Kyrgyzstan

September 16, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

Back to my new favourite airline, Turkish Airlines, for a thankfully uneventful connection through Istanbul to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Arriving in a new country where everything is written in the Cyrillic alphabet at 4.30am after the usual lack of sleep on the flight continues to be a good idea… Long and slow-moving queues at passport control (no visa required) meant that my bag was slowly trundling around the baggage carousel waiting for me when I finally got through. I found my transfer and waited for some other people on the G Adventures trip I am doing to arrive.

We eventually got to the hotel at about 6.45am and I could thankfully go to bed for a couple of hours as I’d booked the hotel room for the previous night to make sure I could rest.

I reckon I had about 2 and a half hours sleep before heading out in the late morning with another person on the trip. We got a YandexGo (the Central Asia version of Uber) to Ala-Too square, a wide open space with a massive flagpole guarded by 2 young men. We managed to arrive in time to witness the changing of the guard which was an interesting ceremony where the participants were goose-stepping their way to and from their posts.

We then went into the History Museum which is situated at one end of the square. It was a very interesting museum explaining the history of Kyrgyzstan from the first settlers many centuries ago to its independence from the USSR and more recent history. There was plenty of information in English, alongside Kyrgyz and Russian. We would be in there a good hour or so I think.

After lunch we wandered back to the hotel through several very well maintained parks and squares.

Group meet-up in the evening and our first meal together, hilariously in a branch of the same restaurant we’d gone to at lunch time.

The following morning started with a walking tour of Bishkek, including revisiting some of the places I’d gone the previous day, though this time with more context from our local guide. Bishkek has a lot of parks with statues to all sorts of people from their history.

There are some quite contrasting architectural styles in Bishkek, from some quite beautiful Soviet buildings to some less aesthetic, brutalist buildings from the 1970s.

After we’d finished the walking tour, we headed out of Bishkek to the Burana Tower, essentially half a minaret and some petroglyphs are all that remain from the 9th century city of Balasagun. You can walk up the tower, up a dark, narrow staircase with very deep steps. My quads were still aching several days later.

Lunch was at a Dungan restaurant. The Dungan are Chinese Muslims who fled persecution in the late 1800s and arrived over the Tian Shan mountains into Kyrgyzstan. A delicious spread and some of the best noodles I’ve had anywhere.

We continued in the afternoon to Chon Kemin National Park. Some lovely views of the gorge close to the entrance, rolling mountains and milky blue rivers. We overnighted in a guesthouse in a small village. In the morning we walked up a nearby hill for 360 views of the area, where we could see several villages and neatly farmed fields. The trees starting to turn yellow as summer ends and autumn approaches. A good way to start the day before getting in the minibus and driving for most of the rest of the day, through spectacular scenery, to Song Kul lake.

The road was pretty good for a while and then we turned off to a dirt road which wound its way high into the mountains. Some really impressive views as we climbed higher. We eventually arrived at the yurt camp on the shores of Song Kul lake in the late afternoon after an increasingly bumpy ride. The clouds had come over by now and the wind had got up so we were all grateful to wait for dinner inside the dining yurt where the stove was on and providing some much-needed heat. The lake is at an altitude of over 11,000 feet and the temperature change from the first couple of days was quite stark! For the first time on my travels this year, I’ve actually brought a coat with me (the coat I’d had to buy in Japan!) and I was very glad I had it!

A simple dinner of lentil soup and stuffed dumplings before bedding down for the night in a yurt. The stove had also been burning in our yurt so it was toasty warm. And the beds had a thick duvet and a couple of blankets so despite the cold outside, it was very nice and warm inside. I’d be lying if I said I’d had a good nights sleep. Various animal noises from outside, a drop in temperature overnight and a very narrow bed variously contributed to an unsettled night. But it was a great experience to sleep in a traditional yurt.

The morning sky was beautifully clear and blue and as we waited for breakfast, herds of horses, goats and other animals were making their way to the lake for their morning drink. I’m not quite sure where they all came from as there weren’t these numbers around the previous night.

We set off after breakfast back down the bumpy mountain pass and to lunch in Kochkor. After lunch we continued driving east along the southern shore of Issyk Kul lake, the biggest lake in Kyrgyzstan. It was glistening a beautiful blue against the sky. We stopped in the late afternoon at Fairytale Canyon (Skazka Canyon). So-called because the rock formations are said to resemble buildings from fairytales. I’m not so sure… But a fun hour exploring the rocks before the final leg of the day to our guest house in Tamga. A beautiful guest house with an enormous garden and an abundance of apple trees heavy with ripe apples.

Another local dinner with some of the best mashed potato I have ever had.

The following morning started at a project support by G Adventures which is ensuring the traditional Kyrgyz crafts of felt work, needle work and yurt-making are kept alive. We learned about how the beautiful felt panels which adorn the inside of yurts are traditionally made, and also helped to construct a yurt. They really are quite ingenious dwellings. A lot of G Adventures trips include a stop at a project being supported by its charitable arm and this was one of my favourites.

We continued on and had a picnic lunch at Jety Oguz, another striking rock formation. The colours here really reminded me of Zion National Park in the US. A very picturesque spot for lunch.

After lunch we continued to our final overnight in Kyrgyzstan, in the city of Karakol which is the 4th largest city in Kyrgyzstan. When we arrived we had a short tour of the 2 main sights in town – the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and the Dungan mosque. Both quite striking, and both made out of wood. Our final evening meal in Kyrgyzstan was at a Uyghur restaurant. It’s been very good to have lots of different types of food here in Kyrgyzstan, from traditional Kyrgyz food, to Dungan, Russian and Uyghur.

We made our way northeast the next morning, through a gap in the mountains to the border with Kazakhstan and one of the more unassuming border posts I’ve seen.

Kyrgyzstan is a stunningly beautiful country which I’ve really enjoyed. Now off to my next Stan…

Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary

September 2, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We arrived in Revelstoke in the late afternoon. We stayed in a Best Western on the outskirts of town which had, to me, a bit of a typical North American motel style to it. The breakfast room was diner style with these really cool stained glass windows.

We had dinner in the town centre, which was surprisingly bustling for the mid week. There was live music being played in the square and lots of people around and about. We had a nice dinner and then, as was becoming traditional on this group trip, we had ice cream for dessert.

The next morning we set off to Lake Louise. Still very smoky, and if I’m completely honest, I was slightly underwhelmed when we got there. As expected, it was very busy on the lake front with lots of people trying to get photos, and trying not to get other people in their photos. And the lake didn’t look as blue as I’d expected it to be.

We all did a hike to Lake Agnes teahouse, which was a more strenuous walk than I was strictly prepared for, and the most strenuous hiking I’ve done since hiking in the Grand Canyon and Zion in 2019. It was quite a humid day and certainly the first part of the hike, up through the wooded sides of the lake, was quite hard work. Eventually I got into a rhythm. One of the best things about this hike was the glimpse of the lake from above, which showed it to be very blue, turquoise really, so I’m really glad I ended up doing this hike. This was much more like I’d imagined the colour of the lake to be.

A more turquoise Lake Louise from the Lake Agnes hike

It probably took me about an hour and a half to reach the teahouse, which had an enormous queue that I didn’t bother joining. I sat by the lake and ate my snacks and watched the chipmunks darting around. A few in the group carried on to do the ‘Big Beehive’ hike, which I decided against as I was almost out of water and couldn’t face any more uphills!! After a short rest I headed back down with the rest of the group and as it was late afternoon by now, the crowds had thinned so it was a good opportunity to take more photos while we waited for the others.

Our overnight stop in Banff was only a 45 minute drive away and we arrived in the early evening. We had dinner at a Japanese karaoke bar where, for once on my travels this year, I did not subject my fellow travellers to my terrible singing voice!! Though I did join in from the sidelines sans microphone! This restaurant served food and drinks in the karaoke rooms which made for a very enjoyable evening.

We had a free morning in Banff the next day so I had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed wandering around the small town of Banff. It is surrounded by peaks, and has amazing views from almost every angle. I walked all the way down the main street, to the Cascades of Time gardens just over the river. There are some lovely views of Banff and its surroundings from here as it’s slightly elevated. After buying some more unnecessary souvenirs, I headed back to the hotel and we set off for Calgary in the early afternoon.

We made a stop at Canmore, about 40 minutes from Banff. Another very pretty Rockies town with lots of independent gift and souvenir shops where I bought yet more things I don’t really need! It had got really hot by the mid afternoon, which was quite a contrast from the morning when it was raining and cool in Banff as I went for breakfast!!

We continued our way to Calgary and suddenly the mountains gave way to fields with neat hay bales dotted around. And then in the distance, the tall buildings of the city. We arrived late afternoon and had our final dinner together in a lovely Italian restaurant. I had just about enough time the next morning for a quick walk around the downtown area before getting an Uber to the airport. I’m sure Calgary is nice but it just felt like a built up city centre, and so I didn’t feel too bad about spending less than 24 hours there…

Home time, and no issues from Westjet this time. A couple of weeks rest in my own bed before the final leg of this year of travelling kicks off…

Whistler and Kelowna

August 29, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

First full day of the group trip and we started with a final drive through the main sights of Vancouver before heading north on the Sea to Sky Highway, which took us on the stunningly beautiful drive between Vancouver and Whistler. We stopped off at a couple of spots on the way – Shannon Falls, lunch in Squamish and a short hike just outside of Whistler called the Train Wreck hike, where a number of train carriages were dragged into the woods after a train crash in the 1950s. They’ve all subsequently been covered in graffiti. It’s a fun, short hike and good to stretch the legs.

We arrived in Whistler in the mid afternoon and I enjoyed a wander around the town. With its wooden lodges, wide array of restaurants, cafes and drinking venues and bustling streets, it did remind me of several other ski resort towns I’ve been to over time, though I’ve yet to actually go to one during ski season!

A delicious dinner at The Brickworks (slow cooked bison) with some Canadian wine, which was a noticeable feature on wine lists on my trip. I’m not sure I’ve ever really clocked Canadian wine in the UK but I’ll certainly be looking out for it in the future.

Everyone had different plans the next day. A couple of us started with a visit to the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Center where there was a video and guided tour informing us about the indigenous populations of this region, the Squamish and the Lil’wat. We learnt about how they live off the land and what the mountains and forests in this region mean to these peoples. There were also exhibits depicting the traditional ways of life which were really interesting, I’d definitely recommend a visit if you’re in Whistler.

Afterwards I took the gondola up Blackcomb mountain to get to the Peak2Peak gondola, which crosses the valley between Blackcomb and Whistler mountains. Some spectacular views on this gondola, which is the longest unsupported cable span in the world. It takes 11 minutes to cross between the 2 mountains. After taking some photos, I went for a short wander before taking the chair lift up to the top of Whistler mountain. On the way I bumped into some of my fellow group travellers who were on their way back down and off to do some zip lining which is very popular activity here.

I’d never been on a chair lift before, and was clinging onto my rucksack as though my life depended on it! But I negotiated it safely and was deposited at the top of Whistler mountain, where you can then make your way across the Cloudraker Skybridge which was really quite wobbly in the middle! There are a bunch of hiking routes up here, and whilst some other group members opted to do some longer hikes, I stuck to a short one which did give good 360 views from the mountain. It was quite hazy due to wildfires in the region, so I don’t have the sharpest photos but I will never tire of looking at mountains.

I made my way back down the Whistler mountain gondola and back to Whistler village in the mid afternoon where I found a cafe for a cuppa and a cookie. I filled the rest of the afternoon with a bit of retail therapy before relaxing by the pool at the hotel. In the evening, our guide drove us a short distance to Creekside where we got takeaway Japanese/Korean food and sat watching the sunset over the water – so serene. I really liked Whistler, definitely somewhere I could go back to and spend a few more days exploring.

The next day was a relatively long driving day (though nothing compared to those in Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania!!) as we left Whistler and drove to Kelowna. It was such a beautiful drive, with pockets of snow hanging on to the tops of the mountains and milky blue rivers cutting through the landscape. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Seton Lake which was a simply stunning backdrop to enjoy my cheese and crackers!!

There have been lots of wildfires in this region, and as we continued after lunch, it steadily got more smoky and hazy. The landscape also changed, it looked a lot drier, more arid, and more rolling than mountainous, with brush a bit more like you’d find in desert regions. A type of landscape I don’t think I’d ever considered I’d find in Canada.

There are some hills in the distance, behind the smoke

We had a brief coffee stop in Kamloops (my second visit after the very brief fresh air break on the train) before continuing on and arriving in Kelowna in the late afternoon. Kelowna has a very beautiful setting, on a lake and surrounded by more mountains. It was quite hazy with the smoke which made for a moody sunset which we watched from the open air top floor of a local restaurant.

A leisurely morning in Kelowna where I had a wander around the town and lakefront before we headed off to a local winery in the late morning for a spot of wine tasting. We had a glass of fizz, 2 whites and a red. As usual, I much preferred the whites! After a reasonable amount of wine, it was back to the lakefront in Kelowna for a picnic lunch arranged by our guide before we hit the road for the drive to Revelstoke which was basically an overnight stop before we continued east into Alberta – more on that next time!

Cambodia

February 1, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

My second new country of this trip. We left Ho Chi Minh City early in the morning to try and get to the border at Bavet before the rush. This proved a success and there was no queue as we were stamped out of Vietnam. We walked with all our belongings perhaps a couple of hundred metres to the Cambodia border. As with Laos, I was getting a visa on arrival (it is possible to get an e-visa in advance but you had to print out the confirmation and as I have been travelling since early November and wasn’t sure if I’d have access to a printer, I decided to go with the VOA). I was the only one of the 16 of us needing a visa on arrival (30 USD plus 5 USD stamping fee in cash, no passport photo needed despite what the UK FCO travel advice suggests, could be different at an airport), and as with Laos, I was through the border before most of the rest of the group. And another lovely full page visa in my passport!

We then walked a short distance to pick up our bus in Cambodia and started driving towards Phnom Penh. There is essentially one road from this border post to the capital, and for the most part it seemed lined with shops, stalls and small businesses. The noticeable thing for me was the amount of plastic littering the roadside which made me a little apprehensive as to what state Cambodia would be in.

We stopped for lunch after a couple of hours at a roadside diner, and I had pho (after somehow completely missing it in Vietnam). Pretty tasty.

We drove another couple of hours and arrived in Phnom Penh in the middle of the afternoon. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting in Phnom Penh but it greatly exceeded any expectations I might have had. It sits on the Mekong and as we crossed the bridge into the city, we were greeted by lots of modern, tall buildings, well-maintained streets and public areas and it was very clean with no real sign of the plastic that had littered the roadside most of the way.

After checking into the hotel we had a cyclo tour of the city. Cyclos are 3 wheeled bicycles with a large seat up front for the passenger, which gives you a headlight-level view of the city. We were taken to Wat Phnom, the palace and then dropped off along the river in time for a sunset cruise. It was really interesting to see the city from this angle and I enjoyed the mixture of architecture styles.

We then had about 90 minutes sailing along the Mekong and admiring the views of the city as the sun set. It was pretty glorious to be honest. The Mekong has featured heavily through my journey through Indochina, starting at the Thai-Laos border and sailing for 2 days to Luang Prabang, seeing it again in Vientiane and then again at the delta in Ho Chi Minh City, and finally here in Cambodia. It is so important to life in this part of the world and seeing it through several countries affirms that.

Sunset sailing on the Mekong, Phnom Penh

The next day we went to the S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh, and to the Killing Fields a short drive outside of the city. We had a local guide with us who spoke to us about the atrocities that the Khmer Rouge had committed, and told us of his own experiences during these times, which was incredibly powerful and emotional to hear.

Only a handful of people survived S-21 prison and one of those still alive today was in the grounds of the now museum, sharing his story. It was incredible to be able to meet this gentleman, Chum Mey, who is in his mid 90s.

Whilst learning about the murderous atrocities of an horrific regime isn’t perhaps on many people’s holiday/travel agendas, I think it is an important and necessary visit to make, and many parts of that morning will stay with me for a very long time.

I needed some time to decompress in the afternoon. I probably should have consulted the itinerary a little more closely when I booked this trip as this day was also the anniversary of my husband’s death. Always a difficult day and certainly compounded by what we heard about in the morning.

We ended the day, and our short visit to Phnom Penh, on a happier note on a rooftop bar to watch the sunset. I think I’m losing count of the number of amazing sunsets I’ve seen on this trip, and I’m sure there are many more to come yet.

The next day we headed off to Siem Reap. We had a stop off in the morning at a service station which aside from the usual service station affairs, also had a stall selling various fried critters. I did have a go at some of them (mostly crunchy and fried with garlic and soy) but some were a little too large…

We stopped later for lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking a lake. I had chicken and veg in a lotus leaf which was very good.

We arrived in Siem Reap around mid afternoon, and headed out on a tuk tuk tour of the city and countryside. We saw a large mural in the city which has been painted to reflect the experiences of the recent conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, as well as receiving a blessing from a monk in a local temple before driving out to the countryside for some street snacks and yet another awesome sunset. The tuk tuks were all driven by ladies and it felt good to be supporting the ladies in building jobs for themselves.

The next day was the first of 2 days spent in the Angkor complex. On the first day we visited the Bayon temple, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm.

There is a lot of restoration work going on but it is amazing to see these structures, a lot of which date from the 12th century. The detail in the stonework in the galleries is truly incredible.

We had a free afternoon and I spent the time relaxing before we went to an Apsara dance show and dinner in the evening. Certainly aimed at tourists, the food was a 5 course tasting menu of Khmer food which was delicious. The dinner was accompanied by various traditional Apsara dances and some martial arts. All in all a very enjoyable evening.

I was up early the next morning as this was my one chance to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. We left the hotel at 5am and drove out about 20 minutes to the temple complex. It was still pitch black when we arrived and sat ourselves by the moat. Whilst the sunrise itself was disappointing due to it being cloudy, it was pretty incredible to see Angkor Wat emerge out of the darkness.

After breakfast which the hotel had kindly packed for us, we had a tour around the Angkor Wat complex which was very impressive to see up close. At this time in the morning it also wasn’t too busy and the temperature was reasonable too.

Again, some renovations ongoing, but to see the craftsmanship in the stone work and the galleries was really special. It is absolutely worth seeing in person and if you get the chance to come to Cambodia, you should certainly spend a few days here.

After a final evening in Siem Reap, my short time in Cambodia had come to an end and we flew back to Bangkok the next day, back to where I’d started my Indochina journey almost a month earlier. It’s been an amazing journey through 4 countries and I’m grateful to have had the time to be able to do this trip. One of the things I’m trying to do in my extended break from work is to do trips that I can’t fit into a couple of weeks’ holiday, and this certainly ticked that box!!

Now for a few days downtime in Bangkok before heading back to see a bit more of northern Thailand…

Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta

January 28, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We flew from Danang to Saigon airport and arrived in the early afternoon. Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is really bad and it took over 45 minutes to drive the 5 miles into the city and to the hotel (sounds like driving into Cardiff on a weekday morning…)

After grabbing lunch at a lovely air-conditioned food court across the road from the hotel, I took myself off on my own walking tour of the city. After managing to cross the road (slightly easier than Hanoi and a few more traffic signals), I headed to the Post Office and to Notre Dame Cathedral. Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City – the locals use both names – has in my opinion the most French-influenced architecture of all the places I’ve been in Vietnam. Though the cathedral is not as far along in its renovations as its Parisian equivalent…

I walked back towards Independence Palace, and to find a Circle K convenience store (7-Eleven’s seem to be the convenience store of choice across SE Asia apart from Vietnam where Circle K’s are ubiquitous) for some snacks and supplies.

It was the weekend but it did feel somewhat easier to wander around HCMC than Hanoi.

After dinner we had a walk to Saigon’s Beer Street which, let’s say, is a different vibe to Hanoi’s Beer Street. Rather more dancing girls, bright lights and loud music.…

The next day we went on a tour out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were used in the war by the Viet Cong and are an extensive network of underground tunnels with supply lines, living quarters, hospitals as well as lots of booby traps to deter the ‘Tunnel Rats’. They are quite ingenious but incredibly narrow and life must have been extremely difficult for the Viet Cong living in the tunnels. I think it is always good to visit these places, especially when this is very recent history.

After the tour we returned to the city and had a free afternoon where I went to look at the Opera House which I’d somehow missed the previous day. Instead of walking the 20 minutes there in the increasingly hot and humid temperatures, I used the HCMC metro which is a recent addition to the city (only 1 line at the moment) but was very easy to use (tap the contactless card) and I was there in 5 minutes!

This was the final night with some members of the group who weren’t continuing to Cambodia (and this was where my previous trip in Vietnam had ended) and we also met some new people who would be joining us in Cambodia.

However, we still had another day in HCMC and everyone in the group had opted to do a Mekong Delta day trip. We drove out of the city for a couple of hours before getting on a boat to cross part of the delta to Unicorn Island, where we enjoyed honey tea, some local music, discovering you can pop rice like you can pop corn, ate some chewy coconut sweets and discovered snakes in wine…

We also had a gentle narrowboat trip on the island before lunch. After returning to the mainland we visited Vinh Trang Pagoda which has a couple of quite large Buddhas in its grounds. As we left to drive back to the city, there were a few spots of rain in the air, which is the only rain I’ve seen so far in south east Asia.

I’m really glad I came back to Vietnam. A lot has changed in the last 9 years, not least the number of cars and tourists. It remains a wonderful country to visit, with awesome sights and scenery, a fascinating history and the most amazing food!!

Next stop – Cambodia

Hue and Hoi An

January 26, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We arrived on the overnight train in Hue on time but I’d be lying if I said I’d had a restful night. The train was newer than last time (all toilets were western rather than squats) but the mattresses were still as solid and it was still a very jiggly journey not massively conducive to sleep…

We arrived at the hotel too early for check in but early enough for breakfast. After breakfast we headed off to see the main sites in Hue, starting with the Citadel, a huge fortified imperial city built in the early 1800s. Large parts were destroyed during the Vietnam War and there was restoration work ongoing around the site. Indeed I didn’t remember some of the buildings we saw this time from my previous visit and the tour guide said that some of the restorations had been completed quite recently.

We then headed out to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a short journey south of the city. I did remember this from last time! I think the photos I took last time kept it in my mind. By this point the morning was warming up, and getting more humid.

Some of us had then opted for a motorbike tour (as a passenger I hasten to add!!), which included visiting the Royal Tombs (also under renovation and we didn’t see them all), an ancient arena previously used for elephant and tiger fighting, driving into the countryside and past rice fields, and learning about growing and harvesting rice which an absolute staple with every meal.

We were back at the hotel by mid afternoon and had the rest of the day free before dinner. I think Hue has gotten more lively since my previous visit. There was quite a bustling restaurant and bar area and after dinner a few of us spent the rest of the evening sat on the roadside on the tiny chairs drinking beer and people watching.

We set off the next morning, driving south over the Hai Van Pass on our way to Hoi An. It’s a pretty spectacular drive climbing up over the hills (mountains?) and if anyone has seen the Vietnam episode of Top Gear, you might remember this part. We were blessed with some pretty good weather to see up and down the coast.

We arrived into Hoi An in the late afternoon. I’ve said elsewhere before that Hoi An is the prettiest place I’ve ever been and I still think that is the case despite the hoards of tourists making it less peaceful and relaxing than last time…

The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site and you need to buy a ticket to enter (120,000 Vietnamese Dong / c£3.50) which lasted for the duration of our stay in Hoi An. The ticket also includes entrance to up to 5 specific monuments/temples/museums/cultural experiences out of more than 30 in the old town.

In the evenings, Hoi An really comes to life with all the colourful lanterns and riverboats, as well as the night market and the many bars and restaurants up and down the riverfront. We had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river and then spent the evening listening to live music in an Irish bar.

We had 2 full days in Hoi An. I visited one of the cultural performances in the old town in the morning – one of the 5 specific entries with the old town ticket. It was interesting to see the traditional costumes and dancing during the 30 minute show. We then had an included lunch at Oodles Of Noodles, a project supported by G Adventures which helps children living on the streets by giving them hospitality training, English lessons and providing accommodation in order to help them create a life and future for themselves. We also visited this restaurant last time and it’s such a good initiative that really makes a difference. The food was delicious too!

I spent the rest of the day wandering around the old town, in some of the temples, over the Japanese bridge, and up and down the pretty lanes. Hoi An was impacted by heavy flooding as recently as last October but you’d never know as everything was clean and tidy.

On the final day in Hoi An I treated myself to a 90 minute hot stone massage for the bargain price of £12!! If you ever come to Hoi An, you should be treating yourselves to multiple massages at these prices! I also had some fantastic Vietnamese food in a local restaurant. I really think Vietnamese food might be my favourite cuisine I’ve had whilst travelling.

I really enjoyed revisiting these parts of Vietnam. Hue was more lively and fun than I’d remembered, and Hoi An is just so pretty, despite there being too many tourists now (of which, I do realise, I am one of those!!)

Next stop is a flight south to Saigon…

Hanoi and Halong Bay

January 24, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

We arrived into the airport in Hanoi in the late afternoon after a 45 minute flight from Vientiane during which time we were thrown a fairly decent sandwich. On the descent, you could see the smog hanging low over the city, and the air quality was ‘very unhealthy’. After inhaling quite a lot of dust and pollution in Laos, my throat and lungs were not very happy…

I’ve been to Vietnam before, in 2017, and in fact I am doing the exact same route with the same company. It has been interesting to see how things have changed in the last 9 years. The first noticeable difference was the number of cars on the roads. Last time they really were few and far between (due to high import taxes and lack of access to credit), with almost everyone driving scooters or motorbikes. There are so many more cars now (due to easier access to credit) and a lot of large EVs too. This makes crossing the road even more tricky as, while the scooters can weave around you, cars aren’t quite so nimble. I also felt that they are less willing to stop for pedestrians. Not that the traffic actually stops, you very much do just have to walk into the road with a sense of purpose and don’t stop until you get to the other side!!

After checking into the hotel, we went for dinner (Bun Cha for me) and then for drinks on Hanoi’s Beer Street

Bun Cha – minced pork meatballs in soup with white vermicelli noodles

The next day started with a trip to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Despite his wishes to be cremated and scattered around Vietnam, he was embalmed for people to proceed past him every day. A bit of an odd experience if I’m perfectly honest. We also went to the palace which is alongside the mausoleum and saw the stilt house that was built for Ho Chi Minh as he preferred this than the grander presidential palace.

Afterwards we went to possibly one of the newer ‘sights’ in Hanoi, Train Street. This is a narrow street which the trains from Ga Ha Noi pass through on their way out of the city. It’s lined with cafes and coffee shops and has definitely become something for the ‘gram.

We had an egg coffee, a Hanoi specialty, whilst we waited for the train to come through. When it’s on its way, the ladies come out of all the cafes and blow their whistles to clear all the tourists off the tracks (as it’s sort of a regular street when the trains aren’t there) and then the train chugs slowly past.

A free afternoon meant I retraced some of the things I remembered from my last trip, including a walk around Hoan Kiam lake, which had lots of beautiful plants and flowers in bloom, as well as a lunch stop at Banh Mi 25 which has become significantly more popular since my previous visit. Great banh mi though!!

In the evening we went to a Water Puppet Theatre show. Water puppets are particular to Vietnam and the puppetry was very interesting to watch even if I couldn’t really follow what was going on as it was all in Vietnamese!

This evening marked the final night of the trip for most of the group who had booked a 2 week trip from Bangkok to Hanoi (I am on nearly a month’s loop back to Bangkok), and we also met a number of new travellers who would be joining for the Vietnam leg of the trip. After dinner in a local restaurant, the Thailand and Laos crew enjoyed a final night on Beer Street to say our goodbyes.

It was a relatively early start with the new group the following morning as we headed the 4 or so hours out to Halong Bay for an overnight junk boat stay.

As we did last time, we had a stop at a workshop for disabled people, mostly women, where they are taught to sew and embroider. The artwork they produce is fantastic but as I’m not going home for 3 more months, I didn’t purchase anything.

We arrived in Halong Bay (the city is increasingly resembling Gold Coast with high rises and hotels) around midday and got on our junk boat which would be home for the next 24 hours. The weather was perfect, blue sky (unlike last time) and pleasantly warm. As we set sail we were served a delicious lunch which ended up being many different dishes being brought out for us to eat – more food than we could all manage.

Our home for the night and Halong Bay views

We sailed through the bay and past soaring limestone karsts on our way to Ti Top, an island with a viewpoint some 400 or so steps upwards. Much much busier than last time but still worth the views

After a gentle row around a bit of a lagoon, it was back to the boat for an incredible sunset, and more delicious food for dinner.

The following morning was a fairly early start to go to the caves, and then afterwards we had brunch whilst sailing back to land.

We drove back to Hanoi and arrived mid afternoon. I opted to do a food tour for the few hours before our overnight train south to Hue. Lots more delicious food and finished off with an egg coffee with an added shot of rum!!

I hugely enjoyed revisiting both these places. I really like the hustle and bustle of Hanoi’s old town even if it is completely exhausting trying to cross the road! And it was very special to see Halong Bay with beautiful clear blue sky.

Onwards on the night train to Hue…

Laos

January 16, 2026 ~ Cat ~ 2 Comments

My first new country on this trip. It’s been on the South East Asia backpacker route for quite a while but perhaps not the top of many holiday destinations lists.

We crossed the border from Thailand at Chiang Khong, at the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge VI. Visas are available on arrival for 40 USD (in crisp notes) plus a passport photo. I’ve now got a lovely full page visa in my passport!

After the border formalities, we drove a short distance up the river to get on a slowboat which would be our transport for the next 2 days to take us down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. It’s early January and winter here, though definitely a different winter to the UK! There was a chill in the air in the morning which necessitated a couple of layers, but by mid morning when the sun came out, it was very pleasantly warm.

We sailed for perhaps 7 hours on the first day, to our overnight stop at a local Lao village. This was a real eye-opening experience into how people live along the river. There is no phone signal here, and whilst there are electricity wires and telegraph poles running through the village, it isn’t yet connected. Some of the houses have generators, cooking is done over an open fire, which also provides heat. There is a village water pump. The village is supported by G Adventures as a home stay stop on their tours, so there were sit-down western toilets, albeit with a large barrel of water beside for a manual flush…

The families here are large, with a lot of children running around amongst the roosters and ducks and dogs. Houses are wooden and on stilts to help with both the heat in the summer and the flooding in the rainy season. There was a school in the village so the children can get an education. Everyone seemed happy, and I suppose they know no different but it was a very rustic experience. I was also on my period at this point which, despite the western toilets, I was generally finding quite tough to deal with so can hardly imagine how the girls and women here cope. It was really good to experience the home stay and the genuine way of life when travelling as it really does put things into perspective.

We had Laotian food for dinner which was absolutely delicious and were then treated to a traditional dance performance from the girls in the village. We were also invited to have a go, there’s a lot of twirling wrists which I found surprisingly tiring!!

The next day it was back to the boat for another 7 hours after which we arrived at Luang Prabang. I hugely enjoyed sailing down the river and watching the scenery pass by. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I don’t think it was lush hillsides and limestone peaks. It was a very calming experience watching the world go by.

About an hour out of Luang Prabang are the Pak Ou caves, housing numerous Buddha statues in the caves on the riverside.

We arrived in the late afternoon for a 3 night stay in Luang Prabang, at one point the capital of Laos. Just in time for sunset, we headed up Phu Si, for views of the city and surrounding area

The night markets in Luang Prabang were perhaps the best we saw in Laos, or at least felt like they had the most local goods, and we frequented them each night we were there.

The next day we had a full day of activities starting with a tour of the ethnology museum to learn about some of the different peoples who live in Laos. We then drove out in a tuk tuk to a local community supported by G Adventures where we were received with a welcome ceremony and a number of cotton strings tied around our wrists, these provide good luck and fortune on travels and in theory shouldn’t be taken off before arriving home, but I’m not home for another 3 months…

We had lunch there and were then given a demonstration of making rice noodles and cotton weaving, before being persuaded to buy some scarves.

After that it was off to Kuang Si waterfalls for a paddle, and also to see some bears which have been rescued from the countryside and being cared for here.

The following day was a free day in Luang Prabang. Laos has the dubious distinction of being the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world. During the Second Indochina war, on average a plane load of munitions were dropped every 8 minutes for 9 years as the US bombed the Ho Chi Minh trail. An enormous amount of Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) remains here and continues to have a devastating impact on people’s lives. There is a very good UXO museum in Luang Prabang which I visited to learn more about this and the efforts being made to clear the land of the ordinance.

I then wandered around the old town and into Wat Xieng Thong, where despite the bus load of tourists which had just arrived, it was surprisingly peaceful. That evening a few of us went to Manda de Laos where we had a tasting menu of Lao food, and some imported wine. It was all delicious.

After an early start the next morning to see the daily Tak Bat ceremony where the monks proceed along the streets and townsfolk (or, increasingly, large tour groups) offer sticky rice and other foods, we set off to Vang Vieng, on a high speed train. By bus, this journey would take around 7 hours, but once we’d driven the 20 or so minutes to Luang Prabang train station, the train only takes just over an hour (thank you China…)

Vang Vieng used to be the party town in Laos, and to a certain extent it still is, but nowadays it is reinventing itself as an adventure destination with activities such as kayaking, rafting, climbing and hiking on the menu in the beautiful surrounding countryside . I took the opportunity to have a very chilled day and beyond a wander around town and finding a lunch spot overlooking the river, I did very little else. It was actually very nice to have a day almost to myself especially when on a long trip.

In the mornings and evenings, there are hot air balloon rides to capture sunrise and sunset, which were great to watch from the rooftop bar in the hotel.

After a relaxing time in Vang Vieng, it was off to Vientiane for the last stop in Laos. Again I need to give thanks to the Chinese for building a smooth highway and we were in Vientiane in a little over 2 hours. Vientiane is the capital of Laos, and there’s a lot of construction work going on, but it’s perhaps one of the quieter capitals I’ve been to. In the afternoon we went to Patuxai, the Victory Gate, modelled on the Arc de Triomphe, and were able to climb for views of the city. I also went into another temple where all the interior walls had little insets which housed 2 small Buddhas, there must have been thousands in total in the temple.

After a final evening of Beerlaos, we left the next day to fly to Hanoi, Vietnam.

I found Laos to be a beautiful and fascinating country. A much slower pace of life than its surrounding countries. Wonderful scenery, fantastic food and definitely an up-and-coming tourist destination. The slow boat down the Mekong was, I think, my favourite part. Go before the tourists take over!

Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai

January 7, 2026 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

I arrived into Bangkok after a 6 and a half hour flight from Perth around mid afternoon, and after a small queue for immigration, I was granted a 60 day visa. Locating my transfer was a little chaotic, the drive from Suvarnabhumi airport to my hotel in Chinatown took around an hour and a quarter, and as we approached Chinatown, the traffic almost came to a standstill.

After checking in, I went in search of some food. This wasn’t difficult to find as I was staying on Yaowarat Road in the heart of Chinatown and as it was now the early evening, the street food markets were in full force. Being a little careful on my first day in Asia, I opted for some dumplings which were cooked in front of me with some flames thrown in for good measure. I spent a while wandering up and down the markets and absorbing the chaotic atmosphere which was in fairly sharp contrast to what I’d come from in Australia.

The next day I’d booked myself on a half day street food tour of Chinatown (which I’d literally booked in the taxi from the airport), which started in the late morning. We had 15 different dishes, and there was only 1 I wasn’t a fan of (a sort of unripe mango with spicy dipping sauce)!! Also we walked through the back streets of Chinatown which I don’t think I’d have had the courage to do on my own

Delicious street food in Chinatown, Bangkok

After the tour, I went to the Golden Buddha, and also to Wat Mangkon Kamalawat (a Chinese Buddhist temple). Despite it being very busy for the holidays in Bangkok, it was very peaceful in both temples.

Golden Buddha and temples in Chinatown, Bangkok

More food in Chinatown in the evening, Singapore Chicken and Rice, with delicious chicken broth, for 90 baht (about £2.20).

The next day, before my G Adventures tour started in the evening, I went to the Grand Palace, which I’d missed the last time I was in Thailand. I took the metro to the closest station and walked the rest of the way – quite proud of myself for navigating Bangkok public transport, (with the help of Google maps and a google search of how to buy MRT tickets – you can tap Visa/Mastercard cards at the gates, I’ve not yet seen Applepay accepted anywhere here).

As it was very close to New Year, it was very busy. Additionally, as the Queen Mother has recently died, there were lots of mourners at the palace. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha was particularly crowded which was a little overwhelming.

After meeting the group in the evening – only 8 in total for the first part of this trip, 2 weeks to Hanoi through northern Thailand and Laos, the smallest G Adventures group I have been on since Peru in 2015 – we went for dinner in a local restaurant and then drinks in the rooftop bar of the hotel we were staying in.

The next morning started with a longboat tour of the klongs (canals) in Bangkok which ended at Wat Po. I went to Wat Po on my previous visit to Thailand in 2019 but found I’d remembered very little of it beyond the Reclining Buddha, and I’d even forgotten how big that was!

We then had a free afternoon before boarding an overnight train north to Chiang Mai. A new train station in Bangkok has been built in between my visits, the new station is very spacious and easy to navigate around. The train departed shortly after 7pm for the 12 hour journey north. The seats were very quickly changed into beds, one upper (which I was on) and one lower. There were also western style toilets which were a definite improvement on my previous overnight train here! I can’t say I got a good nights sleep though, the carriage lights were on all night and despite individual curtains, it didn’t do much to block the light.

We arrived into Chiang Mai just before 8am and went for breakfast before 4 of us opted for a Thai cooking class. A great experience and some delicious food for us to eat for lunch.

In the afternoon we had a trip to Doi Suthep temple, high on the hillside just outside of Chiang Mai. Even once you’ve driven up the windy hillside to get to it, there are still 300 or so steps to walk up to reach the temple. Again it was busy with people enjoying the holidays but there was a lovely peaceful air there

It was New Year’s Eve and so after visiting the night markets and watching a Ladyboys Cabaret show, we headed to the old town to watch the New Year fireworks. Definitely a different way for me to be celebrating new year!!

After a free morning on New Year’s Day, we set off to the border town of Chiang Khong, stopping at the White Temple in Chiang Rai on the way. A very different style of temple to others seen so far, and much more contemporary, but the contrast of the white with the sky and surroundings is spectacular

We reached Chiang Khong in the early evening and after dinner at a local restaurant, including exchanging some baht for Lao kip, it was a relatively early night ready for the border crossing into Laos and my first new country of this trip…

Cuba

January 15, 2022January 15, 2022 ~ Cat ~ Leave a comment

In March 2019 I went to Cuba, having been inspired by seeing some amazing photos from someone I met on previous travels.

A short indulgent interlude before I get into the trip. I’d decided a few years ago that if I was on a long haul flight over 7 hours, that I would try and go ‘not economy’ if the price was not completely outrageous. By and large, this meant going premium economy, which I did when I went to Seattle and Alaska in 2018 and Utah and Arizona later in 2019. When looking for flights, I will always have a look and see what’s available price-wise. Usually, business class is prohibitively expensive (£4k+), but I’d spotted a deal via Skyscanner from Heathrow to Havana via Mexico City with Aeromexico for £1900 return. Obviously still expensive, but very reasonable by business class standards, plus as the UK-Mexico leg was 11+ hours overnight, and long time readers will recall my inability to sleep on aeroplanes, plus with a 3-4 hour stretch between Mexico City and Havana, I was eager to grab the deal before it disappeared.

One of the many advantages of travelling business class is the swift journey through the airport – priority check-in, fast track through security and relaxing in the lounge. I did get a slightly odd look at check-in as I was travelling with a backpack and was in my smartest ‘comfy’ pants. After relaxing in the lounge with a glass of vino, the flight departed at approx 10.30pm. We were then fed an evening meal before I then spent 7 hours lying horizontal in the lovely flatbeds on the Dreamliner. I know I’m rubbing it in but it was utter bliss, and definitely helped me cope with the 6 hour layover in Mexico City which was between the hours of 4am-10am local time. Another advantage of flying business class was that I could spend that time in the business class lounge at Mexico City Airport instead of trying to find somewhere to sit in the not-enormous departure lounge..

I arrived at the airport in Havana (actually a reasonable distance out of Havana) in the middle of the afternoon, and negotiated immigration successfully (I was ready to produce all the documentation that I’d been warned about but needed none of it). After changing approximately £300 for CUC (Cuban convertible currency, mainly used by foreigners, there is a second currency CUP used by the locals) I then had my organised transfer to the casa particular in old Havana. A lot of the accommodation in Cuba is in casa particulars which are nominally rooms in people’s houses, but in most of the cases that I experienced, are analogous to boutique hotels.

Some of the casa particulars we stayed in

After meeting the group in the evening and going out for our first meal (roast pork with salad and the first of many Cuba Libres), we bonded over rum on the casa terrace. I caved in at 11.30pm having had a very long day.

The next morning we had a vintage car tour around Havana – definitely a must-do. The vintage cars are an iconic part of Cuba and it’s so cool to be riding around in one. We went to Revolution Square, drove around some neighbourhoods and down the Malecon before ending in Old Havana where our tour guide then gave us a guided walking tour around some of the beautiful squares in Old Havana. The architecture is amazing – crumbling facades and buildings alongside some brilliant, bold, colourful ones.

Then we were treated to normal Cuban service for lunch. The longest lunch ever – we waited over an hour and a quarter from arriving to getting food – the food was good once it arrived, but it just took forever to do so!

We had what was left of the afternoon to ourselves, so I continued wandering around the streets of Havana Viejo. In the evening we went for dinner and then went to the Buena Vista Social Club to listen to some fabulous Cuban music – very enjoyable.

The next day we headed west, and after stopping at Fusterlandia in the outskirts of Havana (inspired by Picasso and Gaudí), we continued our drive out. After a baños stop and a morning Piña Colada (when in Cuba…), we carried on to a tobacco plantation for lunch (roast pork, pumpkin, rice, beans and salad). Cuba is world-famous for its cigars and it was interesting firstly to see how tobacco leaves are grown and then dried, and then to see Cuban cigars being rolled.

Afterwards we continued our journey west towards Viñales. We stopped off to watch more cigars being rolled, and they were passed around the group. I’m not a smoker and so didn’t partake. The one thing I did notice was that Cuban cigar smoke does not linger on clothes and fabric like cigarettes do, and I actually quite liked the smell of the cigar smoke.

We arrived at the casa in Viñales in the afternoon and after a brief wander which was cut short by rain, we went for dinner (and got absolutely soaked on the way there). Tapas and cocktails, followed by a bar with Cuban dancing.

The next morning we went for a hike through Viñales Valley. It was a little cloudy and it briefly rained but the scenery is insane – like Jurassic Park. In the afternoon we had a salsa lesson which was fun (and involved more drinking) and then we played dominos – a massively popular pastime here – with more drinks.

In the evening we went to a restaurant a little way out of the town which had a great view over the valley. We then went to a bar for a dance show, and carried on drinking.

The next morning was an early start as we had a long travel day from Viñales in the west of the country, to Cienfuegos on the southern coast, towards the centre of the island. On the way out of Viñales valley, we stopped off at a wonderful viewpoint. With the blue skies it really looked like a landscape out of pre-history.

After one too many Cuba Libres the previous evening, it was a quiet journey. After lunch, we stopped at the Bay of Pigs for a refreshing swim in the sea – definitely a recommended hangover cure!!

We arrived in Cienfuegos in the early evening and went for dinner. After dinner we walked along the Malecon, which had a wifi spot and therefore large groups of people using the internet! The notion of mobile phone data hadn’t made it to Cuba, and very few of the casas had internet.

The next morning we had a walk around Cienfuegos including to the plaza major, and also went up a casa tower for a great view over the town. Cienfuegos felt much more well-maintained than other areas of Cuba and the architecture had a different feel from other areas we had already seen.

We then carried on travelling east for a couple of hours to the town of Trinidad. The heat was more intense here than the other places we had been. In the afternoon we had a wander around the old town – very colonial and Spanish-influenced. Another good view from the top of a monastery tower.

In the evening, after dinner we went to watch salsa by the steps, and then went to the Cave for some Cuban raving.

After a 2am finish, we went for a walk the next morning to a waterfall, and then went to the beach at Playa Ancon in the afternoon. A beautiful blue Caribbean Sea to swim in and some palm trees providing me with some shade to sit in. We stayed for sunset which had beautiful orangey red skies. After dinner I had an early night for a change as I was full of rum and sugar at this point!

The next day we headed back to Havana, via Santa Clara and a visit to the Che Guevara museum and memorial – an enormous statue of the revolutionist.

Back in Havana we had our final dinner of the trip at an Asian Fusion restaurant and a couple of enormous cocktails to finish me off.

So, my impressions of Cuba – a fascinating country, loved the architecture especially in Havana and Trinidad, the scenery in Viñales was spectacular. The food was ok, be prepared for menu items to not be available. There were signs that capitalism is encroaching. I didn’t go to Varaderos, which is the main ‘resort’ part of the island where the all-inclusive hotels are, but there was a lot of building going on in Havana, especially on the waterfront. I’m glad I went when I did as I can imagine it might be very different in 5-10 years.

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