December 5th After breakfast we await the the arrival of San who will take us to a variety of sights…after perusing a bunch of online reviews we had reserved her services for the day some months ago. It is a beautiful day and she is there before 09:00 …the owner assures us she will do…Continue Reading “Mekong Delta …..touring around the Chau Doc countryside”
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December 4th After breakfast, it is time to move on. As we have come to expect, a clean, fresh-smelling taxi arrives exactly on time and we are on our way to the Can Tho Bus Station (3 CAD) to pay for our reserved seats on the FUTA bus. Luckily there is normal seating (no contortions…Continue Reading “Mekong Delta ………onwards to Chau Doc”
December 3rd We are up with the cockerels, time for a quick coffee/tea and meet our guide for the day. We head to the Green Village dock, where our sampan awaits. By 06:00. we push off and after about an hour of going through various canals, we reach the Song Hau River one of the…Continue Reading “Mekong Delta ……..early morning visit to the Can Tho Floating Market”
Over the next few days we are conducting a “DIY” tour of the Mekong Delta where we hope to get a good sense of how this agriculturally rich area looks from a slightly less touristic point of view….we are not really going “off the grid” but what the heck it’s a start: December 2nd, A…Continue Reading “Mekong Delta “DIY” Tour > busing to Can Tho, Chau Doc & Ha Tien”
December 1st Today looks like a decent day, a nice breakfast, I opt for the seafood noodle soup (pho) yummy > the hotel is owned by a retired teacher who spent time in Germany and his English, as well as his wife’s, is excellent …a rather pedantic fellow, but well-meaning. Our hotel room is nice…Continue Reading “Saigon …..an easy going tourist day”
November 30th Up at 05:00 to have a shower before catching a cab to the airport, the airline had moved up the flight time so we had no say in the matter and were at the airport, checked in and waiting by 07:15…the hotel had prepared us some breakfast takeaway so we will not be…Continue Reading “Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City…..aka Saigon”
November 28th After breakfast we decided that having completed everything in our plan over the last two days we would keep it low-key…..just do a walkabout around the area we are staying in and then take it easy for the balance. Ninh Binh is not the prettiest town in the world but that is often…Continue Reading “Ninh Binh ….a quieter day, then onwards to Hanoi”
November 27th A decent morning with clear skies and a temperature of about 20C. The breakfasts here are no match for the hotel in Hanoi but filling and tasty nevertheless. We have decided to spend another day with Truong visiting a variety of sites. This time he charges us 49 USD due to the longer…Continue Reading “Ninh Binh …..a second day of touring”
November 26th A late arrival in Hanoi followed by an early departure as we have a quick breakfast anticipating the arrival of our ride to Ninh Binh… the Ninh Binh Excursion Limousine Bus. A rather short journey today of 100 km and about 2 hours… At first sight, Ninh Binh is a rather unpretty town…Continue Reading “Hanoi to Ninh Binh……then a tour of the temples & pagodas”
November 24th A solid breakfast and around 08:30 we started cruising under overcast skies to Cong Dam… ….on arrival, we were transferred via tender to the island where we walked up a small hill which provided some great views… …..then visited a cave….. ….and kayaked through the hidden lagoons and geological park in Cong Dam…..no…Continue Reading “Bai Tu Long Bay Cruise …… Days 2 & 3”