly and fascinating scenery. We had a tour guide who took our rucksacks and then we were both on one bike with Shaun driving, obviously. The first day we did 110km and went to the DMZ (de-militerised zone) from the American/Vietnam war where a whole village built a massive cave system and lived underground. It was very claustrophobic and quite scary. The second day was long and we got very very sore bums. We did 287km yesterday and today was just 130km. We are very glad that we did the motorbike trip, Shaun was sad to see the bike go but I was quite happy as I dont think I could have gone much further. Some people go all the way down the coast on bikes, but we might just do another mini trip a bit later on. We went on one motorway which was quite 'hairy' at times so I will leave your imagination to that. There was loads of evidence of landslides which they said mainly happened in December. At one section some workrs were just clearing the road so one must have happened quite recently. We've seen the aftermath of three accidents (one looked brown bread). Shaun says the bike was running a bit lumpy and not quite right at times. Shaun told our guide and later on the guide said that its not a real Honda, it was from China. Chop stick skills are improving in leaps and bounds. Shauns advanced scuba diving course on sunday in Nha Trang quite far down the coast, so I think tomorrow we might be taking the over night bus! I doubt we will get much sleep. We will be in Nha Trang for a few days so it will be nice to have a base for a few days and chill out somewhere for a bit. In Hanoi we met a man from Guernsey!!!! We were walking around the lake and I recognised the man walking in the opposite direction, I thought 'it cant be' so I ran after him and just said excuse me and he looked around then gave us both a massive hug. I dont know his name but I cycle past him every day on the way to work and we say hello, I call him the walking man. He couldnt stop though because he was on a tour which was a shame, but oh well. Lots of love. x
- comments
Graham Great to have an update I particularly liked that the people 'loved' underground made me laugh scary motocycle riding too awesome very jealous of the diving :-) take care you too.
Leanne You've pointed out the walking man to me before!!Thats SO weird! The motorbikes are the best bit! I'm very jealous. I cant believe he hugged you.
urs Sounds like you having a great time and might stay longer (do it!). Loving your typing mistakes fav is loving underground unless you ment that lol
Carol It was supposed to be 'lived' underground, I certainly dont think that they loved it. right I am off for a beer!
Mich Your walking man is Pat Larkin. His son works with Andy so we've just told him that you bumped into his dad. So random!
Paul Sounds like you are having a fab time , if you are thinking about staying longer then do it as its the chance of a lifetime , If that walking man is Pat Larkin then he used to be my school teacher at La Mare, such a small world ! Enjoy spending your bonus xx
Phil (the power) Taylor Mostly concerned about reference to 'extending the holiday'. It's foggy here too - that fog gets everywhere. Do you think Pat Larkin will hug you back in Guernsey? Keep safe xxxxx
Amy Reading your blogs makes me goosebumpy and slightly sweaty. U two really are doing it the right way although when i think about you over there i mainly just worry so i hope you are always safe x