Well folks, it's been a while since the last update...but after leaving Mui Ne I headed to Dalat for a bit of Canyonning in the Dalat mountains and a general lookaround. Canyonning was great fun and very tiring!! We basically followed the river down into the mountaisns and abseilled our way next to the river and IN the river!! Met Heather and Kenny (from California) on the Canyonning trip and bumped into them again in Hanoi...so of course had to go for a few beers with them :))
After Dalat it was a 15 hour sleeper bus journey to Hoi An. Hoi An was really nice and had a great Mui Ne style beach (China Beach). Visited the Marble Mountains with some great of the surrouding area and Danang. Also did a trip up to My Son to see the old Cham Burial relics...around 2500 years old and so competed with Angkor Wat!!
Caught a plane up to Hanoi for around $40 :)) Couldn't stand the thought of a long bus journey again!! Hanoi is a crazy mad place and definitely scooter capital of the world. Spent a few nights in Hanoi and then headed to Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay is super amazing and loved the scenery there. Met Daniel, Roberto and Sheila on this trip. We stayed on the boat for a night and then a hotel on Cat Ba island. I loved the cycle trip around the island.
After heading back to Hanoi for a couple more nights, I booked a trip up to Sapa. Sapa is also amazing scenery. This is how I imagined Vietnam to be :) Getting to Sapa meant a sleeper train ride to Lao Cai and then a bus journey to Sapa. We started our 12km retk through the moutains and "paddy" fields and luckily it wasn't raining...so a fairly easy trek. Stayed in Ta Van village at a homestay and the "mother" of the house brought out the "happy water" i.e. rice wine. That stuff is lethal!!! Got seriously sozzled and danced the night away with the locals and a few other backpackers!! So the 7km trek the following morning was not fun and it rained pretty heavily...so a very muddy trek as well. Not sure what was more embarrassing...getting help to go down the slippery mountain by a 51 year old or by a 14 year old carrying a baby!!! Still had a great day through the valleys and May Linh was a great guide.
After Sapa...it was time to leave Vietnam and head to Thailand!! Arrived in Bangkok early afternoon and met up with Stefan again for a few beers in mad Bangkok. Malle arrive the day and I'd forgotten what a mad, fun girl she is :)) Still suffering from the buckets of Rum and Coke from last night. Ah well...got have a drink now and then lol. Malle and I head down to Hua Hin for a spot of kiting...I hope there is wind...can't wait to get into the water again.
Anyway, until the next rant...so long suckers :))
