My aim is to travel from the UK to Brisbane for one of my best friends' wedding. Plane travel is so environmentally damaging so I am looking for another way. I also think that by travelling over land and sea I will be able to understand our world better as I will connect with the people and landscapes and not just look at the departure board in the airport. Any tips gratefully received!! Departure date 1st September.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Beijing to Hanoi 14th - 17th September


I feel like I have written volumes for just a few days, but I am really packing it in as time is limited. I shall try to summarise the last few days succinctly...... Forbidden City - Crazy tourist spot but pretty cool, Train to Hanoi - Meet some nice Kiwis and people from UK, as well as Vietnamese room-mates who are lovely, have loads of boxes and can't really speak English. Have a fairly uneventful journey - the train is packed, at least 500 people aboard! Pointless health check at Vietnamese border, they stick a thermometer in our ear (mine reads 32.5???) and charge the equivalent of 25p and we get a ticket, presumably saying we are healthy to travel through the country?! Hanoi - The people I speak to are very friendly and lots of people approach me to practice English or to find out about my culture. Get really fed up with saying ' Thank-you very much for the kind offer but I would rather not all the same' or similar (with a smile of course, I am representing my country!) to the thousand people a day who ask if I want a lift/to buy fruit or postcards - argh. It is also very hot and Ho Chi Minh is out of town for renovation so no joy there. Lots of nice food. I buy a bum-bag - Winner, what a revelation, my shoulders are much happier now. Also found a supermarket and bought a big block of chocolate and gorge myself by the Hoam Kiem Lake of the restored sword/tortoise legend. Oh yes, and the Water Puppets are ACE!

2 Comments:

At 11:55 am, September 18, 2006, Blogger LimePulp said...

Hi Babs

Wow you have been a really busy girl this last week, glad you have been a lot happyier lately. Sounds like you have been making loads of new friends and having enought time to go out and explore the cities and local sights, and getting some exercise into the bargain.

The thermometer in the ear didn't sound to heathly hope they wash it before there use it each time, great way to spread an ear infection...

Hope you are keeping count of all the bags you have now, thought you where going to gt rid off something not buy another bag to put even more stuff in.

Keep up with the great posts and don't worry everybody needs a mum to tell them to go to bed when they are travelling..

Keep smiling and being happy and eating, hope the chocolate was local?

All my Love and loads of Luck

Steve XXX

 
At 10:35 pm, September 20, 2006, Blogger D. said...

The thermometer in the ear is for SARS, I think. The Hanoi airport has a thermo scan of your body when you get into the terminal.

Continued good luck on your low-carbon trip!

 

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