It's been an amazing and very overwhelming 16 and a bit months. We feel that we're extremely lucky to have been able to travel for so long and gain so many memorable experiences as well as meet a bunch of wonderful people. But we're so happy to go home to see our families and friends. It is strange but we do feel like completely different people than we were before we embarked on this adventure! I guess that is what travelling for a long time does to you.
We also want to thank everyone who we've met on this journey as well as our families and friends back home for all your support! We could not have done this without you :)
To finish this blog off here's a few statistics from out travels and a map showing some of the main places we visited:
After saying goodbye to George and Laos it was time for the last leg of our great adventure. We headed back to Ho Chi Minh City to explore some more of Vietnam. This time we headed north first to Da Nang then Hoi An, Phong Nha - Ké Bàng National Park, Cát Bà island and finally Hanoi.
Ho Chi Minh City 15. - 18.2.2018
We're back! This is the backpacker street.
Waiting to get in to our AirBnB in the crappy staircase
Happy Dog's year!
Flower street and Tet decorations
View over the Flower Street
Our favourite cafe which was also one of the only ones open for Tet
Everyone seemed to have puppies for the sake of the Dog's year
At the Cu Chi tunnels
Sawing bombs to make mines, very safe
Booby trap
Da Nang 18. - 19.2.2018
Quick stop to the Da Nang beach
Hoi An 19. - 24.2.2018
The beautiful town of Hoi An
Hoi An's Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Japanese Covered Bridge
People taking boat rides on the river
Children playing in a sandpit which was actually made from seeds
The streets of Hoi An are covered with beautiful lanterns
Seemed like all of Vietnam was in Hoi An to celebrate Tet
A bicycle ride through the rice fields
In the middle of it all
Rosanna's new favourite animal
Another water buffalo surrounded by cattle egrets
My Son Hindu temples built by Champa Kings dating back to the 4th century
Jump or trip over? Not so sure..
The tourists enjoying themselves
Some creepy carvings
A headless Shiva
A traditional dance at the end of our My Son tour
We took a boat like this back from the temples
The eyes painted on the boat to avoid danger
Up on one of the Marble Mountains
Scary dragon statues
Buddha
A lady Buddha (apparently Buddha doesn't have a gender)
A seven storey pagoda
In one of the Buddhist grottoes we found two Buddhas playing chess
This is hell!
Clearly not a good place
Amazing Bonsai trees
Big Buddha
Hoi Van pass, unfortunately it was quite a cloudy day
Checking out the views
Vegetable stall at the Hoi An Market
Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum set up by French photographer Réhahn
The museum has pictures of most minority tribes women in Vietnam and an example of their traditional clothes
Excellent vegetarian Banh Mi!
Phong Nha-Ké Bàng 24. - 26.2.2018
On Rosanna's birthday we did a tour in the Phong Nha-Ké Bàng national park (another UNESCO World Heritage Site) which included going to three caves and a small jungle trek. We had an amazing day and Rosanna will surely remember this birthday for a while :)
The first cave called Paradise Cave which is 31 km long and at points is 150 m wide and 72 m high
The stalagmite and stalactite formations were unbelievably massive
The jungle in Phong Nha national park is so lush and green!
A unicorn at the second cave, which was more like a memorial site for the eight people who died in the cave
Happy to go in the jungle!
Walking through this...
You get feet looking like this, best birthday ever!!
Arrived in our lumch spot!
Time to have lunch
Which was fresh spring rolls
Then we entered a water cave. Swimming inside for 300 metres in pitch-black was super scary and cool at the same time! Also a very echoing birthday song for Rosanna :D
Back at our homestay we celebrated Rosanna's birthday at a family dinner with some beers, rice wine and nice local food
Off to the Phong Nha cave!
Fisherman doing his thing
Clear water and mountains on the river banks
Entrance to the biggest water cave in Asia
Exploring the cave, which is 7,7 km long in our traditional Vietnamese boat
Inside the cave which was quite impressive
Phong Nha-Ké Bàng didn't disappoint!
Cát Bà 27.2. - 4.3.2018
Welcome to Cát Bà!
Lot of fishing boats
The town itself didn't have much to look at
But the coastline did!
Day trip to the National Park
Apparently in Vietnamese National Parks vegetables are grown and pigs roam around :D
Visiting Hospital Cave, which was in use at Vietnam War
It was pretty creepy down there
Someone put the cat on the table
Apple wine smile
These horses (?) were burned to scare away the ghosts
A haircut for 2 euros
After waiting for sunny weather for 4 days we had to settle on this cloudy day to go and see Lan Ha and Halong Bay
The cruise was done on boats like this one
First we cruised through the floating fishing village
Halong Bay is a UNESCO Heritage Site, but it is very crowded nowadays so we decided to visit Lan Ha Bay which is more tranquil
Some kayaking through caves and into lagoons
The cruise ended to a visit to the Monkey island
Which in fact did have some monkeys, but not wild ones...
Too cold to swim in :(
Last day's scooter was suitable for this Liverpool fan
The Vietnamese coffee machine
Hanoi 4. - 8.3.2018
Sunset from our hotel's rooftop terrace
Old Quarter
Hanoi shopping scene was too good
Felt like a giant in Hanoi's cafés
Found some excellent vegan Pho
Hanoi's night market
Street restaurant
How about a Vietnamese ice cream?
Or some fresh spring rolls to be wrapped by yourself
Last sunbathing on this whole trip
Hoan Kiem lake by night
A lantern shop
St Joseph Cathedral
Last day's historical tour
The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum was pretty creepy
There he rests
Ho Chi Minh's old living quarters
View from the Military History Museum
The Flag Tower of Hanoi was built in the 17th century
