Writing this from day 4, on top of a boat cruising Halong Bay. Yesterday was food food food. Morning was an early start, down the lobby at 745am for a quick stroll around the corner for breakfast pho. A perfectly civilised breakfast it is too, with extra doughnut crouton type thing. Yummy soupy goodness. Next stop was some local coffee, […]

First full day in Hanoi. Started with breakfast in the hotel, where I made a fusion breakfast of pho, crispy bacon and smoked dried fish. Quite yummy. Then a leisurely stroll down to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s oldest university, where the guidebooks say it’s possible to escape the bustle of Hanoi for a while. It really just swaps the […]

Made it to Hanoi, through customs and I’m again in the old communist block. Not that it really shows, anyone wanting a totalitarian/nationalistic look and feel these days might as well check out Australia on January 26 — there are a bunch of flags around here right now but none on cars. Interestingly, judging by the building developments going on […]