Author Archives: angusmccoll

It’s coming into winter here in Vietnam and that means cool weather in the far north where we are now. It is the off-season for tourists in Ha Long City, which has many advantages but one of the disadvantages is the reduction of services because of less demand. The day didn’t really come together asContinue reading “Tuesday 19 November – Ha Long City”

Left Hanoi for a look at Ha Long Bay this morning. The 4-hour bus ride was possible one of the most uncomfortable I’ve ever endured. A combination of no leg room and rough roads was the problem. No Accommodation was pre organised so it was by luck that we found some economical hotel away fromContinue reading “Sunday 17 November – Hanoi to Ha Long City”

We hire a bike through our hotel for 150000 dong per day – cheap! Ha Long city is spread out across two peninsulas that are connected by an impressive modern suspension bridge. We cross the bridge to see what’s in the other side and to look for some breakfast. We find a great little street-sideContinue reading “Monday 18 November – Ha Long City”

We start with a visit to Hoa La Prison Museum. Hoa La prison was built by the French to discipline the masses. Temple of Literature

First thing to do is to go to visit Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh). Close off time is 11am but I’m sure the visit will be slow process. After breakfast on the way, we get the location and follow the arrows to the end of the line. On this day there is a huge lineContinue reading “Saturday 16 November – Hanoi”

Visited Ho Chi Minh today but he wasn’t taking any visitors. The first thing to do when you arrive in the old French Quarter of Hanoi is to walk around Hoan Kiem Lake. It’s a small lake in centre of town that features in Vietnamese myth and is popular today for visitors and locals toContinue reading “Thursday 14 November – Hanoi”

I had a last wander around beautiful Luang Prabang buying momentos before catching my flight to Hanoi. I bought my ticket on the Vietnam Airlines website but my flight turns out to be with Laos Airlines. The two are connected somehow. And the plane is the same make as the one that crashed in badContinue reading “Wednesday 13 November – Luang Prabang to Hanoi”

I visited Big Brother House today. This is the invention of an American publisher, Sasha, who sold up is businesses back in America to set up a publishing house in Laos. He was initially thought mad because “people don’t read in Laos”. There was a desperate need for entertaining books to get Laos reading. PriorContinue reading “Tuesday 12 November – Luang Prabang”

Ok, where do I start! Last night at the hotel a met a young German guy. Andreas has been travelling for two years. He picked up a small flyer from the tourism bureau asking for English speakers to donate some time to an English school. He explained this to me and I was keen toContinue reading “Monday 11 November – Luang Prabang”

Had a lazy morning walking around the city. Spent time just watching the activity on the Mekong river. It’s Sunday and a few things are closed but the river is as busy as ever. Ferries carry bikes, cars and horses across to the other side. Tourists are catching long boats up and down the river.Continue reading “Sunday 10 November – Luang Prabang”