Saigon

Temperature: 31 degrees, cloudy, humid. Captain Willard: [voiceover] “Saigon.. shit; I’m still only in Saigon.. Every time I think I’m gonna wake up back in the jungle. When I was home after my first tour, it was worse. I’d wake up and there’d be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said “yes” to a divorce. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I’m here a week now… waiting for a mission… getting softer. Every minute I stay in this […]

The Reunification Express (Part 2)

Distance so far: 15 543 km. Weather 27 degrees C, sunny. This is the second rail leg of my Vietnam journey – this time on a train called the “SE3” – which like the SE1 also travels from Hanoi to Saigon, but setting off later in the day – so a lunchtime departure from Da Nang on day two. This hasn’t been a particularly fun trip, so apologies that there not many photos here, but you will soon understand why I was otherwise engaged. 11.20 Da Nang station waiting room is getting busier by the minute, as my train is delayed […]

The Beach

I’m not a beach person, and just like the line in Alex Garland’s novel of the same name, I have found a beach for people who don’t actually like beaches. It’s called An Bang beach, and it’s not far up the road towards Da Nang from my base in Hoi An. The purpose of my visit is to seek out another personal recommendation from Neville of a great place to eat – his restaurant tips are sometimes not easy to spot or discriminate from the other places around them. On this occasion its a place called “Tuyet” which is a […]

Easy Rider

Time for a bit of motorcycling this afternoon. To be more precise, some “Wallace & Gromit” style biking into the countryside. And better still, on a 46 year old Russian “Ural” 500cc bike.. Invented by the Soviet Union in 1940 on Stalin’s orders to provide mobility to special forces.. This particular motorbike was originally provided to North Vietnam by the Russians where it served as a Police bike for much of its life. It had a crew of three and space for a detainee where I’m sitting.. It still retains a working siren, but we don’t use it much as […]

Pho Metal Jacket

Up at 06.30 today for another culinary adventure! This time it was a taste tour of Hoi An, run by a lovely retired Aussie couple, Neville and Colleen. They have moved to Hoi An and have an encyclopedic knowledge of every possible type of food and the best place to try it. Neville is seen here chatting up one of the many characters we meet along the way.. So I spent the morning meeting interesting locals and sampling dishes – 44 in all. I will just share a few discoveries here.. (and this isn’t the order I ate them in). Pictured […]

Faifoo

I have moved beaches – to Cau Dai beach 30km south of Da Nang, where I’m now staying on the outskirts of the 16th century fishing village that you probably know as Hoi An – but also known by its other name as “Faifoo”. I have checked in to a lovely French hotel (the Victoria) that is modelled on a local village – a kind of Vietnamese Portmerion. Its mainly full of wealthy French and Spanish tourists from what I can see. The staff are amazing and quickly adopt me as a mad Englishman that needs help. In the town […]

Da Nang

R&R here for New Year, but I’m too tired to do too much and fell asleep well before midnight.. I’m staying at the Furama, a great place on the beach on the outskirts of Da Nang. It wasn’t my original plan to stop here, but it was one of the few places not trying to fleece me for staying over at this time of the year – and I’m in luxury here – it’s really nice. I feel I have to mention, just in case you don’t know, that this city boasted the busiest single runway in the world in […]

The Reunification Express (Part 1)

Distance so far: 14 582 km Of course there is no single train called “The Reunification Express” in Vietnam – that would be like East Coast calling the 08.30 from Kings Cross “The Flying Scotsman”.. Having said that I have a ticket on the SE1, so I’m going to imagine it is the closest thing to this mythical train, going all the way from Hanoi to Saigon in three days. My destination is Da Nang – 15 hours south of Hanoi in Central Vietnam. After China, getting on this train was very straightforward – no big queues in the station – […]

Hanoi street meat

I have waited 24 hours before writing this post just in case there were going to be any health consequences of my recent street food banquet. I’m pleased to report that I’m feeling fine. So a day munching through the streets of the old quarter with a guide called “Johnny” from a great little company called Vietnam Awesome Travel that I tracked down from TripAdvisor. Lunch started at 11.30 and finished at 16.30! The idea is only one dish at each place, washed down with some Hanoi Beer of course.. There was a mixed international group of about ten of […]

Weasel coffee

I’ve had a super day cruising the chaotic streets of the old quarter of a Hanoi – more on this in another post, but if thought I would first share my love of Vietnamese coffee with you (I know that some of you are already champions of the cause though..) One of the enduring good things the French did in Vietnam (other than import its taste in baking, brewing and the guillotine) was to popularise coffee and cafe culture, and it thrives today across the country. At the end of a long lunch (about seven courses in five places – […]