Round Halong Bay by Junk
Halong Bay, North Vietnam, is one of the most dramatic seascapes the planet has to offer. Five hundred million years in the making, twenty million...
Tagged: rtw
The Red Queen
It’s the weekend on Cat Ba island, not to mention the Vietnamese summer, which means there’s a vibe on the beach I can best characterize...
Easy Riders
We’ve been exploring Cat Ba island, which splatters like a Rorschach blot off the northern coast of Vietnam, trailing 300-odd islets in its wake. It’s...
Backpacks and Zacpacks
One of the reasons for the longish silence I’ve been keeping is that Z’s dad joined us in Vietnam this last weekend. The boy, it...
The Reunification Express
We flew from Manila into Saigon last week, the day after Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, and rode the Reunification Express 1600km or so upcountry to...
Unschooling. Or Learning as You Go.
It’s a truism that one learns by travelling, and a cliche that travel broadens the mind. From the days when English noblemen embarked on that...
The Inflatable Waterpark
This technicolour dream palace is indisputably special. Possibly a little “special needs” too. What is it? You may well ask. For this, my friend, is...
Working Girl
MJ’s been working bars since she was fifteen. Standard shifts. 6pm to 6am. She was an Avon Lady before that, but this pays better. She’s...
Full Fathom Five…
There is a sepulchral magic to a shipwreck. Viewed from underwater, with russet filigrees of sea ferns flourishing on the fractured edges of a shell...
Cargo Boats and Commandos
I’m a great fan of authenticity in travel. Travelling, where possible, as the locals do, which, given the wealth divide in the Philippines, means either...