29th Stop: Sydney and Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Temperature – 26 degrees C

After….

95 days…

15 countries…

29 stops and 29 cuisines…

11 time zones…

60 degree celcius temperature differences…

13 languages and countless dialects…

Numerous trains, buses, campervan, coaches, ships, tuk-tuks etc. …

… we have arrived!

Without planning it we somehow end our journey by arriving into Sydney on Australia Day(!) to find the population of 4.5 million people (plus tourists) enjoying a sunny public holiday, celebrating the arrival of the first fleet in 1788 (though some local people also call it ‘Invasion Day’ or ‘Survival Day’). We drop off the campervan, are kindly picked up by Chloe’s sister Holly, who then takes us to the beach to meet more family – all of which are as surprised as we are that we made it – from London to Sydney, without flying.

The newspaper front page written just for us! (though possibly adapted)

Someone is happy to be home...

The Sydney Harbour Bridge welcomes us back to civilisation!

Is there a more fitting way to end this journey than a barbeque on Australia Day? (left to right: Vikki, Sam and Jerry, with Yuen behind the lens!)

Finally, we bring Kangaroo home!

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The Journey to “Saigon”

We take a taxi to Da Nang, have a quick lunch and then board the train. Another overnight journey, another dirty train! We take the 18 hour ride from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City (also known as “Saigon”), leaving at 1:30pm in the afternoon and arriving at around 7am. Fortunately this should be our last Vietnamese train ride! Once in Saigon, we manage to find a bus into the city and walk the rest of the way to the hotel.

We decide our taxi driver has misunderstood the concept of a seatbelt

At lunch, before the train, we met Bettina. It took 24 hours to get rid of her, but we managed eventually.

One of the many rice paddies we saw out from the train window

The sheets haven't been washed, and neither have our Vietnamese cabin-mates. This is first class and we settle in for another sleepless night on the train.

We arrive into Saigon an hour late. Health and safety is yet to arrive in Vietnam, as the train delivers us onto the adjacent train track, complete with moving train charging forward.

We're the only tourists who have caught the bus instead of a taxi. With a cost saving of about 5000%, and a priceless saving in stressful negotiations with the ever-dishonest Vietnamese taxi drivers.

15th Stop: Hội An, Quang Nam province, South Central Vietnam

Temperature – 21 degreesC

Originally founded as a trading port in the 16th Century (with a history dating way back to 200BC), the city of Hội An is our next stop, around halfway down Vietnam. Home to approximately 120,000 inhabitants it is another recognized World Heritage Site, which is unfortunately inundated with tourists.

Although comfortably warm, it rains for most of the time we are here and some areas have been recently flooded. Kangaroo stays in for the few days we are here as we struggle to find local life being lived, but we still manage to experience some interesting experiences…

The waterfront

With the effects of global warming the traditional rough weather season of September – December is now rougher than previous years (highlighted by 2007 & 2009 typhoons and serious flooding, loss of life & damage to property). It is now very difficult to predict weather conditions from December through to the end of May.

Stephen outside a meditation hall at the wonderful site known as Mỹ Sơn. This cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century AD have been reduced from 70 temples down to 20 in a single week of bombing from the US in the Vietnam War.

Hoi An Old Town – According to UNESCO Impact Report 2008 Hoi An “…tourism has bought unacceptable changes to Hoi An…”. We happen to agree.

A “real” street in Hoi An, outside the old town where you might be lucky to come across a local person.

A local chef gives us a lesson in cooking typical Vietnamese cuisine for just $2!

This style of hat is used primarily as protection from the sun and rain. When made of straw or matting, it can be dipped in water and worn as an impromptu evaporative-cooling device. Neat!

The Journey to Hoi An

We leave Ha Noi to head South down Vietnam’s coast for Hoi An – easy to mix up. A single sleeper train takes us to Da Nang and then a car picks us up to the historic Hoi An.

It is so dirty on this train that we dont want to touch a thing

 

Some remote and beautiful houses hide beside the train tracks

 

Our French train-mates leave us on the train as they head for Hue

 

We see rice fields in the foreground and the South China sea behind

 

Cuisine sold on the train consists of rice and tofu with lettuce for 60 pence. Not bad!

 

We get off the train and get in a taxi to our hostel. The Central Vietnamese coast is being destroyed by resorts!

14th Stop: Ha Noi, (Capital of) Vietnam

Temperature – 22 degreesC

Our first stop in Vietnam is Ha Noi – the capital of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city with a population of 6.5 million. 2010 travel guides describe it as one of the world’s “Top Destinations”, but is it?…

We couldnt find the train station so we walked along the tracks

Crossing any road at any time in any place is absolute chaos

We sample street food – at local prices (50p a meal)

Hoan Kiem Lake, meaning “Lake of the Returned Sword” or “Lake of the Restored Sword” in the historical center of Hanoi

Chloe in traditional Vietnamese dress

 

Chloe and Kangaroo catch the light in the Temple of Literature - constructed in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars

 

Chloe advertises a not-so-classic Vietnamese drink

 

Everyone in Vietnam is apparently employed - even this guy

 

The opening sale at a Ha Noi superstore consists of a stack of open shipping containers on the street

The Journey to Foshan (we think), Guangdong Province, China

After a wonderful stay in Hong Kong, we head back to China to check out Stephen’s aunt’s holiday home near Guangzhou. The journey involved two minibuses and three coaches mixed in with a couple or border checks… But actually it was really easy! Especially with Auntie Irene there to do the talking.

Minibus number 1

 

Coach number 1

 

Coach number 2

 

It's a proper holiday apartment - we must first turn on the water supply

 

11th Stop: Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

Temperature: 21 degreesC

We disembark the train into the lovely warm weather of Guangzhou, with its population of just under 13 million people and still only the third largest city in China!
Here there is more Cantonese speaking and as importantly, Cantonese cuisine!!

call the locksmith please we are locked in our room

everything is sold by the side of the road they even break the chickens neck for you on request

guangzhou is named after a myth about five friendly goats which are depicted here

soy milk and little pots of tofu to eat by the streetside

the description to the top right obviously isnt describing tfl

the oldest museum in china

very kind instructions as to how to treat the grass

view of the guangzhou city centre from yuexiu park

10th Stop: Luòyáng, Henan Province, China

Temperature: 6 degreesC

We head East to Luòyáng, another of the four great ancient capitals of China. We arrive to find that our hostel is in fact someone’s flat in a dodgypart of town 10km away from the city centre where we find out how many Chinese people really live! It is run by a father and son, who usually spend all day internet gaming. Because we stayed over for two nights they had to share a bed.
It is worth noting however that the first night was a historic one, when Chloé was given a Chinese name by the father, "uncle" and "nephew" after dinner! As below…

金花

We go to visit the incredible UNESCO World Heritage listed Longmen Grottoes, which are one of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples, were carved into caves excavated from the limestone cliffs.

a view of the dragons door

big buddha and little buddha boy

chloe thinks this jug is full of water and not chinese spirit

father son uncle aunt and nephew greet us at this most peculiar hostel

impossibly cute dog

man doing tai chi with intent in the park behind chloe

the longmen grottoes

we have no idea where we are staying

9th Stop: Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

Temperature: 11 degreesC

We continue South West to Xi’an. A more friendly city than Beijing and one of the four ancient capitals of China with a population of more than 8 million people.
We go to see the Terracotta Army like all good tourists do. Despite the fascinating story surrounding them, i.e. a probably mad emperor who ordered the warriors and horses to be mde in clay to accompany him after death, we found that the exhibition of them was probably done better at the British Museum a few years ago. Bear in mind that neither of us even saw the exhibition at the British Museum.

a close up of a warrior and his horse

a man lights a fire in a street with a kettle for a pressure cooker and willing to cook anything you bring

a relief to arrive at yet another beautiful hostel

some signs are just not necessary

spot kangaroo

stephen helps a lady collect her freshly cooked puffed rice

the terracotta army

8th Stop: Pingyao, Shanxi Province, China

Temperature: 7 degreesC

After the sights we’ve already seen, we didn’t expect to be this pleasantly surprised again!

Pingyao is a Chinese city in central Shanxi province, about 715 km from Beijing – a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a population of 450,000.It retains its city layout from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and more than 300 sites in or near the city have ancient ruins.
The whole of our stay is characterised by heavy mist over the town. The rising damp comes halfway up the buildings, and you can see the bricks decaying quickly. We’re glad to see this place now, because it will soon be ruined by tourism! We found some very local places to eat, but the Old Town seems to be heading towards being a museum rather than a living community.

amazing sculptures in the shuanglin temple

another beautiful hostel

locals playing badminton

outside the city wall

spot the kangaroo

traffic is chaos

typical street at night

we always eat local