What photo takes you right back to Vietnam?

We had a great time moving south through Vietnam for 2 weeks with Jo and one of our favourite days was spent on scooters exploring Cat Ba Island.

Summarise Vietnam in three words.

• Motorbikes – it seems that motorbikes and scooters keep everything moving in Vietnam. We saw them piled high with all manner of goods and carrying families of four as well as weaving around us every time we needed to cross the road.
• Smiles – if you smile at people in Vietnam you usually get a huge grin back even if you’re say ‘no thanks’ to whatever they’re selling.
• Bia Hoi – we tried to integrate ourselves fully with Vietnam’s culture which meant drinking a lot of fresh beer…

You really know you’re in Vietnam when…

…crossing the road. To cross the road in Vietnam you need to just step into the traffic and keep moving at a steady rate even when your instincts are screaming at you to either run or stop because there are three motorbikes heading towards you (they’ll weave around you, I promise). It’s a hard trick to master and caused many an adrenaline rush.

What one item should you definitely pack when going to Vietnam?

A waterproof poncho. We had some lovely weather in Vietnam, but we got really wet plenty of times too and all of the locals had their ponchos ready for the downpours (they work well if you’re cycling or motorbiking too).