Looking back at Vietnam

So I've been back in England for just over a week now. Time has gone so quick! Really nice being back but at the same time I miss South East Asia so much. I didn't get a chance to write about my time in Vietnam so thought I'd do a quick overview with plenty of pics.

I went to 3 places over there: Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang and Hanoi. Nha Trang is on the coast with good beaches and the other two are great cities. Vietnam is such a gorgeous country and there's always something interesting happening wherever you go.

The only negative part of my time there which is funny to look back on is a 29 hour train journey from Nha Trang to Hanoi. How to describe it? Imagine a cramped cabin with hard beds, poor air conditioning, no one who speaks English, impossible to order food, screaming babies and some friendly cockroaches in your bed.....heaven.

The highlight of my time there was visiting Ha Long Bay. Thousands of stunning limestone cliffs in the water with amazing caves to discover. It really is amazing and sitting on the top of the boat looking at the scenery is very special.

South East Asia is truly an unforgettable experience and a must for anyone who is keen for adventure and to explore the world. One day in the future I'll be going back there and I'm already looking forward to it

S x

Early morning Ho Chi Minh

On your marks...

Up to no good as usual

Causing mayhem

I love street food

Sleeper bus

Walk to the beach

Gorgeous beach in Nha Trang

Best meal I had. Duck and deep fried prawns, yom

Off to do some snorkeling

On the way to have lunch

Choosing your lunch! 

Someone's home

Fishing - attempting and failing

Time to cool off

Private resort

Enjoying the sun

Little piece of paradise

Just by the lake in Hanoi

Lake

Typical street with lots of cool restaurants

Ha Long Bay!

Walk through the cave

Over 2500 limestone cliffs in Ha Long Bay

Loving life

Rowing boat around the bay

Such a great experience

That stone building on a boat is actually a school!

Amazing

Journey back

Great day

Koh Phi Phi - Diving/Viewpoint

I have now made it to Koh Tao! A really cool island but sadly the weather is awful and looks like it will be for all of next week too so it's given me a chance to catch up on this blog! Before I left Koh Phi Phi I got the chance to go diving and also visit the island viewpoint. Both were amazing so I thought I'd write a bit about them.

Right let's start with the diving. I paid for a whole morning in which you got to dive twice. You spend about 45 minutes under the water each time as I think that's roughly how long the oxygen lasts (no longer or I'd  be swimming with the fish permanently). To see all the different creatures was stunning. Puffer fish, lobsters and bat fish were just a few of the animals I got to see. It was also so cool to see massive shawls of fish all grouped together. I was lucky enough to have my own instructor as no one else had booked up for the morning session. This made it so much better as she helped me out whenever I needed and it made the experience more enjoyable. It was tough getting used to breathing under water at first but after a while it was fine and I was able to relax and enjoy the sights!

Dive shop

Ready to rock

Off to find Nemo

Trying to get close to the small fish

The viewpoint over Koh Phi Phi was great and it was worth the 40 minute hike to the top. I arrived just before sunset so I watched the sun go down over the island and and it was a breathtaking view. The colours in the sky were amazing. I made sure I left just before it got completely dark as there are no lights on the walk back!

Trek to the top

Made it!

Sunset

Happy Sean

Another happy Sean

The whole island

Bye bye sun

Amazing colours

Heaven

Overall I'd say Koh Phi Phi has been my favourite place so far. It was difficult to leave there and I ended up spending 13 nights instead of 7! I'll definitely be back there again one day. Tomorrow I'll be blogging about  my time in Krabi


S x