A bus, a boat, another bus, then a taxi later we arrived in the capital, from Cat Ba Island. We travelled with Alex and Annika, who had wisely pre-booked accommodation on a busy weekend in Hanoi. Us on the other hand, decided to risk it - to try and get a good deal on the door, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake.After two hours of wandering around Hanoi, visiting many hotels, which were either full, or charging way too much, we found a room in a hostel cal...

Having caught a bus from Ninh Binh to Hai Phong, then a lot of haggling with a taxi driver to take us to the ferry, then working out which ferry to catch, we did eventually make it to Cat Ba Island. The ferry was a hydrofoil, which travelled at 75km/h, only taking 45 mins to reach the island...an experience. Although Cat Ba Island is 285Km2, all the accommodation and restaurants are in the main Cat Ba town. Cat Ba Island is known, and home to, the highly endanger...

We arrived by sleeper bus at 4am (our first sleeper bus with no issues!), half asleep, at a random hostel in the middle of nowhere, just outside the old capital - Ninh Binh.Luckily the hostel was open for business, and the owner was a very friendly, helpful man. He arranged for a mini bus to take us, and two other couples, to our hotels. The first couple arrived at their hotel to find it was closed. It then suddenly dawned on us that we would likely have the same...

A ridiculously early start for a day trip, 6am, to have breakfast and head North towards the DMZ (De-militarised Zone). Our first stop was at Dakrong Bridge, which belongs to part of the Ho Chi Minh trail, over 1,000km long and running from the North to the South of Vietnam. It took 17 years to build.We then made our way up the mountains to an old American military basecamp, 'Khe Sanh' Combat base, where restored bunkers, abandoned helicopters, tanks, and...

We decided, after speaking with many people, and watching the 'Top Gear - Vietnam Special', the only way to travel between these two destinations, was on two wheels! We had discussed doing this journey for a while. Amelia wasn't as enthusiastic as me about travelling this way, but after speaking with a few people, such as Jay and Charlie, I think she felt a little less anxious at the thought. The plan initially was to hire the one motorbike, and Ameli...