From traveller to tourist and back again.

I'm aware that I have been through an entire country since I last updated this, and whilst I want to write about Vietnam, I also want to share my experiences of Cambodia. I'm not sure I'll reach Cambodia in this post, but we'll see.

We arrived in Vietnam across a bridge, which seemed strangely fitting, as for me it sort of marked the end of the beginning of my trip. Originally I'd never intended to go to Russia, Mongolia and China, and had thought I'd start my trip in Vietnam. My first Vietnam visa had expired over a month before I'd arrived, having spent much more time than expected in China. But here a was finally - Southeast Asia.

The weather was terrible, but I was immediately enamored with the country. When had we barely stepped across the border, we found a little street cart selling sandwiches in freshly baked baguettes. There are many things you can say about the decades of French colonialism, but they certainly taught the Vietnamese to bake. In fact the French influence on Vietnamese culture is everywhere to be seen from cooking to architecture. It gives Vietnam a unique feel, and somehow mixes perfectly with more traditional Vietnamese culture.

Our first stop in Vietnam was the sleepy hill town of Sapa. This rather wonderful town has steadily gathered pace as a tourist centre, and now boasts a number of slick hotels alongside the usual backpacker haunts. We rented little 125 cc motos, and rode Easy Rider-like around the surrounding Cham minority villages, often wreathed in thick fog. We were welcomed into a local house by some women, who told us about their day to day lives. It was a fascinating insight that can't be gained just by doing the usual tourist things.

Hanoi has the most amazing traffic I have even seen. It's as if the entire population decided to ride a motorbike all at once. They take their motorbikes everywhere, and are astonished that foreigners might consider walking a few yards down the chaotic streets, as if we'd decided to cross a lake by swimming rather than boat. But again the French influence means that chic boutiques and cafes rub shoulders with noodle stalls and metal fabricators, and the whole city oozes charm.

Halong Bay provided a surreal break from our usual budget existence - we ended up on surprisingly luxurious boat trip with a number of honeymooning couples, and felt out of place surrounded by the more civilized tourist classes. The package tourist experience was a little claustrophobic - strange to be penned-in by structured itineraries and plodding behind the annoyingly effervescent guide. Nevertheless, the scenery was spectacular, and we met some great people, who were to become accidental traveling companions as we bumped into them again and again at various stops on the way south.

As we headed south, the weather deteriorated, such that many places we stopped were almost completely flooded - the locals paddling the streets in canoes - and we were left to wade knee-deep in the suspicious murky water. We had rather dapper suits made in Hoi An, by a particularly camp tailor and his equally fay and diminutive assistant. They turned out well, but very fitted, leaving little room for any additional traveling-chub. I shall have to go easy on the spring-rolls.

That's all for now, but some more soon.

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