Roisin O’Brien travels like a local from Hoi An to Hue in Vietnam.

Without a doubt the highlight of my stay in Vietnam was the few days we spent in Hoi An and in particular the motorbike journey we made from Hoi An to Hue afterwards. 

Hoi An is a quaint little town famous for its many tailors and incredible food selection. We had planned this to be the luxurious part of the trip so we booked a 5 star hotel staying at the Hoi An Historic hotel which was lovely and right in the centre of town. We spent a very lazy few days getting clothes made to take home, enjoying the beach and mostly trying out as many of the local restaurants as we could.

Two standout restaurants in particular were Hai Scout café for the buzzy atmosphere and great service, and Cargo Club where we had the best starter of the trip, Hoi An’s special White rose dumplings. These dumplings are called banh bao vac and made from translucent white dough filled with spiced minced pork or shrimp, and then they are presented to look like white roses.We ate so well the entire time we were in Vietnam but the food in Hoi An is another level of tastiness!

After 4 nights in Hoi An we really didn’t want to leave but the fact we weren’t getting on another bus made it more appealing! Based on a recommendation from other travellers we decided to travel to Hue by motorbike with Hue riders. There were 3 of us travelling together and each of us had a guide driving us as we weren’t too confident about driving ourselves. I’d recommend this option as I spent the whole day taking in the amazing scenery which I couldn’t have done if I was driving as the roads were very windy and nerve wracking even as a passenger! Continue reading Hoi An to Hue by motorbike

Brian Finch explores the colourful state of Chiapas, Mexico.

Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico,  is a high altitude, rugged hill country  full of  rivers and waterfalls and ruined Mayan cities – invariably in beautiful locations. But then, if you head south towards Guatemala you drop several thousand feet and find yourself in semi-tropical rainforests.

The capital Tuxtla Guttierez is just a couple of hours flight from Mexico City, but once your plane lands you will probably hurry away from the city either by car or coach. We hired a van and a driver who was also a guide, which is surprisingly economical, if you can manage with a Spanish speaker, but an English speaking guide is likely to cost another US$50 per day. Since these vans can carry a dozen people price falls dramatically if you join a party.

50km to the south but a 2,000m climb lies the town of San Cristobal which, because of its height, is cooler even to the extent that you may need a pullover in the evening.  The road is good so the journey will only take an hour and the scenery alone would be worth the trip. A couple of times we were on this road and found ourselves driving through clouds only to emerge in bright sunshine and driving above them for a fantastic view of hills laced with puffy clouds.San Cristobal itself is delightful, with plenty of good hotels, restaurants and bars. Its brightly painted colonial style buildings alone bring a smile to the face as you stroll around the streets and squares. The evening market in front of the cathedral draws people wearing distinctive village costumes from the surrounding areas to sell their craft works and there is also a colourful daytime market. Continue reading Chiapas, Mexico

by Caroline Sandes

Kashan is, supposedly, from where the Three Wise Men left to follow the star to Bethlehem, for those of you interested in both Bible stories and trivia. Why anyone would leave Kashan is beyond me – it is an historic oasis town, not far from the famous Bagh-e Fin (Fin Gardens) built for Shah Abbas I, and has a wonderful bazaar and some truly lovely historic buildings that have been carefully conserved.

I caught the bus to Kashan from Tehran. The bus passed through some harsh, dry but beautiful desert landscape leading up to mountains to the west, some of which still had snow of them. A woman sat beside me, of course – men don’t generally sit beside women unless they are connected to them in some way. She was studying accountancy and was on her way back to Kashan to see family.She didn’t say anything to me until we were nearly at Kashan, and after the requisite exchange of information, said she would explain to the driver when she got off that I may need some help (I didn’t but she was concerned). As it was, it was fine as a taxi driver with a smattering of English soon appeared (as they do). Thankfully due to the rial dropping in value, taxis were ridiculously cheap so that even I couldn’t resist using them. He rang the place I wanted to stay at, Khan-e Ehshan, en route – passing me the phone so I could speak to them, which lead to some confusion as I hadn’t realised that is what he’d done – to check they had space for me. It was a traditional house that is now a small hotel. Well, it was lovely – the rooms round a courtyard with a square blue pond in the middle which must look beautiful with its greenery and flowers in the summer. My room was off an upstairs balcony, en suite, included breakfast and costing the vast sum of about 12 euro. I was sorry I only had time to spend one night there. Continue reading Kashan, Central Iran

By Rachel Ricks

There’s a place in Buenos Aires that every visitor must go to say they’ve really been to Buenos Aires – and it happens to be in the middle of the city’s most dangerous neighbourhood.

It’s La Boca – the colourful port-side streets a-buzz with tango dancers, steak restaurants and arts and crafts stalls. Photos of the area convey to the whole world: this is Buenos Aires.

We had been in the city three weeks and still hadn’t made it to La Boca, somewhat put off by it being far from the central areas where we’d been staying. Then eventually, one Sunday afternoon, we decided to pluck up the courage and go.

We had planned a waterfront route that we could walk, but as we were leaving our San Telmo hostel and checked with the receptionist for her opinion on the route, she started shaking her head emphatically and said walking would be “muy peligroso” (very dangerous). Yikes. Instead, she pointed us to the bus stop on the other side of the street. Continue reading I survived La Boca