North Vietnam

I would have liked to put up China posts first but there just isnt time. The Great Chinese Firewall has meant I will just have to add bits and pieces as I go along.

So I arrived in Hanoi! The train from Beijing took around 40 hours and was pretty comfortable all the way. Only three of us continued past Nanning in China and they worked for a rail manufacturer in Vietnam. The Vetnamese trains use a narrower guage (1m) and so we changed at the border at 3am. The next few hours were very bouncy and it was slow progress into Vietnam. When the sun rose, however it was clear how fertile the country is with so much vegetation.

Spent a few days in Hanoi, a culturally diverse place with Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, French influences and rich history. Visited Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and practiced my French in a small boucherie!

Took some bikes up to the countryside with my guide and was lucky enough his cousin was getting married... and I was invited! So I enjoyed a wedding reception at 10am, we ate large amounts and of course were drinking to health, futures, good luck and by 11.30 it was all over! The celebration lasts 3 days but we had to move on, so to a White Thai village Mai Chau we headed (after a good sleep obviously). Stayed in a bamboo house on stilts which is typical of this Ethnic minority. Walked amongst the paddy fields and relaxed in the countryside.

Then to Perfume Pagoda, a group of around 30 Buddhist Temples set in beautiful remote countryside and caves. Many are only accessible by river.

Today off to Hai Phong on the coast, and the gateway to Cat Ba Island and Halong Bay. Looking forward to it but the roads are crazy.