travels with an ageing punkrocker/publisher
Summer in Hanoi. We’ve had a few conversations with locals, like hotel staff, tour guides, and they’ve all had one thing to say, “It’s a shame you’re hear in Summer when it’s so hot, the best time really is October”. And in fairness that is probably true, but our day jobs don’t always provide the luxury of travelling at the […]
Read moreCoffee. Vietnam grows and exports a lot of this, though it’s over 90% robusta, the unfashionable cousin to arabica. It’s also starting to drink more of it and develop a bit of a coffee culture, with all manner of chains and little cafes springing up around Hanoi. I don’t recall seeing so many on previous trips, my impression from the […]
Read moreWho doesn’t like a 3am start? Me for one, but when the mobile starts beeping and calling out that wonderful catch phrase, “Smile, you’re travelling!” then it’s just a case of sucking up the entitlement and hauling my white arse out of bed. An added bonus was pissing the cat off by having the audacity to get up before she’d […]
Read moreAnd we’re back, just about ready for the next trip. This time it’s back to Vietnam, and a few days on the way back in that Disneyland with the death penalty, Singapore. Our first trip in a post-COVID world. The packing is almost done, just the few basic bits like electronics and toiletries to pack. Nothing fancy is needed on […]
Read moreSitting in the business class lounge at Changi’s terminal 3, we’re half way home. One more flight, one more lot of customs, one more car ride and that’s it. Our own house, out own beds, doing our own washing and cleaning. Three weeks doesn’t seem like a long time in the whole scheme of things, and there are times when […]
Read moreOur last day in Hoi An, and L’s birthday (age unspecified). We kicked off with our standard hotel breakfast, though I had to stop and post a picture as it seems, following yesterday’s pic, a significant amount of dragon fruit envy out there. I hadn’t realised as, other than looking absolutely alien on the outside, the inside edible part is […]
Read moreToday we got our clothes. My masterpiece of a jacket fits great, and looks pretty special. It’s probably safe to say it’s a one-of-a-kind, as I doubt anyone else has been “inspired” enough to get a jacket in that material. Now I just need it to get cool enough to wear it. I also got a tie in the same […]
Read moreA quiet start to the day, some lounging and relaxing as all our clothes fittings were scheduled for the afternoon. Again it was a stroll into the old town for lunch, where we found a place that had french fries so L could have a carb fix that wasn’t rice, as gluten free bread is nowhere to be found here. […]
Read moreToday was the first full day in Hoi An, and we certainly did consumerism proud. If you take away the whole UNESCO world heritage listing of the old town the business of Hoi An is business, specifically making stuff: clothes, jewellery, glasses, more clothes, and other shiny things. The hotel breakfast is okay, nothing too flash but enough to take […]
Read moreWe kicked off our last day in Hanoi with the standard hotel breakfast, before plunging forth into mid-morning traffic in search of S****ucks, so L could add the special Vietnam mug to our collection (I was also tempted to get the Hanoi mug, as it’s bright orange on the inside, and we don’t have any that colour, but I’m not […]
Read moreOur last full day in Hanoi. I read an article recently that of all tourists to Vietnam, only 10-20% return for another visit. And we’ve seen the signs of this in the reactions of locals — many are surprised to hear that we’ve been here before. I know the world is a big place, with so many wonderful sights still […]
Read moreWell, a little bit quieter anyway. Last night we looked over our balcony and the street was shoulder to shoulder, even the mopeds (which probably weren’t supposed to be on the “walking” street) were forced to a crawl. Today, we could see the street below. There were the usual street vendors, pho and bun cha for those starting the new […]
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