Category: Vietnam

Dong Hoi & Phong Nha: Two Years of Development

bristolianbackpacker0 Comments

As mentioned previously, this is my second time in Vietnam. As well as visiting new places, I am heading to some of the same places. Naturally, these places are new to Mitch, and I get a totally different experience travelling with him, rather than travelling solo. Two of the places I’ve visited for a second time on this trip are Dong Hoi and Phong Nha. The former is a small town on the coast, the latter is a National Park famous for it’s recently discovered caves. I loved both of these places last time. And, seeing as we passed them on …

Continue Reading

24 Hours in Dien Bien Phu

bristolianbackpacker0 Comments

Dien Bien Phu is located in the North West of Vietnam, close to the Laos border. We took a night bus from Sa Pa and arrived at 5am. Rather than hopping straight onto another bus to Laos, we decided to stay a night in this small town, to explore what it has to offer and catch up on some sleep we missed on the night bus. After checking into our hotel and having a quick nap, we headed out to explore the town in the afternoon. We left our guesthouse and walked out to a main road. We were struck …

Continue Reading

Uh Oh, Helen Fell in Love Again: Sa Pa, Vietnam

bristolianbackpacker0 Comments

It was just over a year ago that I announced that I was falling in love with Montenegro. Less than a year ago, I also wrote my passionate experience about visiting Xingping in China. Both of these places stole my heart and are places I would happily go back to. They are places which are ideal for relaxing, unwinding, thinking, and getting away from the hustle and bustle. Location number three has now been added to the list: Sa Pa, Vietnam.     I explored a fair number of places the last time I was in Vietnam. Sa Pa, however, …

Continue Reading

Visiting Vietnam… Again

bristolianbackpacker1 Comment

For those of you who don’t know, Mitch and I are now in Vietnam. We contemplated going back to China but we eventually decided that, for now, our Chinese adventure was over. It’s actually the second time I’ve been to Vietnam. You won’t find much about it on the blog because I started The Bristolian Backpacker after the trip. I’ve been meaning for a long time to write about my Vietnam travels, and I will at some point, perhaps this time around. Despite renowned travel blogger Nomadic Matt explaining why he’ll never return to Vietnam, I have returned to Vietnam, because, despite …

Continue Reading

Turning 26 on Monkey Island

bristolianbackpacker2 Comments

I’ve never been one to do anything big and fancy for my birthday, and so the same was true for while we were travelling. Mitch and I wanted to go on a Ha Long Bay tour and it just so happened that we booked it a few days before my birthday. After toying with different tour companies (there are hundreds offering trips to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam), we opted to go with Hanoi Central Backpackers Hostel. Unlike some more luxury boat trips, this offered a stay on Monkey Island. For us, it was a good mix between socialising and …

Continue Reading

Top 3 Reasons To Visit Vietnam

bristolianbackpacker1 Comment

I travelled for six weeks around Vietnam in August and September 2014. I am finally going to share some thoughts with you about it. Here are my quick fire reasons for Vietnam being a must place to visit. Cost I’m generally a budget traveller so finding somewhere cheap to stay and go is important for me. Although the flights may be expensive, once you arrive in Vietnam, nothing else will be. Accommodation in a hostel with breakfast can be $5 a night (£3.20), and some even cheaper. Although I never stayed at the cheapest, they were still cheap, clean and …

Continue Reading