Our big trip
A few thoughts and photos from our travels
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Day 202 – Hanoi, a city abuzz
16th March: Hanoi, Vietnam Breakfast was on the top floor of the hotel and was nothing special, but the views from the terrace out over the city most definitely were. It was gloomy and slightly chilly, with a dampness in the air. The sound of church bells on this Sunday morning gave a distinctly European…
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Day 201 – The aftermath of Yagi
15th March: Cat Ba, Vietnam to Hanoi, Vietnam On our way down to breakfast, the kitten came to say hello. I scooped her up, sharp claws and all, and took her to breakfast where she first curled up for a cuddle and then went to say hello to everyone else. Am I actually starting to…
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Day 200 – Han La Bay
14th March: Cat Ba, Vietnam We woke to the rare pitter-patter of rain on the cabin roof. Poking my head out of the door, the tops of the limestone peaks were all obscured by cloud and fog. Tinh, the hotel owner, tried to assure us that it would get better later but it seemed set…
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Day 199 – The cats of Cat Ba
13th March: Cat Ba, Vietnam Today was another lovely chilled day. We spent the morning sat in the garden watching giant black and white butterflies, which hovered on the bougainvillea in a manner akin to hummingbirds. Dozens of dragonflies flitted around between the trees and big dark birds rode the thermals overhead. From time to…
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Day 198 – Paradise lost
12th March: Cat Ba, Vietnam I had a lovely generously sized pancake for breakfast, with a whole mango sliced inside. The less said about the coffee though, the better! Instead, I walked around to the hostel we’d been to for dinner last night as they have a roastery. As expected, their oat milk coffee was…
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Day 197 – Sleeper trains and speedboats
11th March: Hanoi, Vietnam to Cat Ba, Vietnam We were awoken by operatic music, announcing our imminent arrival into Hanoi. I checked my phone, thinking there must be time to sleep for a bit longer but it was 5:45 and outside the city was rolling past. We pulled into Ga Ha Noi on time and…
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Day 196 – The Imperial capital of the Nguyen
10th March: Hue, Vietnam to Hanoi, Vietnam Hue was capital of an approximation of Vietnam from 1802 to 1945, under the Nguyen dynasty. This is seen as an important period in the development of the modern Vietnamese identity. One facet was the solidification of many Chinese ideas such as within the fields of administration and…
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Day 195 – Up, up, and Hue
9th March: Danang, Vietnam to Hue, Vietnam We began the day with breakfast in the hotel. Something about the building, the corridors, the lift, and the breakfast buffet reminded us of our first hotel in East Asia. We remembered how wide-eyed we were when arriving in Beijing five months ago and how much we’d explored…
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Day 194 – There be dragons
8th March: Hoi An, Vietnam to Danang, Vietnam It was our final morning in Hoi An but rather than rush to leave, we savoured a final amble into the old town. Kaja had found a tea house yesterday that we went back to. Her herbal tea had the profile of buckwheat tea but with hints…
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Day 193 – High-water and night walks
7th March: Hoi An, Vetnam There’s still no rain, defying all predictions we’d seen! Not that we’re complaining, of course. I needed a chilled morning today, so popped out to get myself a coffee and a banh mi and then spent most the day in the room. I’m still a bit frazzled but it’s the…