An Huy Hotel Hoi An

... town better! Eventually after all this kerfuffle he finally find the hotel and me and Mervy got out. Someone came to carry my bag inside, I checked in, and then was shown to my room, which was totally pimped out. I had two single beds, cable TV, a mini bar, air-con and a big ensuite bathroom - oh yes!<br><br>Once I'd got all of my stuff sorted I met up with Mervy in the lobby; he'd checked room availability and there were none, so he was going to a hotel in the south end of town. We were ...

... bus to Hue and to say our goodbyes to our Geordie friends, but we carried on up the coast of Vietnam with our Aussie mate Sarah. <br><br>Hue is a fairly big town in the central coast of Vietnam, it used to be the political capital of Vietnam during the Emperors Nguyen Dynasty. Nowadays it's a fairly laid back but vibrant town, surrounded by the tombs of Emperors which once ruled the land which are located in the beautiful countryside. We rented bicycles so we ...

Weeks 32-34 &#8211; 11 October &#8211; 1 November 2009<br><br>Hoi An has been rapidly recovering from the typhoon, but is still far from its best. The river still looks pretty grotty and many areas still need lots of cleaning. The mud is somewhat persistent. We have included a few photos of the floods, but they are from the media coverage, not Mark's camera. They will give you an idea of what it was like and what the locals must cope with annually. There has still been some rain, heavy at ...

Wednesday 14th October - Hoi An<br><br>2 motocycle drivers met us off the bus with a sign saying 'Christ', I guess I have been called a lot worse! The hotel was ready for us so we had a quick shower before hitting the streets to find some breakfast. Hoi An had been hit by a tornado a few weeks previously, apart from the sand all over roads there were no tell tale signs that most of town had been underwater. We found a little cafe down near the river to eat and afterwards ...

... the people in the mini-van, this was a day-trip and they would be back in Hanoi about 6 pm. The four of us had booked into the Van Long Resort, on the edge of Ninh Binh and at the start of a wetlands area in the shadows of the karsts. Our guide wanted to dump us in the centre of town, but we convinced her that the arrangement was to take us to the resort. Problem was that neither she nor the driver had any idea where it was. Eventually someone in Ninh Binh jumped in and showed us ...

... résolution et unité qui a du unir ce peuple, pourtant fonde de multiples ethnies du nord au sud, pour mener les différents conflits du siècle dernier.<br> La colonie française tout d'abord, qui met les vietnamiens dans l'empire colonial indochinois. Les japonais ensuite durant la seconde guerre mondiale. Une indépendance déclarée par Ho Chi Minh en 1945 au départ de ces derniers qui dure peu. Les français reviennent a l'attaque. <br> Mais il semblerait que les vietnamiens ...

... back in a few minutes, fitting one quickly and cheaply. Job done! Unfortunately, back at the paper shop, job still not done. They offered to deliver the 1,000 sheets we had ordered, and did so that afternoon. These trips to Da Nang can be frustrating, but they are interesting as well.<br><br>Our recent visitors seemed to enjoy themselves. In fact, Mark&#8217;s sister Paula, who had never been to Asia before, wanted to stay in Hoi An longer and said she will definitely come back ...

... I rarely am. She whimpered out a few more words then graciously went on her way. We said goodbye. <br><br> Argghh! I hate that. I hate having to turn them down and hate even more to be bothered when all I really wanted was to be alone. But that was not to happen.<br><br>Some guy approached me next. It was clear he wasn&#8217;t a vendor. Thank goodness. He had on swim trunks and wore no shirt, obviously another tourist. He began with ...

... Hoi An. As we drove the 35 km stretch from Hoi An to Danang, Konrad and I were shocked (and appalled) at how much the beach had changed in the 3.5ish years since we'd previously visited. When we were there in early 2006, the beach had pretty much been wide open, without any development. At the time, we wondered how such a long stretch of beach could be ignored, but thought it was delightful. It seemed someone else had had a similar idea and had ...