The French influence in Hanoi - Boucherie where you can order en Francais!
How many piglets can you get on a motorbike? I counted 7 on this occasion.
White Thai minority live in Stilt houses made of wood and bamboo. Very spacious.
At work in the fields at 7am - hard work for long hours.
Town of Moc Chau - venue for wedding.

Toasting the new couple with a small shot of Vodka - one of many toasts!

Karaoke King and Queen - nice body language.
A fisherman near Perfme Pagoda.
Buddhist monk who lives in this cave - one of 30 shrines in this remote region.

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.

Mongolia

Where do I start?!
After a month in China and Mongolia there is a lot to show but the blog was restricted so I could not access it in China. You have heard of the great wall, well Facebook and my blog are victims of the "Great Firewall" that controls the Chinese internet to favour Communist media interests.

So here follows Mongolia where I was staying with a Mongolian family of 6 and 2 fellow travellers in a traditional 'ger' or round tent for my short stay of 4 days. This is a movable house designed my nomads which is made up of insulated floor, wooden frame, canvas walls/roof and rope. Inside it has multi fuel stove and chimney, furniture, water and various modern electrical appliances.

Bez my host works as an IT manager in the capital Ulanbaator's library. I met him at work and his children took me home on the bus as he travels by bike. Travelling by road in UB is a nightmare if you tavel during rush hour (which is most of the day).

So we ate great home cooked food, which relies heavily on dairy products (Bez has his own cows) and not much meat which is not in keeping with Mongolian tradition as usually every meal consists of meat! We played games with his children and learned about Mongolian culture. I was Bez's 75th couch surfer and that does not include groups! He has met a lot of travellers, but I am the first from Swansea to stay a t Bez's place!

Also made it to National park a few hours outside the capital. Rode some stubborn Mongolian horses and saw wild horses which have been reintroduced. From a long way away we were being watched by a huge elk standing on a boulder on the horizon a few kilometres away. He was only just visible with binoculars. A great sight! Time to let the photos do the talking.

Irkutsk

A traditional wooden Siberian building in Irkutsk.
My host Irina (left) and friend - liking the Putin treatment of Siberia.

More of Lake Baikal

I couldn't resist another visit to Listvyanka and lake Baikal, this time in colder weather and it had been snowing on the mountains since my last visit.
Returned with Paul and Aoude - French and also guests of my host, Irina.

The difference in the weather made the Lake take on an entirely different appearance.

Irkutsk and Lake Baikal

Most popular stop for tourists is the Irkutsk stop and Lake Baikal. Its not hard to see why. We arrived early (0615) and with three German friends I met on the train decided to use the day to best effect - a swim in Lake Baikal!

We took the 90 min bus to the lake which was an experience in itself and arrived at Listvyanka on the Southern part. Lake Baikal is 400 miles long, between 20 and 40 miles wide and 1637 metres deep. It is estimated it holds 20% of the worlds fresh water. It freezes to a depth of 3m for 4 months and the locals have great fun driving their cars over the ice!

As for now it is chilly but fine to swim, especially for someone used to the Bristol channel! So we swam and enjoyed the clear waters - which are completely safe to drink. Basked in the sun and shared lunch with the ants. This was a great experience, made better by sharing it with other travellers.

So now I am staying with my host, Irina, in Irkutsk. She lives some way outside the centre but the bus ride is fun as I know I only have to do it a few times! Like sardines we are packed in and driven so fast it feels at any moment the bus will turn over. 30 min bus ride 12 roubles = 25p so I am not complaining! All is well except its cold and wet today! So to some museums I think!

Into Siberia to Omsk

Admiral Kolchaks house



Took the Trans Siberian train number 2 from Moscow. Duration 7 days to Vladivostok but I am stopping at various cities on the way. I was sharing a compartment with some Russian men, large amounts of food and a large bucket of salted mushrooms! The generosity of these people is great and we managed to communicate with my basic Russian, helped by the phrase book (thanks Quentin!!) and various hand signals.

So through the Urals and Across the Europe - Asia border to Omsk my first Siberin stop - an industrial city founded on the confluence of 2 rivers the Ob and Irtyish. Dostyovsky was exiled here for a 4 years hard labour which nearly killed him and Admiral Kolchak once lived here and proclaimed Omsk the Capital of Russia. He once moved the entire Gold reserve of Russia to a bank on the high st.

Hotel was ok but breakfast less than ideal. An Ibis hotel has just opened here which would have been nice to know - useful for next time!

Lots of old wooden houses - traditional Siberian architecture which is quaint. There are plenty of concrete monsters also!