Monday 8 June 2015
Saturday 6 April 2013
The End
This has been an incredible life changing trip. To be submerged in culture, cuisine and to spend seven weeks together travelling and having the time of our lives. We've met some amazing people and are sad to be leaving. These are memories we will share for the rest of our lives. We think the most important lessons learned on this voyage are simply not to hold to heavy our western values of materialism and necessity, and that getting out of ones comfort zone and REALLY traveling is by all means one of the most important things you can do in your life. Re-think buying that new car or flat screen tv, and get out there and see the world! Become immersed, as it will change your priorities, we believe, for the better. Ending off with a few pics of our favourite restaurants in Ho Chi Minh, my last bowl of Pho, and some shots from the plane flying into Tokyo. Can't wait to travel again!
Some tips for fellow travellers to follow. Links, what to pack etc. keeping in mind we were in Asia from mid February to early April.
Pampers wet wipes ( 2 large (70 wipe packages) did us for the 7 weeks.
Bens mosquito spray, 2 120 ml bottles.
5 roles toilet paper, for the many toilets without it.
Bring a decent amount of clothes, about 5 changes, that will keep your laundry washing down to about once a week. Don't expect to buy much there because its not easy to find stuff that fits us big Canadians, and Alanna and I are not even big by our standards.
Don't bother with too many shoes. We wore only sandals, two pairs are ample. keens were great for any minor hiking we did. If you do bring a pair of shoes, don't bring more then two pairs of socks because you won't use them.
Don't bring more then one sweater. We were always told how cold the north was, it was still t shirt weather. Summer shorts and shirts are all u need, but bring a couple light long sleeve shirts for covering up from the sun, it burns fast.
We brought our msr water filter and never used it. There is bottled water literally everywhere, so leave that at home.
Brought rain gear, never used it. We bought north face light winter jackets in sapa, which we used for two days when we were motorbiking through rainy cloudy weather.
One light pair of pants may be nice for when the Mosquitos come out some evenings, however I found it too hot so I just applied bug spray.
We brought two 240 ml bottles of sun screen, didn't even use half I think. Watch out for the sun down south though, you burn way faster then at home.
Advil and gravol can be handy for the nastier bus and lengthly train rides.
Mosquito net was handy a few times as well.
If you are renting a motorbike for the northern loop to carry two people (doubling) don't take anything less then a 150, 200 would be better.
Bring floss, non to be found there. However, every hotel we stayed in had little disposable tooth brushes and toothpastes in the rooms.
If you are picky about shampoo and conditioner then bring it but every hotel has it so not necessary.
After sun lotion was handy several times, they don't have it there, in case you get too much sun.
Never used money belts, they never left our back packs.
Bringing about 500$ american was handy for airports and Cambodia which uses American regularly. 1$ bills were handy for tips.
Wifi was pretty much everywhere so an ipad or laptop was so helpful with research and bookings. A must really.
We took one day pack and two big packs. Back packs were un-necessary, suitcases would have worked just as good since travel from hotel to hotel is so easy.
For central Vietnam caves etc, a must see, http://phong-nha-cave.com/
For Hanoi, the Rising Dragon hotel is good. And for info on the area and many different tours for
Halong, Sapa, northern Vietnam etc. see Charlie at http://www.vietnambackpackertour.com/
These are some hotels we stayed at I would stay at all of them again.
The Sunshine hotel in Hoi An
The Number 9 hotel in Phnom Phen (Cambodia)
The Golden Butterfly Villa in Siem Reap (Cambodia)
The Rega hotel in Kep (Cambodia)
Nice Swan hotel in Nha Trang
The Vina hotel in Hue
Nam Long hotel in Dong Hoi
Hong Han hotel in Ho Chi Minh (Great location & price)
Paris beach resort on Phu Quoc island (A bit out of the way, but good for a romantic get away & they had great food. It was a bit pricier than others though. Lots of hotels on island so go look around then book).
Grand View Sapa hotel in Sapa
Couldn't remember several but this is a start, hope this info helps someone out.
Till the next time........
Some tips for fellow travellers to follow. Links, what to pack etc. keeping in mind we were in Asia from mid February to early April.
Pampers wet wipes ( 2 large (70 wipe packages) did us for the 7 weeks.
Bens mosquito spray, 2 120 ml bottles.
5 roles toilet paper, for the many toilets without it.
Bring a decent amount of clothes, about 5 changes, that will keep your laundry washing down to about once a week. Don't expect to buy much there because its not easy to find stuff that fits us big Canadians, and Alanna and I are not even big by our standards.
Don't bother with too many shoes. We wore only sandals, two pairs are ample. keens were great for any minor hiking we did. If you do bring a pair of shoes, don't bring more then two pairs of socks because you won't use them.
Don't bring more then one sweater. We were always told how cold the north was, it was still t shirt weather. Summer shorts and shirts are all u need, but bring a couple light long sleeve shirts for covering up from the sun, it burns fast.
We brought our msr water filter and never used it. There is bottled water literally everywhere, so leave that at home.
Brought rain gear, never used it. We bought north face light winter jackets in sapa, which we used for two days when we were motorbiking through rainy cloudy weather.
One light pair of pants may be nice for when the Mosquitos come out some evenings, however I found it too hot so I just applied bug spray.
We brought two 240 ml bottles of sun screen, didn't even use half I think. Watch out for the sun down south though, you burn way faster then at home.
Advil and gravol can be handy for the nastier bus and lengthly train rides.
Mosquito net was handy a few times as well.
If you are renting a motorbike for the northern loop to carry two people (doubling) don't take anything less then a 150, 200 would be better.
Bring floss, non to be found there. However, every hotel we stayed in had little disposable tooth brushes and toothpastes in the rooms.
If you are picky about shampoo and conditioner then bring it but every hotel has it so not necessary.
After sun lotion was handy several times, they don't have it there, in case you get too much sun.
Never used money belts, they never left our back packs.
Bringing about 500$ american was handy for airports and Cambodia which uses American regularly. 1$ bills were handy for tips.
Wifi was pretty much everywhere so an ipad or laptop was so helpful with research and bookings. A must really.
We took one day pack and two big packs. Back packs were un-necessary, suitcases would have worked just as good since travel from hotel to hotel is so easy.
For central Vietnam caves etc, a must see, http://phong-nha-cave.com/
For Hanoi, the Rising Dragon hotel is good. And for info on the area and many different tours for
Halong, Sapa, northern Vietnam etc. see Charlie at http://www.vietnambackpackertour.com/
These are some hotels we stayed at I would stay at all of them again.
The Sunshine hotel in Hoi An
The Number 9 hotel in Phnom Phen (Cambodia)
The Golden Butterfly Villa in Siem Reap (Cambodia)
The Rega hotel in Kep (Cambodia)
Nice Swan hotel in Nha Trang
The Vina hotel in Hue
Nam Long hotel in Dong Hoi
Hong Han hotel in Ho Chi Minh (Great location & price)
Paris beach resort on Phu Quoc island (A bit out of the way, but good for a romantic get away & they had great food. It was a bit pricier than others though. Lots of hotels on island so go look around then book).
Grand View Sapa hotel in Sapa
Couldn't remember several but this is a start, hope this info helps someone out.
Till the next time........
Halong Bay
We purchased a two night three day Halong Bay tour. $125 per person. What a beautiful place. We went hiking, saw caves, kayaked, enjoyed some time with monkeys on monkey island, learned how to make spring rolls, played pool & enjoyed some amazing cuisine. The first night we slept in the boat with about 15 others. The second night we slept in bungalows on a secluded, private beach with a great crew.
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Northern loop. Hanoi to Sapa & back
We hopped on our fully loaded 110cc bike and headed from Hanoi to Mai Chau. The beginning of our "northern loop". An important note to anyone renting a motorbike in Vietnam, the typical manual honda or Sufat 110 cc bikes are NOT big enough for two people! Though they are easy to fix and fairly reliable, they simply don't have the shocks and or power for the weight of two western bodies. if you want to double on one bike don't rent/buy anything less then a 160.
On route to Mai Chau we stopped many times to take pictures and re apply our sunscreen. During the drive we were surrounded by limestone karst mountains and rice fields. We pulled into Mai Chau after about 4.5. hours on the bike. We stayed at a great little guest house that was very happy to have some Westerners. They couldn't speak English well, but we managed to get by with the google translator, and had many laughs. In the morning we hiked to a cave then took off on the bike to Son La. We took three nights to get to Sapa. The ride was beautiful & we lucked out and had unusually great hot sunny weather. Sapa was an incredible experience. It's filled with restaurants, knock off hiking clothes with brands such as North Face & tribal villages. We paid a young local woman $15 each to go see her village, have lunch in her home and hear all about her tribe (The Black Hmong), the ways of her people and her personal history. We met her husband and beautiful three of four children. One was off working. The one that was working was only eight. This was a very eye opening experience, it makes us thankful for what we have and also sad that we strive for so many materialistic things in our Western society. These people have so little, but a couple things they always seem to have have is kindness, happiness a roof over their heads and food on the table. What more could you ask for? After Sapa we hopped onto our bikes. We spent two days getting back to Hanoi. The first day we drove the bike in light rain. The last half hour before our hotel we saw a bunch of fire flys which was a nice end to a rainy day on the bike. It was nice to pull into Hanoi and have two days to relax before Halong Bay.
On route to Mai Chau we stopped many times to take pictures and re apply our sunscreen. During the drive we were surrounded by limestone karst mountains and rice fields. We pulled into Mai Chau after about 4.5. hours on the bike. We stayed at a great little guest house that was very happy to have some Westerners. They couldn't speak English well, but we managed to get by with the google translator, and had many laughs. In the morning we hiked to a cave then took off on the bike to Son La. We took three nights to get to Sapa. The ride was beautiful & we lucked out and had unusually great hot sunny weather. Sapa was an incredible experience. It's filled with restaurants, knock off hiking clothes with brands such as North Face & tribal villages. We paid a young local woman $15 each to go see her village, have lunch in her home and hear all about her tribe (The Black Hmong), the ways of her people and her personal history. We met her husband and beautiful three of four children. One was off working. The one that was working was only eight. This was a very eye opening experience, it makes us thankful for what we have and also sad that we strive for so many materialistic things in our Western society. These people have so little, but a couple things they always seem to have have is kindness, happiness a roof over their heads and food on the table. What more could you ask for? After Sapa we hopped onto our bikes. We spent two days getting back to Hanoi. The first day we drove the bike in light rain. The last half hour before our hotel we saw a bunch of fire flys which was a nice end to a rainy day on the bike. It was nice to pull into Hanoi and have two days to relax before Halong Bay.
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