South East Asia February To May 2026 (In progress)
Vietnam
Sightly smaller than the UK, but with a greater population density. It’s been developing fast, and from what I can tell has a substantial middle class and a decent standard of living, at least for the people in the cities. While prices are generally below those in the UK it’s not far behind.
The tradition and cultures have been strongly influenced by China in art, festivals and social structure, Mercifully, for an European traveller, writing uses the Latin alphabet. This was developed by Portuguese missionaries in the 17th Century.
You need to be fairly sure-footed to get around safely on foot. Pavements, where they exist are generally in poor repair and often blocked with parked mopeds, the overspill from shops and people cooking. Crossing the road in the cities is not for the faint hearted.
9 million mopeds
The traffic in Saigon is bonkers. They come at you from every direction. Whole families (and the dog) on just one bike. They transport not just people, but all manner of unfeasibly large possessions, purchases and livelihoods. There is often no lull in traffic, so to cross the road you need to step out, eyeball the most obvious threat and walk purposefully without stopping. The zebra crossing have no meaning beyond the moral high-ground I'd feel in the A&E department. The traffic is determined not to stop but will weave round you.
Saigon - Bui Vien Street
Playing the Handpan steel drum
Nha Trang - Po Nagar Cham Towers
Ancient temple in the heart of a bustling city
For small-bottoms and strong-knees
Seating arrangements for street food and cafes are not well suited to an ageing 6'4" westerner
Near Dalat - Linh An Pagoda
A beautiful setting with a an enormous Lady Buddha. The Tam Trinh Coffee Experience nearby served the most wonderful iced coffee with coconut milk at the end of a really interesting tour of the plantation and coffee making, although our guide was, frankly, appalled when we said we mainly drank de-caffinated coffee.
Saigon - War Remnants Museum
A poignant reminder of the American War. Millions dead and displaced. Hard not to draw a parallel with the destruction of Gaza
Mekong Delta - Coconut wine fortified with cobra
A Viagra substitute apparently
Saigon - Water Puppet Artistry
Practicalities
We were able to book a mix of hotels and apartments using Agoda for around £25 per night on average. Air-con is a must.Some places had access to a pool.
Where we had apartments means we could shop in supermarkets and prepare food as we would at home. In hotels breakfast was often included and there was a kettle and fridge in the room
The Grab taxi app was excellent and very cheap. We used the Plus Car option which were generally bigger cars with air-con. A journey of 5km would cost only £2-3, even though it might take 20 minutes or more because of heavy traffic.