THE COFFEE!!!!

It was awesome,  I can't believe I forgot to say this earlier! Rich and chocolaty, with condensed milk if you so desired. Iced or hot it was always divine.

BANH MI

I'm a big sandwich fan, so one of the things on my Vietnam to do list was of course, to sample Banh Mi. Crusty french baguette, pate, Vietnamese sausage, ham, cucumber and picked carrot and some mayonnaise.... it didn't happen until my last day (and I ate it at the airport no less!) but it was delicious.

A FINAL FAREWELL

We had our ups and downs, but by the end of our trip, the group had really bonded. I had initially had my doubts about doing a group trip (my Bamboo Sea experience being the only thing I had to compare it to and that was only 2 days!) We were a group of 10, half retired, and half young-ish so it turned out to be a good mix. It was nice to have company (the thought of going alone was one of the things that made me delay in buying a ticket) but I don't think I'd do it again unless I had a friend within the group and the destination was somewhere really intrepid.

After a few false goodbyes we ended up having a last meal together at an outdoor market. It was lovely, the food was superb, cheap and everyone was in great spirits.

FLOATING ON THE MEKONG

A little day trip from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon for short) to the Mekong Delta. I was disappointed by the water colour, but really what should I have expected? It was fun to weave through the trees on the junks and explore some of the islands.

WHITE ROSE

A Hoi An specialty, they were so delicate, with a tiny ball of pork perched on the top. I ordered it blindly, not really knowing what would come but they do really look like roses, gorgeous.

MANGO ROOMS

We had extra time in Hoi An due to overbooked flights to Ho Chi Minh City ("because of the Tet" of course). By our last day we'd basically done all there was to do and an unfortunate number of our group had various stomach upsets. As a consequence I spent the day wandering by myself and ended up splurging (relatively) on lunch at Mango Rooms, widely considered the best restauarant in Hoi An, I'm told that even Mick Jagger has eaten here.

I had a very enjoyable meal, the sun was shining, there was free wifi (I was so impressed throughout the trip that almost everywhere we went had wifi), and the food was awesome.

BEACH TRIP

It was great to hop on a bike after days of my physical activity being limited to hopping on and off a bus. A short 15 minutes later and I was at the beach. It was warm but not warm enough to get in the water (it is winter here afterall!) I contented myself with just looking.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Cooking class was one of the things I was most looking forward to given how everyone seems to rave about them after coming home from a Vietnam trip.

Our teacher was fabulous, I can't believe I didn't get a photo of her! Very talented, I was impressed not only by her kitchen time management skills (so efficient!) but also by her almost encyclopedic knowledge of english song lyrics, she did indeed make cooking very fun.

MY FIRST AUSTRALIA DAY

I was made an honorary Australian for a day. We celebrated with mango gin cocktails by the riverside, followed by lunch.

HOI AN

My favourite place by far, this charming old town was so much fun, helped of course by the huge improvement in weather. A bit touristy but I didn't care, it was just so damn pretty. Hoi An's claims to fame are great tailors, well preserved (or very well recreated) old streets, and lots of restaurants, there is also a beach a quick bike ride away. A few days here were definitely required after the sightseeing centric itinerary of the past few days.

TRAVEL DAY

I wasn't sad to be leaving Hue after several days of this, fine weather was after all one of the main things I was hoping to find in Vietnam! We started the 4 hour bus trip to Hoi An nice and early, though as always with a group (I soon found) this meant half an hour after we were scheduled to.

A HOME DINNER

In Hue we also had dinner in a local Vietnamese household. Their altar, just inside the doorway was spectacular, as was the food! The stand out for me was the pumpkin and peanut soup that tasted like pumpkin flavoured peanut sauce. I also love the heaping of fresh herbs on every plate.

ON THE BIKE

A different kind of bike then I'm used to!

A motorbike trip through the countryside outside of Hue. Good fun and the drivers were so skilled at navigating potholes etc without even having to put their feet down.

Highlight for me was a vegetarian lunch at a nunnery, so delicious! It was the first truly fresh meal I had had since arriving, previously being overwhelmed by fried things. Definite downside to travelling as a group: finding a restaurant that suits everyone.

SEEING THE SIGHTS

Hue was kind of drizzly and grey the whole time we were there, which I'm told is not unusual. There were lots of old things- citadels, pagodas, temples etc to be seen. To be perfectly honest when I'm alone this is normally the kind of thing I would skip but it was surprisingly ok. Having the guide (Khoa, who was with us the entire trip) talk about Vietnam's history (so many wars!!) made it quite educational. There was even a boat trip thrown in for good measure.

BANH KHOAI

We brought the new year in on an overnight train from Hanoi - Hue (well the others did, the train departed at 11pm and I was asleep by 11.15pm, I've definitely become a convert to long distance train travel.)

When we arrived in Hue late the next morning I was famished and at our first meal, ordered one of the Hue specialties. A crispy rice pancake with bean sprouts, prawns and pork. Yum.

NEW YEAR TREES

In order to properly celebrate Tet (Vietnamese lunar new year) every family needs one of these trees, and a blossom tree for their house.

The more fruit, the more good fortune and fertility the family will have in the new year. They varied in size, these were some of the larger ones, and people managed to balance them on the backs of their motorbikes, very skillful indeed.

HALONG BAY

Day one we left the madness of the city for an overnight boat trip in Halong Bay. The dock was crazy, so many tourists on so many boats! Out on the water it was better, the weather wasn't fantastically clear but it made it quite dramatic, the limestone rising out of the water surrounded in fog.

BECAUSE OF THE TET

Just back from a few days in Vietnam. I loved it! Mainly because of the food but for other reasons too. I went on a group trip with 9 others, by the end we had all really bonded and it was rather sad to say goodbye!

The Vietnamese celebrate lunar new year just like China, so there were so minor inconveniences. We got very accustomed to our guide saying "it's because of the Tet" whenever something didn't happen according to plan. I wonder what they use for an excuse the rest of the year?

We started in Hanoi which overwhelmed me with motorcycles, I think they are to Vietnam what scooters are to Taiwan.

THE KELLERMANS OF TAIWAN

I was happy to leave Kenting, and we got away early in the morning to catch a train to Taitung in the southeast. The train took us right around the southern coastline which was very pleasant. Unfortunately the train ride came to and end and we were forced to continue with our adventure.

KENTING

Kenting is a small town at the southern most tip of Taiwan. Surfing, snorkeling, seafood and sun year round.

We inadvertently spent New Years Eve here (not much sleep was had). It was a pleasant surprise to see that although the people on the beach stayed up all night letting off fireworks , there was none of the drunken ick that happens around NZ at this time of year.