All posts tagged: Vietnam

My Favourite Things About Rwanda

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Perfect for tech buffs, digital nomads, wildlife lovers, caffeine fiends and outdoors-y types!   For me, Rwanda is perfect for every visitor to Africa, whether first-timers or seasoned travelers. My 2012 trip to the Central African country rates extremely high on my ‘Top Holidays’ list and from what I hear, things have only gotten better since! Here’s why you should visit this beautiful, innovative country! It’s Safe Rwanda is one of the safest and most economically prosperous countries in East and Central Africa. Forget about its history, the streets of Kigali are much, much safer than Nairobi or Kampala. I don’t want to get into the political reasons why (lets just say President Kagame runs a tight ship) or the implications of this, but for visitors, there’s no doubting Rwanda is ridiculously safe. Kigali is an efficient, well serviced city with a good road network. Even the motos (motorbike taxis) are incredibly regulated, registered with the proper authorities and always carrying helmets for passengers. It has a Vibrant Capital The capital Kigali is a beautiful …

Visiting Vietnam: Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh?

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For a lot of people hoping to visit Vietnam, an epic end to end  journey encompassing the whole country is the dream. But sometimes money, time  and simple geography are not on our side. Ideally, you should try to fit both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) into any Vietnam trip but if that’s impossible and you really must choose one, which do you go for? For me, it has to be Hanoi! Here are the reasons why.  The Atmosphere Hanoi is the perfect introduction to Vietnam. It’s busy and hectic, with an old city full of tree lined narrow streets, Chinese temples, Catholic cathedrals and cool shops. There’s tonnes of cafes, great street food and the chilled out Hoan Kiem lake for when you need a break. I adore how the city is equal parts crazy and calm. At night, there’s lights and noise and buzz and scooters and people walking everywhere. By day . . . well actually it’s pretty much the same until suddenly you turn a corner and there’s a …

Foodie Flashpacker Top 5: Southeast Asia

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If you’re heading to Southeast Asia, the food is likely to be a major highlight of your trip! In 2015, I visited Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand; the year before I went to Sri Lanka. So although I’m hardly an expert, I picked up a few things along the way! So if you’re a foodie flashpacker, here are my top 5 must do! Bangkok Food Tour I did the Best Eats Midnight Tuk Tuk Tour with Bangkok Food Tours and I highly recommend it! Our guide was friendly and extremely knowlegdable about Bangkok, its food and its history; the food we had was even better than I had expected. There was a real variety shown and choosing to get around by Tuk Tuk rather than on foot meant we could scoot around the city and experience the best all over. We made at least four restaurants stops, a late night temple visit, a market stroll and a rooftop beer overlooking the river. My favourite dish? Probably Khao Moo Daeng, a rich, sticky barbecued pork dish. …

14 weeks, 5 countries, 2 continents: My Flashpacking adventure

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Flash-What? Flashpacking! It’s backpacking but fancier. A new travel term coined for millenials who mix high and low end experiences to create a more authentic way of travelling. The Numbers 14 weeks, 5 countries, 2 continents, 13 flights, 11 buses, 8 ferries, 7 cities, 3 beach towns, 2 islands, 1 yoga retreat The Route Dublin- Abu Dhabi – Hanoi – Halong Bay – Sapa – Hoi An – An Bang – Ho Chi Minh –  Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville – Siem Reap –  Bangkok – Krabi – Railey – Koh Lanta – Ao Nang – Phi Phi – Bangkok – Brisbane – Shannon The Highlights Brisbane, Australia I went to Australia solely to see my brother Rory, his beautiful girlfriend Rachael and meet their almost 2 year old son, my nephew Lachie. It’s not that I didn’t want to explore the country but budget/time wise, it wasn’t realistic so this was a ten day, Christmas/family visit to finish off my trip. After almost 13 straight weeks of solo travelling and all the planning, organising and …

What the Flashpack! Where to Stay in Ubud and Saigon

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I’m currently flashpacking in SouthEast Asia, hashtagging my way around Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Flash- what? Flashpacking. There’s no one agreed definition but a good summation: backpacking but fancier. Flashpackers tend to be in their twenties or thirties, quite attached to their gadgets, willing to slum it but also liking their their little touch of luxe every now and then. I view flashpacking as mixing high and low end experiences to create a more engaging, authentic travel experience. You might stay in a super cheap, fun hostel one night and party with an international crowd; then you might splash out and spend the next three days at a yoga retreat with an infinity pool. That’s flashpacking at its finest. It’s backpacking for grown ups. A lot of places are tapping into the flashpacking market by providing more upmarket versions of hostels with extra touches and often co-working spaces. I visited Malaysia and Bali earlier this year also and came across some great places to stay. Here are the two best flashpacker pads I’ve encountered so far! …

National Trauma, Collective Memory & Recovery: Vietnam & Cambodia

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Vietnam and Cambodia are two beautiful and fascinating countries to visit. I was greatly intrigued by the recent violent histories of both countries and how the path to recovery seems to have led Vietnam and Cambodia in very different directions. Politically and economically, these  differences are glaringly apparent- Vietnam technically remains a communist country and is an Asian economic powerhouse; Cambodia has a complicated, ostensibly democratic though often corrupt government with an economy which has failed to match that of its neighbours. But even for the most casual visitor, uninterested in politics or economics, the differences and the impact they’ve had on the national psyche are clear to see. Here, I look at how Vietnam and Cambodia’s recovery from national trauma can be interpreted through one particular lens- that of their attitude and view of foreigners and tourists. The first surprise I had in Vietnam was the abruptness and at times, downright unfriendliness, of the people. As someone who’s enjoyed many a good bowl of pho on London’s Kinsland Road, I was expecting the same …

The best little beach in Vietnam

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An Bang Beach Vietnam is quite possibly my favourite beach town. That’s no small feat; I’m a beach town kind of girl. And I’ve encountered some great ones- in Northern California, Spain, Sri Lanka, Bali and Zanzibar. But I’m calling it: An Bang is the best. Although bestowing the moniker ‘town’ upon it is definitely being generous, An Bang is that perfect cliche- small but perfectly formed. The beach is beautiful, a long, wide sandy expanse. Danangs’ brightly lit skyline glitters to your right, a hazy blue outline describes the Charm Islands to your left. Everything about An Bang is perfect. The beach isn’t overdeveloped but has just enough bars and restuarants to keep you happy. The French run Soul Kitchen is a particular expat favourite as is the Driftwood Cafe- drop by there for some excellent pizza. An Bang Village Restaurant is the spot to go for a bargain $25 Vietnamese cooking class and make sure you stay at Under the Coconut. It’s the type of place people fail to leave. I meant to …

Tea & Silence: Hoi An, Vietnam

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Hoi An is a beautiful city in Central Vietnam, full of artfully crumbling French colonial buildings and a lantern strung Old City where the lights are turned off at night. It’s the kind of city you plan to visit for a weekend and end up moving to. In Hoi An is a tea house called Reaching Out. In the Old City, it’s a comfortable cafe with lots of polished dark wood and a lovely sun trap area out the back. The carefully presented tea and coffee trays would be reason enough to visit. But there’s another reason to visit Reaching Out; it is almost completely silent. The staff are all deaf or hearing impaired. You order using a printed form and pencil. You ask questions using carefully labelled blocks provided at your table. You are encouraged to communicate using gestures, sign language and smiles. The silence is refreshing. Coffee shops are usually loud; milk steaming, coffee beans grinding, people chattering, baristas shouting, mugs banging, glasses clinking. There’s none of that here. It’s a wonderful place …