Luxembourg Day 1 🇱🇺

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

The alarms were set for a super early start this morning as our flight was from Heathrow, and to save us nearly £100, we chose to use Purple Parking rather than park at the airport. Luckily Mark’s parents are around an hour away from Heathrow (one of the reasons I swiped for him haha) which makes the journey there a slightly easier one. Purple Parking is super easy to use and would 100% recommend them (pending car collection!). We hopped onto the shuttle bus and arrived at T3 in around 10 minutes. We got into the queue for bag check, but it soon became apparent that we were in the queue for American Airlines instead! This seems to be a common mistake as others soon followed us to the correct check in area next door. We whizzed through security, and this meant we had over 2hrs in departures! We went to Spuntino for breakfast, which for airport standards was actually very good. And of course, a breakfast pudding from Nero 😋 we made our way to our gate, and then came the dreaded announcement.. a flight delay! The tannoy stated “there has been a big accident on the tarmac meaning the crew can’t get to the plane. Fire are in attendance”. This made it sound very dramatic, however after around 20 mins, we were allowed on the plane. Then came the next bit of news.. we’ve missed our slot and Luxembourg is too foggy to land in, so we’re being put into a ‘holding bay’ until we could take off. After nearly 45 minutes here we were able to take off, for the super lengthy one hour flight. The best thing about flying BA, is even though it has taken me longer to drive to Birmingham, you still get a free drink and snack from them.

One of the great things about Luxembourg, is all public transport is free! Even for tourists. Getting from the airport to the city centre is super easy on the bus, and we were really fortunate that our room was ready early when we arrived at the hotel. After a quick swill and a change of clothes, we headed out to see what Luxembourg had to offer. One of the first things we noticed was how clean the place is, but that could be to do with the amount of bins there is.

The many bins in the park

To get another UNESCO ticked off the app, we headed to the old quarter and fortifications. We walked along The Chemin de la Corniche, which is said to be “Europe’s most beautiful balcony”. I’ts clear to see why.. the views are absolutely stunning. We strolled along some the passage ways down to the waters edge of the Alzette to get a closer look at the bridges and architecture. It can only be described as like something out of a fairytale, and is the perfect place for a bit of peace in the middle of bustling city.

As we know absolutely nothing about Luxembourg, we decided to book a walking tour, with the added bonus of wine tasting. As we had around 20 mins before we met the group, we decided to have a drink. From the very minimal research we did before coming, most of the reviews and blogs say service is slow and waiting staff are VERY rude. We sat outside a cafe and got completely ignored by the waitress, and after a good 5 minutes of no interaction, we got up and left. As we were now running low on time and getting dryer by the minute, we decided on swinging by maccies to get a drink from there (don’t worry, we will be visiting properly tomorrow as part of our Maccies World Tour.) We headed to the meeting point where we met some fabulous gays from the group, an American and an Aussie who are living together in The Hague! The tour guide however was nowhere to be seen, and we eventually got comms that the previous walk was taking a while, meaning ours was going to be delayed. The boys recommended a bar just around the corner, so we popped there to kill some time, and luckily the service there was good, with a great selection of beer.

We headed back to meet the group and our tour guide, Ken. A very enthusiastic chap who is born here and lived here his whole life. We learnt that by the age of 16, most people in Luxembourg can speak French, German and Luxembourgish, and large proportion can speak English. In fact a lot of locals here can speak 7 different languages! We walked around cute squares, saw the Cathedral and Grand Ducal Palace, the Pont Adolphe Bridge, and once again, the Corniche. Luxembourg is the 2nd richest country in the world and has the highest minimum wage in the EU. This is why so many people from the bordering countries come to work here, hense why so many languages are learnt and spoken by locals. It’s also the only Grand Duchy in the world, and we’ve accidentally planned our trip around the Grand Dukes official birthday – but more about that later! We tried 2 wines, one of which was Crémant de Luxembourg, a quality sparkling wine. Both were delicious. We don’t really ever do walking tours, but this one was really enjoyable, so will probably do more of these in the future. We booked through Get Your Guide.

This evening we decided to go slightly out of town to a highly rated tapas restaurant. And I have to say, the ham croquettes and patatas bravas were probably the best we’ve ever had. Even beating Barcelona! Although a relatively pricey meal, it was worth it. We walked back into town to have a drink overlooking the valley, and this was the perfect end to the day.

Krabi 🇹🇭

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

We knew we wanted to finish our trip off at the beach, and for weeks we couldn’t decide between Krabi or Koh Samui. As we know more people who’ve done Krabi who could therefore give recommendations, we chose there. Specifically Ao Nang beach. We enjoyed a McDonald’s breakfast at the airport (no change in the menu) and it was only when we boarded the plane, I realised I’d forgotten to request seats together. So poor Mark ended up next to a gentleman who had his shoes and socks off, and rested his actual bare foot on Mark’s leg. We got off the plane and onto the bus for the shortest journey from the plane to the terminal I’ve ever had in my life. After we got our bags, we hopped in a taxi and drove to our hotel for the next 4 nights. As it was still really early, our room wasn’t quite ready yet, so we set up camp next to the pool. A man came over to have a chat (who turned out to be a Newcastle fan) and offer some advice of the area. It was all going so well, until he started boasting about a trip he went on where he was told to wear a life jacket, to which he told the guide, I don’t need to wear a life jacket because I can swim better than you all put together. I totally lost interest at this point..

Luckily, the hotel was able to get a room ready for us quite quickly, so we chucked our bags in, suncreamed up, and headed out to the beach. White sand, blue sea, and rows of long-tail boats; it was perfect. We decided to grab some lunch, and whilst we were waiting for the food to come, we noticed the waiting staff running around and ushering people inside.. the heavens opened, and an incredibly heavy downpour came. Not again 😭 it eventually stopped raining, and we both decided that for food that evening, we really fancied an Indian. Luckily, there are Indian’s everywhere in Aonang, and we chose Tandori Nights, which was absolutely delicious. We finished off our first day with a few drinks in Boogie Bar and watched a live band. There were all nearly 100.. but they were great!

The following day, we decided to hire a private driver to take us to some of the main attractions. Often with the organised trips, you don’t have enough time at each place and you end up having lunch in a crappy buffet restaurant for way longer than needed, whilst making awkward small talk with people you’ve just met. So for an extra 15 quid, a private driver seemed the perfect option, and we’re so glad we did. Our first stop was Emerald Pools; a natural crystal lagoon. One slight annoying thing about this place is that Thai residents pay less than £1 to get in, and foreigners pay nearly £10!! We thought it was still worth the money, and due to no time contraints we were able to have a float around for as long as we wanted and just watch the world go by. The next stop was the hot springs, which wasn’t somewhere you could spend long in seeing as it was over 30 degrees outside, but it was still really cool to see and chill out in the pools surrounding the waterfall. Finally was Tiger cave temple, and the 1260 steps to the top.. It. Was. HELL. It was so hot, and the steps were uneaven. Everyone doing it looked the same – a big red sweaty mess. Luckily, the views at the top were worth it, and we were able to have enough time to sit down and wander about to take it all in. After a lovely day, we decided that tonight we would tackle the food in the night market. I was desperate to have a nice Pad Thai, and luckily, this one was really nice. We sat at plastic tables on plastic chairs and enjoyed our street food, and it was a great way to finish the day.

This trip has been so full on, so we decided to actually have a day doing not a fat lot, and took a long-tail to nearby Railay beach, famous for it’s long stretches of white sand surrounded by limestone cliffs. We found a spot to set up camp, and for the first time since our trip began, we lay down and did absolutely nothing. Obviously, I’m terrible for sitting still, and I’d heard about a cave full of penis’s, so after I’d allowed Mark a few hours rest 🤣 we were off to find the cave. It’s about 15 mins walk to the other side of Railay, and sure enough is not one, but two caves full of wooden phalluses! Locals come here with offerings in the hope to boost their fertility. After another chill on the beach, we got the long-tail back to Aonang in time to watch the sunset. We grabbed cocktails and joined the 100s of people to watch, and it was stunning.

We had always said that we would go to Phi Phi, however after much thought over the last few days and listening to feedback from others, we decided that it had probably become too busy and too touristy for a one day visit. So we decided to do Hong Islands instead! We hired a private long-tail (much more expensive option but again it gives you freedom to do what you want) and set out on our journey. We were picked up at the hotel (20 mins early!! They phoned our room to see where we were 🤣) and headed to the pier to get our boat. We arrived at the National Park and got a much needed iced drink (elbows out again to avoid the queue jumpers) and tackled the climb to the viewpoint. It was a challenge in the heat but the views were so worth it to see all the limestone cliffs emerging from the sea. We got back down and cooled off with a bit of snorkeling. Unfortunately the snorkel they had provided for me was full of holes, but the water was so clear I was able to see enough without going under anyway. Next we visited Koh Lao Lading, a small pretty cove with a little shop and pitch black toilets! There isn’t much here so this was a quick stop, before heading to our final place for sunset. Our guide prepared us some Pad Thai and a huge tray of fruit and we settled in for the next hour. It was such a beautifully peaceful place and was the perfect end to the day.

That evening we got back quite late and both us were feeling a bit unwell. We hadn’t actually eaten that much all day so thought maybe it was that, but unfortunately for Mark, a fever and vomiting set in.. We hoped after a good night’s sleep we would be feeling better, but the nausea was still there and we couldn’t face any breakfast either. This morning we had planned a Thai massage, but that was very quickly sacked off in case we vommed on the poor masseuse. The one thing that couldn’t be sacked off was the Elephants. We were keen to pick a sanctuary that cared for elephants well and luckily there was one very close to where we were staying. We arrived and met the Mahouts who care for them, we had a talk about the Elephants and the work they do, and then it was time to meet them 🥰 we fed them bananas and made them protein balls. We took them to the mud spa which is great for their skin it was incredible to get up so close to them. Despite us both feeling so sick throughout the whole thing, it was a fantastic experience and one we will both remember.

That evening, we were picked up for a late flight back to Bangkok for the last leg of the adventure. The whole trip has certainly been an experience! From the food, to the people, the scenery to the toilets. From chaos to calm and everything else in-between. We are beyond shattered.. but would we do it again?? Absolutely!!

Bangkok 🇹🇭

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

The Thailand blogs are going to be a bit disjointed as we started in Bangkok, spent 5 days in Krabi, and back to Bangkok again. After finally crossing into Thailand with the group, we boarded the minibuses for the long drive to Bangkok. The first thing we noticed was that they drive on the same side as us! Due to the lengthy immigration queue, we got stuck in traffic and arrived at our hotel a lot later than anticipated. We stayed in Chinatown, and we thought Hanoi was busy… we chucked our bags in the room and met the group for our farewell dinner at a traditional Thai restaurant. I ordered Pad Thai and was so excited about trying it, but when it arrived, it was absolutely awful. I thought.. is this like when you go to Mexico and it doesn’t taste anything like Old el Paso 🤣 another person in our group had it and agreed. It had no flavour and a really slimy texture. We asked the waiting staff for some chili to give it a bit of oomph, but even that couldn’t save it. Mark had a prawn based dish, with only 3 prawns.. it was a massive shame that this was the chosen place for our last dinner together, but the night was still young, so we headed to the sky bar at our hotel. We all chatted and drank until they switched the lights off and kicked us out. It will be strange continuing the adventure without everyone!

The following morning, we decided to have a much needed lie in. We headed to breakfast, and it was one of the worst ones we’ve had on the trip so far. All I fancied was a bowl of Coco Pops, which I had to eat with a teaspoon. So, after a quick Google search for the best brunch, we headed to Wallflower cafe. It was very quirky inside, the cakes looked delicious and it all looked very promising! I ordered a hot latte and ended up with an iced matcha tea 🙄 We ordered a red velvet cake which was covered in flowers, and this gave it a strange taste. We had also ordered some chicken wings, which also came with flowers on! This cafe was obviously all about Instagram and not about the flavour.. or the service. We left feeling deflated as our Thai food experience so far had been beyond rubbish.

After food we took a very long and very sweaty walk to Wat Pho – the home of the reclining Buddha. We went via a local market street, where they were selling all sorts of weird and wonderful, from ducks to organs to penis.. The grounds at Wat Pho are beautiful and there are so many mosaic covered chedis, as well as the 100s of gold Buddha statues. The main attraction here though is the reclining Buddha. We had no idea how big she would be, but it’s definitely a big woahhh when you see her. There are no info boards anywhere, but thanks to Google I can tell you she’s 46 meters long and 15 meters high. We joined the queue to get a better photo, and yet again there are so many people that just try to push in. I wasn’t having any of it, and luckily nor was anyone else.. so multiple people got shouted it 😁 we could definitely have spent more time at Wat Pho, but there is a big lack of shade, and we were both starting to feel tired and dehydrated. I’d definitely recommend coming here early so you can get everything done before it gets super hot.

At the hotel, we’d been given a map with ‘IconSiam’ on – an enormous luxury shopping complex with a daily fountain show. We arrived and asked at the info desk where the fountain show was, and a very nice man pointed us in the right direction. We joined the large crowd of people who were already starting to gather; 45 minutes before it was due to start. 6:30pm came, and everyone was excited to see the show, but no fountains started. The sun hadn’t quite set yet, so we thought maybe they waited until its dark, and we all continued to wait. By the time it got to 7:20pm. and there was still no show, I was getting annoyed and went back to ask the man if the 8pm show was at least going to be on. His reply… there are no shows today…… as his English wasn’t the best, I decided against having a moan and politely suggesting that maybe he could have told us that well over an hour ago, or at least have a sign up somewhere. We were now absolutely starving, and as we were too poor to eat in the super posh shopping centre, we went to the next best thing – McDonald’s. Our first day in Bangkok hadn’t been the best, and we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the early start to get to Krabi.

Krabi blog to follow… but for now; back to Bangkok!

We arrived back into Bangkok airport late due to delay. The taxi I had booked was with a company that only wait 45 minutes after landing, and if you get to them after midnight you go down as a no show and they leave (always read the T&Cs folks!) It was now 22:45, giving us not a lot of time at all to get to the driver. Obviously the baggage carrousel was 800m away and obviously our bags were the 3rd lot to be released onto the belt. I tried to get in contact with the driver but it kept saying network error. We were both now getting twitchy arse, and once we saw our bags, we grabbed them and made a run to the meeting point. This was absolute chaos, and there must have been well over 100 names on the board of people waiting to be picked up. We eventually found ours, then had to wait for one of the co-ordinators to call our driver to tell him we were ready. At 23:40, we eventually got in the taxi. Our lovely driver Ponlawat Pusaart (🤣) had waited for us. We’d decided to book a 5* hotel for the last leg of our trip as a special treat. We arrived, our bags were taken and we went to check in. The lady at the desk began frowning, called another 2 staff members over, then asked if I’d actually had a booking confirmation, as she couldn’t find us on the system. At now 00:30 this is absolutely the last thing we wanted to hear 😫 after much head scratching, it turned out the booking was under Scott Wood (I have no idea who Scott is!) and the very nice lady at check in gave us an upgraded room for the inconvenience. We finally got to the room, and was treated to the poshest of pisses on our heated toilet seat with a jet wash and dryer.

After a sleep, we were both still feeling nauseas (more of that in the Krabi blog) and we really couldn’t be bothered to do much of what we had planned. We Googled the best brunch place, and again ended up at a super posh shopping mall. As we hadn’t eaten much for the past few days, we decided to try having a breakfast starter – a lemon meringue doughnut. It was delicious! And just what we absolutely didn’t need before sitting down for a big meal. Obviously neither of us could finish our food, and we didn’t even have room for a breakfast pudding 😭

Bangkok is home to the world’s largest weekend market, with over 15,000 stalls. We decided to tackle the underground and made the 45 minute journey to spend the last of our cash. It was fantastic to see all the hustle and bustle and the many interesting stalls, but we were both still feeling rubbish, and decided it was best to head back to the hotel. It has a roof top bar and we were keen to use this facility! After a little rest, we got ready and headed up for the fantastic views and a super expensive cocktail. This was our warm up because that night, Newcastle were taking on Man Utd. We got our shirts on and headed to a highly recommended sports bar. It was a great atmosphere with a healthy mix of both supporters. The lads we were sat with were verrrrry passionate, and we were convinced we would be covered in their beer as they repeatedly thumped the table in frustration. Unfortunately it wasn’t the result we wanted. And with that, our last night in Bangkok, and the gap month was over.

Bangkok is an absolutely enormous place and we both felt very overwhelmed by it. I’d definitely recommend having a bit of an itinerary when you’re there as there is so much to see and do, we but had no idea where to start. We stayed in Sukhumvit for the 2nd leg of Bangkok and this was definitely a much calmer place than staying around Chinatown. It’s definitely worth visiting, but unless you like constant people traffic and noise, Chinatown is NOT the place to stay!

Siem Reap 🇰🇭

gingertravellerblog1 Comment

We’ve been doing the majority of Cambodia travel on a very small minibus. Luckily, one of Mark’s fellow BFG’s had a little word with our guide, and we got a huge coach with a seat each for our long drive to Siem Reap. After a spot of lunch at the place where all travellers seem to stop (they have 400 seats!), we headed to one of the floating/stilted villages. This is where rural communities live in floating/stilted houses, travel to floating/stilted schools, and eat in floating/stilted restaurants. We visited Kampong Khleang, which has a community of around 6000 people. Being the furthest away from Siem Reap, it’s the least touristy, which gave us a much more authentic experience. As we arrived, we were greeted by 100s of waving children who looked genuinely happy to see us, a welcome change from the usual begging to buy some mouldy bananas. As we were here during the dry season, we got to see the houses all their glory standing at 10M tall! During the wet season, the water will rise significantly up the buildings. The economy here is based largely on fishing in the flooded forest on Tonle Sap Lake – the largest inland freshwater body in Southeast Asia. When we got on the boat, we were able to see the proper construction of these houses as we floated slowly down the river. We got to see the locals at work, the school they go to, and the children playing in the river. It was an incredible experience. As the boat service is still owned by the locals (unlike some of the other floating villages), all the money spent goes into the community. When we got off the boat, we were greeted by more children shouting hello, giving us high fives and fist pumps. Despite the poverty, they all looked so incredibly happy.

As we drove into Siem Reap, we immediately thought, “Yep, we’re going to like this place.” We got ready to go out, and as we opened the door, we heard a loud thud and saw something running off.. turns out it was a massive Tokay gecko! An Australian lady came to see what we were looking at, who was obviously not in the slightest bit arsed about the size of it. We had a free evening, so we decided to consult the Lonely Planet guide and chose an Italian. It was absolutely delicious, but as per usual, we ordered far too much. It needed to be a quick one as alarms were set for Angkor Wat sunrise.

At 0330 the alarms went off 😴 it was a quick scrabble around to get everything ready and onto the minibus to get our temple passes; something that you need to buy to visit any of the sites. We arrived at Angkor Wat around 5am and joined all the other tourists around the lake waiting for the magic to happen. Our managed to get stood right at the front, but then a woman and her son had the audacity to just come and stand right in front of us all! Luckily it’s a group of gobby people and they very quickly got told. It still took them ages to move though. We were told the sun would be up by 06:30 and to be honest we were all very underwhelmed. The phone cameras were able to pick up a bit of colour but visually it just went from darkness to daylight, with no evidence of the dramatic sky you hope to see. As we were all walking to the breakfast area, the sun started peaking up above the temple, and we finally started getting some orange sky. We all abandoned the breakfast (for now) and continued to watch the silhouette of Angkor Wat instead. Once the sun was fully up we got to enjoy our hotel breakfast box, of 2 boiled eggs and some bread a butter.

I’ve been so looking forward to seeing Angkor Wat and was so excited to get in and explore. We met our guide and he walked us to the steps of the temple and sat us down whilst he gave us some history. Unfortunately, because he wasn’t the most engaging of people, half the group, including myself, were nodding off. We got inside and he went on and on and on about the stone used. We had been inside 20 minutes and not gone anywhere! As a keen National Truster and English Heritager, I really appreciate an info board with a visual on of what something once looked like and what it was for. There was none of that inside the temple, just long endless corridors of nothing. The guide continued to chat absolute shite, and unfortunately we were all so bored with what he was saying that the majority of us had walked off to explore ourselves. We climbed some steps and got a really good view of the site itself, which is absolutely huge! It was the general consensus that it was a massive shame with the guide we got, but that it’s still worth the visit.

The next temple we visited was Ta Prohm from the late 12th century, and the backdrop for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. This temple is in a lot worse state than Angkor Wat, but I have to say I enjoyed this one more. The way the trees have claimed the ruins as their own was incredible. The Fig, banyan, and kapok trees have spread their gigantic roots over the stones, and their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof over the structures. The last temple of the day was Bayon Temple, and by this point, it was nearly midday and therefore far too hot to be slowly walking around ruins with absolutely no shade whatsoever. This meant it was a quick whip round and back on the minibus to go back to the hotel. We were given an option to return the following day to repeat the last temple and do a few more, and as fascinating as they are, we very much felt templed out, and the thought of having that guide again the next day was a big no no. It turns out, however, he’s got over 20 years experience and is the one who delivers training to other guides!! Mind blown..

We got back to the hotel, and it was time for one thing, and one thing only.. a nap. Mark really needed his hair and beard cutting, so he needed to be a quick one as we were having dinner as a group again tonight. G Adventures support local businesses and projects, so tonight’s dinner was held at New Hope Cambodia (who’s mission is free education for all) and we were taken there by a group of women TukTuk drivers, who have set up a business to make females feel safer at night on this very popular mode of transport. We watched a video on their project and was then served one of the most delicious meals we have had since being here. The flavours were incredible. We also got the chance to try some insects.. one was by far enough. It was crispy on the outside, but the absolute opposite on the inside 🤮 I have no idea how they do it on. I’m a celebrity, or even in Cambodian life in general. A few of us had opted to see Phare Circus, which has won a Guinness World Record for the longest circus show. It tells the story of rejection, revenge, spirit possession and eventual forgiveness, and community acceptance. The story is set to original music and told through a dramatic mix of theatre, traditional dance, and modern circus arts. We really enjoyed it!

Our next day was a free day to ourselves, and we desperately needed a lie in. We sacked off the hotel breakfast and went for a smashed avo and eggs beni brunch instead, which was lovely. We stopped at a cafe run by a husband and wife team to get some smoothies, which were delicious, and had a stroll around the river. Siem Reap is a much more settled place and even has some greenery! We’ve been recommended by a few people to visit the APOPO HeroRat centre, so we bartered with the TukTuk man and headed there for a tour. We absolutely loved it! These African giant pouched rats are special because of their incredible sense of smell. They come from Tanzania and go through a year of training before they’re allowed out ‘in the field’. Their aim is to sniff out unexploded mines in Cambodia and other countries and people with TB in African countries! We had a demonstration from Sophea who quickly found what she was looking for. She was rewarded with some banana. Because the rats are so light (1.5kg), they don’t set off any landmines as this requires at least 3kg of weight. What they can do in half an hour would take someone with a metal detector around 4 days. They have helped to save thousands of lives and get communities back into the areas where they belong. We were then able to hold one – we are holding Dora. It was a great little tour, and I would 100% recommend this to anyone.

We were getting peckish so decided to pay ‘Wild’ a visit – a cute cafe that specialises in spring rolls. We tried a traditional deep fried duck Cambodian spring roll, and a fresh Mediterranean style one. They were both so so tasty, and with cheap cocktails and even cheaper beer, we decided to stay here a while and just watch the world go by.

For our last night in Siem Reap we decided to hit Pub Street, and obviously had to pick a place that was showing the football. We had buffalo burger and crocodile burger, washed down with more beer and a very cheap tasting wine 🤣 I’d recommend doing a couple of laps of pub street just to really soak up the atmosphere. Bright lights and thumping music, it’s an absolutely buzzing place to be at night. We weren’t sure what to expect from Cambodia, but we’ve both absolutely loved it and are gutted we don’t have more time here. From what people have said that have been here before, it’s changed a lot over the past few years and has had a lot of money put in to improve the roads and the country as a whole. They are all so so welcoming and friendly and anyone coming to SEA should absolutely add it to the list.

This morning, we had another early start as we headed to the Cambodia/Thailand border for the final leg of our trip. The queue at the border was enormous and took around 2 hours to get through. Luckily, there was no pushing in like in Vietnam. However, there was a ninja Granny who managed to get past about 50 people! She then got escorted out by border control 🤷🏼‍♀️

Phnom Penh 🇰🇭

gingertravellerblog2 Comments

So far, we’ve been travelling everywhere by plane, but today, as we head into Cambodia, we’re going by bus. The journey to the border was uneventful, but the border itself was an absolute nightmare. As a group, we had to decide whether to support the corruption and slip some money into our passport, or not give anything and risk being stuck at the border for hours. As we were keen to get going, we decided to put $2 in and hope for the best. We got into 2 queues, and people were trying to push past, and everyone was shouting at each other. We all had to put our elbows out and block people with bags at one point. Someone managed to sneak past in our queue and gave the guard about 20 passports and a large wad of cash, therefore meaning we had no chance of getting through any time soon. We left that queue and joined the others from the group, and our leader passed all our passports to the guard. Around the same time as we joined, a group of Canadian mature ladies tried to get passed. As I got to the front, the guard kept saying I hadn’t put my Vietnam visa in, which I 100% had! I, therefore, had to find it on my phone whilst I had a Canadian woman in my ear making comments about me delaying her. In the end, I told her to shut up and that she was a silly old woman 😬 not my finest moment.. but she deserved it! I managed to find my visa, and they let us through. You then have a 10 minute walk across ‘no man’s land’ to get to the next set of checks. The guards here were very pleasant, and this next leg went quickly and smoothly. We were now in Cambodia! We stopped for some lunch where I had my first taste of the local dish Loklak – beef fried rice with an egg on top. It was actually very nice! Mark had noodle soup, which had some suspicious looking balls on the top…

We had a minibus waiting for us to take us to our first city – Phnom Penh. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t high rise buildings, casinos and Rolls Royce cars! Turns out the Chinese have put a lot of money into PP over the last few years which is why the main areas now look like that. Locals however are not allowed to use the casinos. We dropped our bags off and met our guide for the evening cyclo tour of the city. This was such a fun experience and a great way to see all the main landmarks, and as the sun set, the amount of money that’s been put into PP became more apparent. The city dazzles with lights, flashy signs and even more expensive cars. The Royal Palace was also complete lit up with gold light, which apparently doesn’t happen very often, so we were very lucky to see this. We walked back to the hotel after a lovely dinner with the group and it became very apparent about the rich and poor divide. Expensive cars on one street, and begging people on another.

As a little warning, the next part of the blog is about the killing field and the S21 prison. I’m going to be graphic, and also include a few photos. It’s very upsetting so you may want to scroll past. Travel isn’t always about having fun and exploring beautiful places, its also about exposing ourselves to the uncomfortable past to enhance our learning and understanding.

According to estimates, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979, two million people (around a quarter of the whole population) lost their lives. Why? To create a classless society. If you had a degree, if you spoke another language, even if you wore glasses! All traces of capitalism were abolished. Hospitals, schools and shops were shut down. These 2 places are the most historic places in PP and stand as a cruel reminder of the atrocities inflicted upon the masses of Cambodia.

We went to the killing fields of Choeung Ek first. Just like Auschwitz, it’s quiet (apart from the chickens!), and you can feel the strange energy straight away. As you walk in, you’re met with a huge memorial stupa filled with around 5000 skulls. Each skull has a coloured dot on it, which represents the trauma they suffered, including spades, wooden clubs, bayonets, and farming hoes. Bullets were not used as this was too loud and too easy. There is a magic tree that was used to hang speakers on to drown out the screaming. The next pit we came to was by far the worst – the mother and baby pit. Mothers were made to watch their newborns and children be killed, either by someone holding them by the legs and smashing their head around a tree or throwing them in the air and catching them on spikes. This was done so they couldn’t take revenge for their parents’ death. The mother was then brutally killed, sometimes having their throat cut using the rough part of a palm tree, and they were thrown into the pit together, often with no clothes on. There was not a dry eye during the explanation of this pit. You can hang a bright bracelet on the tree as a sign of remembrance, but there are also children’s toys and bottles, etc, around the bottom. In 1980, remains were exhumed, but 43 of the 129 communal graves remain untouched. During the rainy season, bones, teeth, and clothes come to the surface. These are collected by people who work there and put them into memorial boxes. As you leave, there is a memorial statue of a mother holding her baby. Where I work, there is a similar statue, but one symbolising the happiness and joy of a new life. This really affected me, to think that I am privileged to be there at the start, and these awful people took new, and all lives, in such a disgusting and inhumane way.

We then went to Security Prison 21 (S21), the site of a former secondary school. This became the largest centre of detention and torture in the country. Over 17,000 people held here were taken to Choeung Ek to be executed; detainees who died during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison grounds. Like the Nazis at the concentration camps, they kept records of what they did, often taking photos of the victims after their death. Each prisoner who passed through S21 had their photo taken which are on display. The cells at the prison are open to visitors and they still have the same beds (if you were ‘lucky’ enough to get one) and shackles in place, and even blood stains on the floor. If you had a smaller cell, you were shackled to the wall or concrete floor, and those in large mass cells were shackled to a long piece of iron bar. The all slept on the floor next to each other without mats, mosquito nets or blankets. They were forbidden to talk to each other. Prisoners received 4 small spoonfuls of rice porridge daily. They had strict regulations and received beatings if they disobeyed. If they spilt any contents of their very small toilet box (which they could only empty every 4 days) they had to clean it up using their tongue. When they were taken for interrogation, they were beaten, electrocuted and cut with knives in order to get them to name family members and close associates, who were then also tortured and killed. The vast majority of prisoners were Cambodian, but some were foreigners including one British and two Australian. They were blindfolded and burned alive.
On the day the prison was liberated by the Vietnamese army, of the estimated 20,000 people imprisoned, there was only 12 survivors; 5 of those were children. They found 14 others who had been tortured to death, still shackled in bed, and their individual graves are in the grounds of the prison.

2 of the prisoners are still alive today, and they were both at the prison that day for us to meet. One of them is Bou Meng, who is now 87 years old. He was kept alive because he is an artist and was able to produce portraits of the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot. He was also tortured on a regular basis but given more food and water to keep him alive as he was useful to them. When he arrived at the prison, they took his wife and two children away, and he later learned that they had all been killed; his wife had her throat cut and his children of starvation. He was regularly beaten and had salt water rubbed into his wounds. Guards would sit on his back and make him crawl up the stairs. He has no teeth left after he was regularly kicked in the face. As he’s an artist, he has drawn everything that happened to him and the other prisoners. We bought a copy of his book, which he signed for us. I don’t know how mentally he could step back into the prison grounds again, but he’s made it his duty to make sure that people never forget the horror that went on during those years and use his memory as a tool in the search of truth and justice.

After an incredibly draining morning, we were brought back to Phnom Penh centre for some free time. It’s hard to know what to do with yourself after such an emotional morning. We decided to grab some food at a highly rated bagel shop and go for a drink at a local brewery, and have time to gather our thoughts and reflect on what we had seen. As we hadn’t had much time in PP itself, we decided to have a quick look at the Silver Pagoda as a Google search said it was free. It wasn’t… as it’s part of the Royal Palace grounds, you have to pay $10 to get in. It’s a huge complex and one we would have liked to have spent much longer in, but we that evening we had a boat ride with the group for sunset so we had to rush back to get ready. It was beautiful. We had drinks and fresh fruit and was a great way to watch the hustle and bustle on the river and on land, too. The next challenge was finding somewhere to eat.. the first place we tried was extortionate, the 2nd place had cow’s penis and all sorts of weird and wonderful on the menu, so we settled for ‘The Pub’. It’s always suspicious when there are minimal people in there, but we had a great time! The food was great, the drinks were cheap, and the owners were so friendly and welcoming. It was then back to the hotel to pack, and get ready for the long drive to Siem Reap in the morning.

Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

We left Hoi An early and had another really smooth journey, check in and security. Mark decided to treat himself to a pint of Tiger.. because its 5pm somewhere! Luckily we had some emergency face masks as this was the first time we were required to wear them. I’d decided to book us an aisle and middle seat, just in case Mark needed to stretch his legs out, and we were waiting for the window seat passenger to arrive. It was an old Vietnamese boy, and before we could even get up to let him in, he started trying to climb on and over us to get to his seat! Luckily the crew also stopped him and let us get out to let him in, when he then decided to take his shoes off and put his feet up on the seat in front!

We got picked up at the airport and were quickly back into the crazy hustle and bustle of the big cities of Vietnam. The bikes flying around everywhere like mosquitoes. We got dropped off at our guest house which unfortunately had no lift.. so in the mega heat and with super heavy bags we climbed the stairs to our room at the top of the building. It was a super cute room with lovely decor, and great working aircon!

We hadn’t really done much research on HCMC as we knew we would be arriving late afternoon and not have much free time in the city itself. Tiktok suggested ‘the cafe apartments’. You arrive and have absolutely no clue which door to go in, then climb some dodgy looking stairs, but we eventually found Saigon Ơi – a little gem full of house plants, books, refreshing drinks and delicious red velvet cake 😋 as the sun was setting we decided to go up the skydeck to see the city in both day and night – an observation deck on the 49th floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower. You could see for miles, but they could have done with cleaning the windows 🤣

Before heading to Maccies, we decided to have a quick look at their Notre Dame cathedral. It’s always worth checking Google first, as it’s currently closed and the entire thing is covered in scaffolding 😬 We got to Maccies and put in our order, including a side of rice.. because when in Vietnam! We were enjoying our feast when the man next to me lifted his arse and farted.. loudly. And then just carried on eating as if nothing had happened. I literally couldn’t believe the audacity. We finished up and headed back out onto the street, which was now full of street performers, and cats on leads! There were dancers, fire eaters, singers, etc, as well as people whipping around on segways and skateboards. It really was a bustling hive of activity. On our way back to the guest house, we accidently took a wrong turning and ended up down a street with a suspiciously large amount of women, wearing red lip stick and not an awful lot else…

As we all know, Mark is obsessed with football, and during our stay Newcastle were playing Bournemouth. Due to the time difference, this meant they were playing at 00:30 our time. We headed to pub street which was just down the road from our hotel, and settled down in front of the big screen. Some bars put a non-optional 5% service charge, and the service in this particular bar was beyond awful. We asked for the cheapest beer but got brought more expensive beer, already opened, and walked off when you told them it was wrong, and when we came to pay they didn’t give us any change (it wasn’t a lot but that’s not the point)

After having hardly any sleep, we were made breakfast pancakes by our host and it was fit to burst with fruit. It was delicious! But we struggled to eat all of it, and she definitely looked very sad about this. It was another early start because we were visiting the Cu Chi tunnels. A tunnel network initially built within 25 years from 1948 during the war against the French, and later extended over an area of 250 kilometers during the Vietnam War.On the way we had a toilet stop, which was also a centre for people who were affected by Agent Orange. Among the Vietnamese, exposure to this is considered to be the cause of an abnormally high incidence of miscarriages, skin diseases, cancers, birth defects, and congenital malformations. Whilst it was interesting to learn about, it felt an unnecessary stop to watch ‘handicapped’ people make stuff that they tried to get you to buy after. We arrived at the site and it was absolutely heaving, with large groups of school children everywhere. We were taken by our guide to start the tour, however the school children kept walking past, being really loud and grabbing onto our arms to ask us where we were from – not what we wanted when we were trying to listen! It was time to head into our first tunnel around 3 meters underground, with some being less than 1M high. The next tunnel was ‘the proper one’, where you go into a small hole bringing the lid down with you. The route out of here was luckily a short one, but incredibly dark and narrow and you really had to feel around for where you were going. We then had the opportunity to go to ‘level 2’, around 6M deep and even lower in height. This meant crawling on hands and knees. We were given the option for level 3, but we decided to give this one a miss. We were given the food they would eat, tapioca root with a side of crushed peanuts and sugar, which really wasn’t very nice. The Vietnam War was a prominent events of the 20th century and crawling through these Cu Chi Tunnels is a unique experience, one which if you’re not claustrophobic, you have to do.

For the middle leg of our trip, we decided to book with G Adventures, as we just wouldn’t have had time to sort everything in the short amount of planning time we had. We grabbed out bags from the guest house and walked across the city to the hotel where the group was staying. We met our tour guide and we realised we were joining a tour that had already been together for 10 days. Luckily they were all really lovely and welcomed us into the group. We all went out for dinner as some of their group were leaving in Vietnam which was a lovely way to get to know everyone, and then headed to a sky bar. We didn’t realise how posh it was, and flip flops were not allowed. We managed to sneak by in our Teva’s, but some of the group were given shoes to wear. It was a fantastic view from the top, but the views came with a hefty drink price tag, so we took a few photos and abandoned ship to go and get an early night.

The last day in HCMC was a trip to the Mekong Delta. We boarded a boat to the first island, where we were given lots of delicious fruit and we’re treated to some Vietnamese singing, including them singing if you’re happy and you know it 🤣 the next island was bee island, which Mark was chuffed about as he absolutely hates them 🐝 we were given shots of honey and other honey treats, and they did a great sales pitch but we just couldn’t be tempted. We then jumped on a boat and got rowed by local people to a coconut candy shop. Again, delicious, but we just don’t have any space in any of our bags! We weren’t really looking forward to this as lots of people had said how crowded and rushed the whole thing is, but we had a really lovely day out .

We had our last night in HCMC in one of the local breweries – Heart of Darkness. We had burgers and nachos (which were huge portions), and Mark enjoyed a beer flight. Again, this had the service charge, which was absolutely terrible service, but we let them off (just) because the food was so nice.

HCMC is a big and busy city, but at least you can walk on the pavements, unlike Hanoi. We actually liked the buzz at night around all the street performers, and there are so many bars and restaurants to choose from.

Hoi An 🇻🇳

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

We got back from Ninh Binh quite late, so we decided to head out for some food at a restaurant our guide had recommended.. which obviously was closed by the time we got there 🤣 so we decided to go to a restaurant a few doors down that looked busy. We ordered the BBQ plate where you’re given a plate of meat and veg and cook it all yourself. The waiter brought everything we needed, including a pot of some orange jelly. We thought this was pudding.. it was actually the stuff you set of fire. The flavours were really nice, but the pork had a really strange crunchy texture. Would this be our first bit of food poisoning?! (You’ll be pleased to know that all was well) We had read there was a really cool Harry Potter bar, and as Mark is a fan, we decided to check it out. We got there, and there was only one other couple in there, but it was a bit of a trek, so we decided to stay for Mark to try out the Butterbeer. It was much better than the one at HP Studios, but still absolutely foul 🤣 the waitress was really strange. Shuffling around and not smiling at all. We’re not sure if this was part of an act or if she was just desperate to get home. They did have a dressing up box, though!

We woke up to the wettest day yet in Hanoi and jumped in a taxi to the airport. Again, this was incredibly smooth, and we were checked in and through security in no time. This meant we could relax in one of the coffee shops, and finally have a decent latte! I just do not know how anyone can enjoy Vietnamese coffee. We boarded the plane which had a rather pissy aroma about it, and Mark squashed his super long BFG legs into the tiny space. Just over an hour later and we had landed at Da Nang airport, got our bags and jumped in the next taxi to Hoi An – our home for the next few days. We finally had sun and blue sky 💙

One of the must do things in Hoi An is having some clothes tailor-made. We checked into our hotel and set out to find the one recommended by our hotel. The whole process was really fun. You can either take photos of designs you like or search through their hundreds of pictures of clothes. You choose which fabric you want and then get measured. Mark went to choose his fabric, and because he was scared of the sales woman, he ended up picking material for another shirt and a pair of trousers. Over the next 2 days, we popped back a few times for extra fittings, having things taken in, buttons and poppers added, etc, and we’re both really pleased with our final garments. I’ve always struggled to get shorts to fit due to my super large thighs, but I’ve now got a jazzy linen pair that fit so well and are the perfect length to avoid chub rub.

Hoi An old town is a UNESCO site, meaning you get to see some beautiful and well-preserved buildings. The town reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures (principally Chinese and Japanese with later European influences). It should also mean a scooter free zone.. however, the locals are obviously not arsed about observing this rule 🤣 if you want to go inside any of the buildings, you need to buy a ticket that allows you to pick 5 ‘attractions’. One of the ones we chose was a really interesting old family house, and I was dreading it would be like one of those awkward National Trust house tours. Luckily, it was a quick tour from one of the owners, and we actually saw loads in such a short space of time. We learnt about the different styles of architecture, and they showed us a huge coin collection the family had collected over the years, which they believe brings them luck. We also had the mystery solved of why temples etc have such a huge step to get in – it’s so you have to look down to see where you’re going, which means you are automatically bowing your head.

Another must do in Hoi An is the basket boat tour. You wear the obligatory hat, and they take you down the river in the special boats used to access small, shallow, and interlaced waterways that are hard or inaccessible for common boats. They do some spinning performances to techno music 🤣 and our guide encouraged us to get in and have a go. You get so dizzy, and you really have to hold on tight otherwise you could fly off the back into the water. But it was a fun experience. We had a go at paddling the boat (which is harder than it looks) and catching some crabs (which were put back after) It was such a cheap and fun activity to do and one we would recommend to everyone.

Hoi An is ideally placed just 5km from the beach, and what better way to get there than to hire some bikes and cycle there. This did, however, mean joining the crazy traffic to get out of the old town and onto the quieter road to the beach, which was certainly an experience and one that made the bum twitch a few times. It’s such a lovely ride to the beach past the rice fields and seeing all the locals at work. The beach was great, and as long as you buy a drink at one of the many bars, you’re able to use the lounger for free. We stayed for a few hours to enjoy the sun we had now finally got. There’s also plenty of watersports if that’s your thing. After the beach we decided to try another recommended restaurant – White Rose Restaurant. They only serve 2 dishes, meaning they are absolutely delicious. We tried both – the white rose dumpling made from translucent white dough and filled with shrimp and fried wonton (Hoi An pizza) with shrimp, tomato, and mango.

Night time in Hoi An is colourful and busy, with lanterns lit up everywhere. We loved walking the streets at night and seeing all the 100s of bars and restaurants to choose from. We decided not to take a boat ride, instead sitting at a bar with a live band (with some questionable songs) and watching the world go bar. It also meant we had a great view of all the street food carts, which we were 100% not going to visit 🤣

We had one more day left in Hoi An, and decided to take a trip to Marble Mountain in Da Nang – a network of caves, tunnels, towers, and pagodas built by Mahayana Buddhists and the Nguyen Dynasty Kings. As we’ve had rubbish luck with viewpoints, we decided to brave the 32-degree heat and climb to the top. Unfortunately, they are building right in front of the water, so instead of seeing for miles, we saw a hotel erection instead. We’re so glad we had this a guided tour as we learnt so much from him, and he was really keen to learn about us and life in England as well.

Next, we visited the Goddess of Mercy. In the leaflet, it said she’s the highest Buddha in Vietnam, so we assumed that meant we would we going up a big mountain. It actually meant she’s the tallest 🤣 at 67 metres tall! It’s also known as Monkey Mountain, and we were lucky to see lots of monkeys running around and playing with each other. The public have been banned from feeding them for a number of years now (and covid also helped), so at least they weren’t surrounding us trying to snatch things out of the bag!

We really fancied something to eat that didn’t involve soy sauce or coriander, and luckily, Hoi An is full of western restaurants. We chose a pizza with mozzarella sticks and watched a local Hanoi derby on the TV. As much as we’ve loved trying all the different foods, it really was much needed.

Hoi An has been a dream. We even looked at changing our flight to HCMC to a later one to give us longer there, but unfortunately it would have cost too much 😔 it has so much charm about it and it’s so easy to see why people fall in love with it.

Ninh Binh 🇻🇳

gingertravellerblog1 Comment

We got back from Ha Long Bay yesterday afternoon where the hotel owner met us and apologised about moving us to the sister hotel, and gave us a key to a free upgraded room. After sorting all our bits out we decided we needed to do the first bit of laundry as we are quickly running out of underwear – the joys of travelling. We spoke to reception who assured us that our washing would be ready for collection at 10pm that evening… so we headed out to Hanoi Social Club; a hip cafe with antique furniture and a chill vibe. We also decided we really wanted something other than rice and soy sauce, so we ordered a pull pork sandwich and a huge bowl of nachos. They were incredible and I would 100% recommend this place to anyone coming to Hanoi, espeically if you do fancy a change from Vietnamese cuisine. They hold live music events here too.

It was now getting dark but there was one more thing left on the Hanoi list – Thang Long Citadel to tick off another UNESCO site. I knew it would be shut but I was hoping I’d get a slightly closer look at it as it looks so pretty lit up at night. Unfortunately it’s surrounded by a huge wall and multiple guards. As it was actually a fairly decent trek we decided to stop for a drink, and popped into a watering hole next to the citadel. The vibe was really creepy and the people who worked there just stood and stared at us whilst we had our drinks. After a quick browse of the menu and deciding we definitely didn’t want to join them for a salty turtle, we paid up and left. We then headed to beer street – a street full of bars and loud music! By this point it was raining.. again.. so we decided to have one to take in the atmosphere before calling it a night. We got back to the hotel just after 10 and were handed a bag of clean clothes. Unfortunately.. these were not our clothes 😬 they apologised and said that due to the weather the clothes wouldn’t be dry and to ask again the following day. Fingers crossed its not lost, otherwise we will be wearing the same pair of pants for the next 3 weeks 🤣

It was another early get up this morning as we joined another trip, this time to the Ninh Binh province. We usually get picked up by minibus, however 2 people turned up on scooters and said they were here to take us to the main pick up point. So we jumped on the back and weaved our way through the crazy traffic whilst clinging on for dear life! Our first stop was to Hoa Lu – an ancient city surrounded by the Trang An limestone mountains. As the capital of the country for 41 years, Hoa Lu has many palaces, pagodas, tombs and pavilions that were built by different dynasties. Having a guide with us meant we finally got to understand what was happening when people take beer, light incense then sit and pray in the temple – it’s a way to honor and remember their ancestors. It was a very peaceful place to walk around and I would have liked more time there, but that’s always the case with these types of trips. We then grabbed some bikes to ride through a traditional village. Unfortunately the main route they use was super wet and muddy, so it was a quick up and down the concrete paths for views of the mountains.

This afternoon, we went to Tam Coc and took a traditional river boat along the Ngo Dong river. Tam Coc means ‘three grottoes, and these include Ca cave, Hai cave and Ba cave, meaning the first, the second and the third respectively. The ride took around 2 hours, and even though it was raining, it was still lovely to sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The locals even ride with their feet! Ours asked for a tip at the end, which I didn’t mind.. but he then told us how much he wanted!! So because he was being cheeky, he got half of what he asked for 🤣

Our last stop of the day was Mua cave and the 500 step climb (although it felt waaaay more than that) to the lying dragon. All of the guide books have something along the lines of “get panoramic views of Tam Coc with fields, blue rivers, and majestic limestone mountains. This combination makes a wonderful picture. ” We knew we wouldn’t get that because of the weather, but yet again, we had a cloudy rainy view. It’s also incredibly busy up at the dragon itself with long lines to get a photo. The rock steps around it are narrow and slippery, so we abandoned going up to it.

All the research said the same thing.. Vietnam is great to visit in February. I know the weather can’t be helped, but it’s been disappointing that it has so many amazing viewpoints to offer, and we’ve seen none. I even asked the guide if this is normal and she said no. I guess we’ve just been really unlucky 😔 we head to Hoi An tomorrow where the weather looks warm and dry.. so 🤞🏻it stays that way!

In other news…. we have our laundry!!!

Hạ Long Bay 🇻🇳

gingertravellerblogLeave a comment

Before we left Ha Giang for the long slog back to Hanoi, I had a text from the manager of the hotel we were going back to offering us one of his other hotels. Due to our main luggage being at the original hotel and being picked up for Ha Long Bay from there the following day , it was a thanks, but no thanks. Turns out whoever was in the room we were due to have had the shits 👍🏻 so we agreed and arranged to have our luggage taken to the new hotel. We now had the job of letting the company know for Ha Long Bay that we had moved hotels and needed picking up from a new location. We kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong.. but luckily, nothing did! The drive back to Hanoi was nothing like our VIP bus. We were squashed into a minibus where the bloke in front of me reclined so much I couldn’t actually move my legs. They then piled bags and boxes so nobody had any chance of escape should we need it. We stopped at the same wee stop as previous (actual PTSD) and had to try and climb over all the crap they had piled in the minibus. Mark kept his shoes on, and the driver was NOT HAPPY 😬🤣 after grabbing some food, we headed back to the original minibus. Thankfully, Tu was with us, as they had taken all our bags off and put it on another minibus! As there were already lots of people on there, we were split, meaning Mark got the rear, and I got the front seat – which in Vietnam is absolutely beyond terrifying!

We arrived out the outskirts of the old town as buses can’t go in during the weekend, and set on our way to find our new hotel. This part of Hanoi seemed a little more seedy than what we had previously been in and it was also raining, so we couldn’t wait to get back. Luckily when we got there, they knew we were coming and our bags were already in the room. We were also given 30% off in their sky bar. It was just a shame we couldn’t see anything due to the heavy rain.

The following morning was a mad rush to try and pack, which was proving quite difficult with our newly purchased warm clothes and minimal space. This meant we had 5 minutes for breakfast, the usual Vietnamese cuisine and spag bol 🤷🏼‍♀️ we were picked up in a very posh minibus and began the 3-hour drive to Ha Long Bay.. in the rain 👍🏻we stopped for a break where I was surprised to find a lovely clean toilet with toilet roll! We decided to pay a bit more for a luxury cruise for the trip to Ha Long Bay, as a lot of reviews for the cheaper ones really aren’t great. And we’re so glad we did as the room and the boat were amazing.

We headed for lunch and had a delicious buffet. The staff were so friendly and helpful, pulling chairs out, pouring drinks, and doing your napkin. I thought they might start feeding me at one point! We popped back to the room before the excursion to Cat Ba Island, and Mark had a little call of nature. Unfortunately, because the window is so big, the toilet is opposite, and the other boats pass by quite closely.. it was a poo with a view.. for both parties! We headed to Trung Trang cave on Cat Ba Island; known as one of the typical and largest caves for the cave complex in Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve. It’s full of stalactites glittering under the dim light and incredibly low passageways that Mark thoroughly enjoyed crawling through. Our boat had a large group of mature people from India who insisted on taking pictures of themselves literally every 2 seconds. It was quite amusing at first, but then it just became super annoying as we were constantly having to wait for them 🙄

It was then back to the boat for happy hour. We spotted a couple where the man had a t-shirt saying, “I like it when you tell me you want me,” with a picture of his wife in a bikini on it, and giant wooden clogs.. as in the ones you buy from Amsterdam that are big enough to be a decorative wall piece. On the boat next door was a woman in a red dress, wafting around, making the person she was with get all the pics for the Gram. It really is the best for people watching! We had a cooking class, where we learnt how to make spring rolls. Unfortunately, I didn’t make my rice paper damp enough, so it was a bit chewy, and we enjoyed a happy hour of 241 cocktails.

At dinner we decided to treat ourselves to a bottle of wine, and was recommended one by the waiter. After dinner when we were looking at the cocktail menu again I thought I’d check which wine we had as it was delicious. It then dawned on me that I didn’t read all the 0s on the price list, and it turned out to be 2,200,000vnd.. which is around £78.. surely it must be an expensive bottle anyway! A quick Google check however revealed its actually a tenner in Tesco (or £8.50 with clubcard) We were then offered the chance to go squid fishing, and if anyone caught a squid you got a free beer. As we are now poor we decided to give it a go. We could see them swimming around but unfortunately nobody caught a squid. The closest anyone got was me making a squid squirt – I’m sure not many of you can say that 🤣🦑

Emergency jumper – the ones we could find had ‘inspirational quotes’ on 🤣

In the evening we were due to have a facial (which we had booked prior to expensive wine) the Indian group however fannied about so much (probably taking more photos) that our treatment got delayed by 45 minutes!! No apology from them when they came out cackling away 🙄 it was a lovely facial until the end, when they sat us up and basically beat us up by thumping us in the back. We were all relaxed and ready for bed, and I was looking forward to a nice sleep in.. until the super load Americans next door decided to talk waaaay too loudly on their balcony at 6 am about the speed of the WiFi being better because everyone was asleep… Well, not now they’re not!! We joined in with the kayaking after breakfast, which was great being able to see all the rock formations up close.

Ha Long Bay is an absolute must if you come to Vietnam. Come and see the 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence. It’s so beautiful, and the photos really don’t do it justice.

Having their 100000th photoshoot 📸

Ha Giang Loop 🇻🇳

gingertravellerblog2 Comments

Get ready… this is going to be a long one! We had said when we started planning this trip that we wouldn’t do an overnight bus or a homestay… so 3 days ago we got an overnight bus to a homestay 🤣

We knew we wanted to visit somewhere in the North of Vietnam and for weeks we couldn’t decide between Sapa or Ha Giang Loop. After reading many reviews, we decided we would give the loop a try with an easy rider, as neither of us can ride a motorbike. There are so many options, but because we’re far too old for the hostel gap yahh experience 🤣 we decided to book a small group tour and have our own room.We were picked up from our hotel and taken to a drop off point, and after much confusion we found out we had been booked onto the luxury bus transfer! This meant your own compartment within the bus, with a pillow, blanket and curtain. Mark being the BFG was far too long for his, but it was still a lot better than we had expected. About an hour after we had set off, a Vietnamese couple decided to sit underneath our cabin, and play TikTok videos.. constantly.. for about 2hrs 🙄

About 5hrs in I was absolutely desperate for a wee, but being an NHS worker I’ve usually got my bladder well trained. Cue Norway wee gate part 2 (for those of you who know that story!) I asked the driver if we could pull over and he told me 20 minutes. After about 30 and still not stopping I was about to burst! Mark then went and asked the driver when we were stopping and he was very rudely waved away. I was now at the point where I was deciding whether to wee on my spare jumper, or the blanket they had provided, as the shoe bag we had been given had a massive hole in. Luckily before that decision, we pulled up outside a dodgy looking restaurant, where I made a run for it, and was obviously met by a queue. Nobody was using the end toilet and at this point, I didn’t care why.. so I ended up trying to hold the door closed and hold my clothes out the way as a squatted and wee’d over the tiniest drain hole ever. Obviously as I was so desperate I completely missed the hole, and ended up weeing over my shoes and laces instead 👍🏻I also had no toilet roll. A low moment in life…

At 4am, and smelling of wee, we pulled up to our homestay and were taken up to our bed – an incredibly hard mattress on the floor, behind a curtain, in a room with at least 10 other people. Due to lack of sleep we really didn’t care. We got ourselves settled for a few hours kip, and that’s when the snoring, phones, bugs, buses and cockerels all started making noise 🙄

A few hours later we met our easy riders for the trip – Tu and Nguyen. These guys were the ones responsible for keeping us alive over the next 3 days! We started the morning with a big bowl of Phở. I tried so hard to use my chop sticks, but I just kept dropping everything back in the bowl and my jumper very quickly was splattered with Phở juice. We knew it would be colder up in the North.. but not as cold as it was. The weather app that said 20 degrees was a total lie as we sat shivering in the 14 degrees. But the adventure was finally happening!

Obviously as well as it being cold, it was thick fog, and this was the story for the next 3 days. We stopped at viewpoint after viewpoint, but sadly at the majority of them, we just couldn’t see anything at all. All we could do was Google ‘this is what we could have seen’. We did manage to get some breaks in the fog and thick clouds and this gave us some amazingly dramatic scenery.

We stopped for coffee and oh my days.. Vietnamese coffee is absolutely foul!! No amount of sugar or milk could make it taste nice 🤢 it also smells weird… Tu then began telling us about Weasel coffee that rich people drink in Vietnam – it is produced using the partially digested coffee cherries that are eaten by Asian palm civets and harvested from their poo 💩 One of the things that makes the Loop so interesting is the ethnic minority groups that live there. Tu was telling us that it’s not uncommon for them to have 3 children by the time they’re 20. I think he thought we would be really shocked by this statistic..

I was really looking forward to getting to the next accommodation as I was getting super tired and desperate for a nap, to the point where I accidently nodded off and headbutted my driver! He was clearly very keen to get back too; I felt like Valentino Rossi as he took some of the corners! We were taken to a restaurant with other riders and given bowls of meat, veg and rice for us to help ourselves. When we asked what one of the suspicious looking bowls was, turns out it was goats organs 👍🏻I did try the pigs ear… but I drew the line at that. The next challenge after food was working the shower, and after multiple tries to get hot water, we gave up.

After another night on a solid mattress, we were given an egg, tomato and cucumber Bánh mì, which turns out is actually a nice combo. As we were leaving to get on the bikes we could hear a weird squeeling sound – I said it sounded like pigs getting slaughtered – Tu confirmed I was correct…. we started off the day with relatively decent visibility, however that soon changed into thick fog, which made riding on the pot holed road (one to rival Worcester) an absolute nightmare. We stopped at a cafe and watched the local children go about their day, and enjoyed a fresh squeezed OJ. Nature called again and I was faced with yet another glorious toilet that I had to blast other people’s piddle off the seat with the hose provided. Around the sink was animal skulls, toothbrushes and a razor 🤷🏼‍♀️

We arrived at our next homestay and managed to have a hot shower! We sat down with other groups and tucked into another meaty feast of pork, beef and of course.. chicken feet. The family who were hosting us all were insistent on us all joining them for shots of ‘happy water’, which was gross, and karaoke. We got chatting to some lads lads lads from Sweden (who were very into singing Elvis karaoke) and it was great getting restaurant recommendations and hearing all about their travels so far.

For our last morning, we were yet again woken by more cockerels and enjoyed pancakes with a condensed milk dipping sauce! We went to the local waterfall and we finally got some blue sky and sun, so we sat for a while, taking in the beauty of our surroundings. The sun obviously didn’t last long, and it was fog as usual for the final ride back into Ha Giang town to get the bus back to Hanoi. The last leg of this ride was a long one, so our legs, back, and bum were absolutely killing by the time we got back!

You’re probably reading this thinking why on earth did they do this trip 🤣 even with the rubbish weather, the views we did manage to get were amazing, and if you do this on a clear day, I bet they’re out of this world. From staggering rice fields, luscious forests, imposing rocky cliff faces, rolling green hills, and beautiful mountain valleys. You get to see the ‘real Vietnam’ and learn about life and culture in the small agricultural villages scattered throughout the region. Watch the children playing and having the best time. Getting an easy rider allows you to see things you might not do on your own, such as The Death Cliff (don’t worry.. the rain very much put us off climbing onto it!) and other little hidden gems along the way. Even if you can ride, people have said they would have preferred an easy rider so they could enjoy their surroundings more. So if you ever come to Vietnam.. you must book this trip! Enjoy some the most unique roads, the homestaysand the happy water – “Một hai ba dzô!”