Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Hoi An, I Think I Love You...

Perhaps I am just a dumb tourist, but of all the places we visited in Vietnam.... Hoi An was my favourite by far! It's relaxed feel, charming old buildings, restaurants and endless shops filled with gorgeous silks just won my heart.

It seemed like the restful holiday bit of the tour, sandwiched between the bustling cities of Hanoi and Saigon. Possibly, this was because we stayed in the fabulous Hoi An Riverside Resort, on the banks of the Song Do River.....


Song Do River


Restaurant and bar


Accommodation


Resort pool





Exotic fruit breakfast



Private beach, a short shuttle trip away


The resort was just a quick taxi ride from Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site...

















Hoi An is particularly pretty in the evening....







I developed a bit of an obsession with lanterns....













The Old Quarter is home to the Japanese Bridge (16th to 17th Century)....










And just loads of shops selling lovely things...












Hoi An is a town full of expert tailors... I had two evening dresses made to measure in under 24 hours, delivered to my hotel, B had an exceptionally sharp suit and shirt made, and I could have easily bought a dozen other outfits but restrained myself to two shirts and two pairs of trousers!




Next up... A Cookery Class in Hoi An




Friday, 27 April 2012

Vietnam - A Quick Overview




Our travels took us from the vibrant capital Hanoi....


Hoan Kiem Lake - Hanoi


.... to the unique beauty of Ha Long Bay....


Overnight cruise - Ha Long Bay



... onto laid back, charming Hoi An....


River front street - Hoi An


...to the bustling city of Saigon....


Saigon traffic


.... and finally, to the otherworldliness of the Mekong Delta - where time seems to have slowed right down....





More on each of these places to follow soon....

Monday, 23 April 2012

People Watching In Vietnam

I'm back! What an amazing, enlightening trip.... Vietnam completely blew me away! The sights, the sounds, the smells, the vibrant life on the street - there is just so much to show you all and tell you about that I hardly know where to begin.

Perhaps it was the Vietnamese people that I found most fascinating.... their friendliness to strangers, their eagerness to please, their pride in their country, their industrious nature. The way they embrace modern life yet still revere their age-old traditions. The importance they place on family.


Fruit seller in Hoi An


 Street fruit sellers in Hanoi


 Bridal couple in Hanoi


 Family gathering in Hanoi


 Monk and incense seller - temple at Marble Mountain


Lunchtime gossip in Hoi An


 Crab seller in Hoi An market


 Hoi An market


 Riding in style


 Water taxi, Mekong Delta


 Fisherman, Mekong Delta


 More friendly fishermen, Mekong Delta


 Floating market, Mekong Delta


 Floating market, Mekong Delta


 Floating market, Mekong Delta


 Brothers


 My Vietnamese Toy Boy, Saigon - he wanted to take my photo so I took his too!


Monks in a row, Ho Chi Minh City airport


Loads more to come.....

How are you all doing? Hope to catch up with your blogs soon!


Tuesday, 27 March 2012

The F-Words





Fitness Fanatic

I think I may just be turning into one.....

Memo from Nat’s body to Nat’s brain:

“I’ve been putting up with a lot of uphill lately... mainly because you seem to always be charging up one, power walking your way to a new and improved Nat (Version 3.0). You’re not happy unless we’re out pounding pavements, public footpaths, woodland trails and muddy mires.


Yes, I know that 15 km hike (10 miles in old money) was worth it last weekend, if only for the photo ops at the end......


Blenheim Palace - read more here





The Grand Bridge


And I’ve resigned myself to thrice weekly physical assaults in the shape of those Aikido sessions and that boxercise class with Drill Sergeant #1.


But what on earth possessed you to sign up for a Boot Camp with aforementioned Drill Sergeant #1 ... early on the Sunday morning after the Saturday night the clocks spring forward and we lost an all too precious hour of sleep? Running around a cold misty field, leopard crawling under army camo, turning over massive truck tyres and just generally enduring pain and torture for several hours is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.


I am lodging an official complaint and staging a protest. Expect that excruciating pain in our legs, shoulders and butt to continue for several more days yet....”


Fat

I’m carrying a lot less of it around on my person lately... a consequence of the fitness fanatic lark (see details above) and just not stuffing my face with chocs and cakes and pies consuming as many calories as I used to do. I’m 22 pounds (10 kg)  lighter and feeling fabulous! My clothes are all too baggy but I won’t be buying new ones until I’ve shed about another 20 pounds and hit my target weight.





Feeling

Full of the joys of Spring! This is a beautiful time of the year in the UK... crisp blue skies, bulbs flowering everywhere, long evenings that will grow longer every day until June. The weather the past few days has been gorgeous... sunny and freakishly hot. Of course the newspaper headline writers just love a heat wave....

“Britain basks in balmy weather!”.

“Hotter than Barcelona!”

“Hotter than the The Bahamas!”

“Hotter than the centre of the sun!”

OK, maybe that last one is too extreme, even for the tabloids. They do quickly follow it up with a bit of scare mongering....

“We’re all going to die! Heat wave causes killer water shortage!”





Feline Friends

Apart from those ‘orrible nighbours’ cats with the overactive digestive systems, I am quite partial to cats. I come across many on my daily walks and they are always fairly friendly. Lately it’s been getting a bit out of hand ... like this one who kept following me around, meowing and preening for attention.


Poser!

I was beginning to wonder if I have some sort of animal magnetism for the little creatures or if I should reconsider my choice of perfume (maybe there’s a reason why Eau de le Tom Chat was going cheap). My wise friend soon put my fears to rest though...

“Cats are all in heat this time of year!”

... and she should know (she’s a vet specialising in feline disorders). So lock up your cats unless you want Pussy Galore (with apologies to 007).



Flying Fears

This time next week, I should be waking up and saying...

“Good morning, Vietnam!”

But I have an awful lot of flying to do before then.... and when I say “awful” I do mean dreadful. I fear flying more than I fear things that flap and buzz and crawl. I am going to have to pack some strong pharmaceutical aids to cope with the 12-hour haul from London to Kuala Lampur, followed by the hop to Hanoi, then two more internal flights in Vietnam, plus one to Cambodia before the reverse trip home via KL.



Freaking Out

I’m doing a lot of this lately. Apart from the flying fears, flapping about what to pack for Vietnam, and whether I have enough flippin' bug spray... I first have to wrap things up at work. No mean task and one that has me frazzled!

A major deadline last week, another this week... is it any wonder I am having restless nights with recurring dreams? Such as....I’m at the airport and my flight is being called but I am still trying to finish up something on my laptop... suddenly I realise that I haven’t packed anything (not a thing!) for the trip...!

I haven’t even told Annoying Demanding Client yet that “Girlfriend... I’m outta here for two weeks! Tell someone else who may care....”

She'll no doubt be reassured though, when I email her that "So-and-so-who-drew-the-short-straw will be riding herd on your projects in my absence."






 
Fabulous Followers

I have been an appalling blogger the past couple of months... but hang in there, fantastically fabulous, faithful followers! I hope to return from SE Asia with a multitude of fascinating (and perhaps funny tales of my travels), and the odd 'foto' or two.

Bye for now....



Nat x

Sunday, 18 March 2012

Thank You Mom!

As a little girl, the thing I probably hated most in the world.... was getting sand between my toes.

To keep me from whingeing on the beach, my mom would carry me all the way from the grass to the water's edge to paddle and then back again.

"Look! Yucky sand between my toes!" circa 1977


Thank you mom for all the little things you have done for me....

Happy Mother's Day!