Ho Tram

A weekend staying at a luxury waterfront villa in Ho Tram...bliss!

Singapore!

A fab weekend in Singapore! Clean streets, parks, dining in the dark, street food...and lots of rules!

Hanoi and Halong Bay

Thanks to the Reunification Day and Labour Day, we got an extra-long weekend at the end of April, for a last chance to go away for more than two days before the summer! A group of 6 of us travelled up on the airoplane to the capital city, Hanoi. We all loved the cooler temperature, which gave it a holiday feel. We pottered around the old quarter, stopping off at places for street food and coffee along the way.

We headed to the expat area for an evening meal, and then Luce and I went to meet Richard and his friend, who happened to be over from Hong Kong on the same dates we were up North. We hadn’t seen each other in years (we couldn’t work out how many but around 7 or 8 we think!) so it was fab catching up after so long, and a catch up drink turned in to many! We got to the hotel around 3, in time to catch a few hours’ sleep before our 6am rise for our trip to Halong Bay!

After a 3 and a half hour very hungover bus journey, we made it to Halong, and boarded our boat, The Treasure Junk, which was to become home for the next three days.

On the first day, we entered the bay, whilst having lunch, then headed out in the afternoon on kayaks.

The evening started with a cooking class, and was followed by cocktails on the deck at sunrise, a delicious meal, the Vietnam episode of Top Gear, and squid fishing.

The second day began with an early morning Tai Chi session at the front of the boat. After breakfast, we boarded a smaller boat, which took us further away from the touristy area. 

We spent more time kayaking, swimming, chilling on the beach, and sunbathing on the boat. We also swam around the caves, which started off fun, but we soon wished it to be over when we were swimming against the tide on the way back and started spotting lots of jellyfish...whoops! It seemed like a good idea at the time!

When we got back, we freshened up, and spent a second night enjoying relaxing on the boat, enjoying the food and cocktails, another cooking class, and more squid fishing.

On our last morning, we hopped onto bamboo boats to visit a secluded floating village surrounded by the mountains. 

We then headed back to the bay to get on the bus and make our way back to Hanoi. On our final day in Hanoi, we enjoyed drinks and chill time at The Hanoi Social Club, a cute little cafe, before making our way back to the airport. An amazing few days! Next stop...Singapore!

An amazing holiday with Mum!

Mum visited from 7th April (her birthday!) to the 16th. Where did we go? More like where didn't we go?!!

We started off with a day in HCMC, mainly shopping and allowing Mum to get over any jetlag, plus a birthday meal at the Architect's House, or Cuc Gach Quan, my favourite Vietnamese restaurant, where Brad and Angelina have also visited!!

On the Tuesday, we flew early to Dalat. After checking in at the hotel, we headed for town, which was when the heavens opened! We spent the whole day taking cover in coffee shops! It was lovely to have a catch up though!

After a chilled evening in at the hotel, we got an early night, ready for an early start the next morning.

Spencer and Tea came to meet us around 9 to start our easy rider trip! We headed from Dalat to Dilinh, stopping off at various places along the way, including the train station, the lake, a pagoda, a mushroom farm, Chicken village (there's a cute love story behind the name), a silk factory and a waterfall!

The morning started off with no rain, but it didn't last long!

The most interesting stop on the first day was The Crazy House, formally called Hang Nga Villa. It was built by a Vietnamese architect, and is a wild mass of wood and wire fashioned into the shape of a giant tree house and smoothed over in concrete. As well as being a tourist attraction, it is also a hotel!

By the time we reached Dilinh, we were ready to wrap up warm, have a bbq, and sit around the campfire watching the fireflies...bliss!

Waking up to the sound of a waterfall (in the back garden!) was a bonus!

We spent day two of the bike trip making our way to Mui Ne, stopping off at more waterfalls, lakes, and fishing villages on the way.

The closer we got to Mui Ne, the hotter it got, so we had to keep covered up, as we were starting to resemble beetroots!

The easyrider tour finished in Mui Ne, where Spencer and Tea left us for their next trip. Our hotel was beautiful, with stunning views from our room, an outdoor shower, hammock, and living area!

The infinity pool was lush too!

We spent the next day just sunbathing and relaxing, and went out into town for food in the evening.

On the Saturday we reluctantly checked out, and headed back to HCMC on the four hour train.

Sunday was spent on a full day tour of The Mekong Delta and The Cu Chi Tunnels. A bit of history after a relaxing break!

On Monday, Mum came to school for the day. In the evening we went to watch the AO Show, an art performance which uses movement, dance, music and lots of bamboo to give an insight into traditional Vietnamese life.

 

Mum relaxed, sunbathed and got packed up on the Tuesday, whilst I was at work. We went for sushi in the evening, and then headed to the airport early Wednesday morning. Sad to see her go but happy after a fab holiday! Can't wait for her next trip!