The Random Ramblings of Lauren

Well hello there! As I currently type this, I am sat on an uncomfortably stuffy coach, crawling along the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City. It's a scorching Sunday evening here and what was supposed to be my last day (Day 5) here in Saigon.. That's now changed a little, but more on that later! My plans for today involved an amazing full tour, which unfortunately meant my day began this morning with, and is now ending with, a two hour crowded bus ride. Right now the air is thick and dizzying, and the smell of sweat is unavoidable, circulated by the feeble and shuddering fan system. To distract from the increasing feeling of claustrophobia and exhaustion, I thought it would be nice to start an update post on yesterday / today. DAY 4: The day began with a trip back to the police station, this time with a lovely girl from the Hotel, in order to report our belongings as stolen and get a police report for insurance purposes. Frustratingly, it takes 2-3 days to pr...

Hello world! So it's day three of my wonderful little adventure around S.E.A (if you don't know about it, read my previous post!), and so far I've spent all the time in Saigon. I completely love it here, the city is truly alive with activity, the streets buzz with the energy of its citizens and the buildings tower with opportunity. I definitely feel at home here. But alas, here's what I've been up to! DAY 1: I finally arrived in Saigon after an exhausting 25 hours on planes and in airports! It was 9PM here and I was completely wiped-out, but desperate to get out and explore! So, after finding the Hotel, hastily showering and getting ready, I headed out to the liveliest part of the city. Here, I met a lovely bicycle taxi man who took me up to an English speaking bar which served food all night - great for me as I had avoided plane food all day! The meal only cost 65,000 Vietnamese Dong, which is around £2 GBP. As well as this, all the bars on this strip served beer...

Hello fellow readers! Sooooo .. I'm in Asia! This month, I am going to be away exploring and touring some of the most beautiful and exciting sights across south east of Asia. And, this time round, I was keen to share my experience with you! (Since I failed to do so on my previous tour in April - Apologies!) So I set off from Manchester on Tuesday, stopping off for a one day layover at Dubai before Arriving at my first destination - Saigon, Vietnam.  Now it's Thursday, and my first full day here in Ho Chi Minh city. My current plan is to stay here for five days, experience all I can of the city lifestyle, and then spend three days traveling the Vietnamese Mekong Delta by boat. This side to Vietnam is much more rural and naturally beautiful, so I want to see as much as it as possible whilst touring the rivers. This includes stops and stays at My Tho, Ben Tre, Cai Be, Can Tho and Chau Doc. From there, it's a hop over the border into Cambodia! Starting down s...