healths

In South East Asia no space is left unfilled. The streets are lined with markets selling food by day and souveniers by night. The roads are a hive of activity of scooters weaving in and out of coaches and taxis. Fold-out seats in minivans and additional plastic stools in restaurants are commonplace. Hanoi fascinated me, it was an enchanting maze of multiple storey townhouses where fairylights and lanterns lead the way to hidden cafes. Every nook and cranny is utilised into a shop, a booking office, a street food stall. Public transport is a less romantic scene. Night buses are a cheap and popular way to travel around Vietnam; two floors of fold out seats with a slot to cram your feet into and a blanket to comfort you through the night as the bus thunders down the roads. I've heard stories of locals cramming into the aisles and sleeping on the floor although I haven't experienced this yet. Even though the buses are cheap and easy, for real freedom and independence most backpacke...

After a long and languorous week in Luang Prabang my senses were awoken with a start when we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam. The capital is loud, hot and hectic with the craziest traffic I have ever seen! There's a consistent flow of scooters from every corner and the streets are packed with cafes, restaurants and markets. It has actually been really refreshing to be back in an exciting city with so much going on and I have rapidly fallen in love with Hanoi and all of it's hidden gems. However, a few days in any major city can be pretty intense and I was longing to stretch my legs somewhere, so we booked a trek among the rice padis in Sapa. Sapa is quite far north of Hanoi so we had to get a night bus for the majority of the journey. I've been on sleeper trains before so expected a similar experience but it was much more cramped and there was a huge thunder storm all through the night. Lashing rain and flashes of lightning made it difficult to sleep so when we did arrive at Sapa...

Situated in a maze of backstreets and guesthouses is a backpackers mecca of sprawling futons and wooden tables amongst a leafy garden overlooking the Mekong river. It is called Utopia. I've been here everyday since I've been in Luang Prabang, mostly to eat from their menu of Westernised dishes as my trip here coincided with my appetite hitting a huge wall after four weeks of noodles, rice and everything fried. One nugget of advice Utopia offers is that Lao P.D.R stands for "please don't rush" and this sums up my time in Laos perfectly: chill, slow-paced and relaxed.  It's not too difficult to embrace a more leisurely approach to traveling in Laos, mainly because there isn't a huge amount to do here. Laos is a truly breathtaking country; mountainous views and the rush of the Song river stole a few moments of silence from me when we arrived in Vang Vieng. Luang Prabang is home to the phenomenal Kuang Si waterfalls which blew my mind. The pictures just don...