Phu Quoc Island - South Vietnam

Phu Quoc is a small island south of Ho Chi Minh City, roughly 40 mins by plane. If you are up for a relaxing beach holiday in a hotel by the pool I would recommend Phu Quoc as there is not a large amount to explore on the island. There are food markets which are worth a look and a couple of waterfall walks. We spent 5 days here and it was definitely enough! I would save it for the end if you are starting in the north of Vietnam a relaxing way to round up the trip as the beaches were lovely.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City would have to have been my least favourite out of all the places we went to in Vietnam. Although the weather was stunning, it was very crowded and quite commercial. It was very similar to Singapore, economically and industrially. It was filled with buses of Asian tourists and very big on commercial shopping centres and decorations. The markets however, were lovely, filled with colourful fruits and textiles. They sold a rather eclectic range of things, compared to the markets in Indonesia where everything was much the same. The jewellery, in particular was surprisingly incredible, most of it had come from India. (image 8)

All in all if you are heading to Vietnam and you had to choose between the north and south, i would definitely recommend skipping Ho Chi Minh to do Hanoi. The culture was lacking a bit in Ho Chi Minh and in my opinion the north definitely had more to offer in general. Yet if hot weather and large shopping malls is what your idea of a holiday than Ho Chi Minh would probably suit you. Another suggestion for the south instead of Ho Chi Minh is Phu Quoc Island.

Up next Phu Quoc Island.

Komodo Islands - Scuba Trip

trusty domestic indonesian flight

 my new friends

Scuba itinerary 

Balinese disco

Worlds most beautiful sunrise

Being privileged enough to have cousins that live in Bali means regular visits, however last year we decided to explore beyond our usual lilo's on Legian beach. After completing our scuba diving course we thought it was necessary to test them out in one of the worlds most pristine diving spots, The Komodo Islands. As we sat excited at Bali's domestic airport we were let down to find out that our flight was delayed for 24 hours because the plane was missing a part .... :/

The next say (attempt two) we were successful. We boarded the small propellor plane, praying that the new part had been installed...We arrived in Labuan Bajo, Flores, where we launched the boat for the Komodo Islands. The weather was beautiful and we were eager to hit the ocean for our first dive. All ten of us slept aboard La Lunia our new home/house boat for the next week. We had about seven crew members and our two scuba instructors Martin and Gregosh.

Each day consisted of three dives. One before breakfast, one before lunch and one in the afternoon. Although i had nothing to compare it to i must say it was pretty epic! The coral reefs we were exposed to were unbelievable. The reefs definitely lived up to their renowned reputation, with each day offering new and unexpected colourful Fish, Sharks, Turtles and Manta Rays! After spending a week in a three metre pool with my scuba instructor Toha, the reefs in Komodo were definitely a nice change.

Other than diving, we immersed ourself in all the islands had to offer which other than diving wasn't much, except for Komodo National Park, where we hoped to see the famous Komodo Dragons. When we arrived we received a 20 minute briefing about how the Komodo Dragons were supposedly very dangerous and even their saliva could leave you paralysed..We were further comforted to be introduced to our tour guides, who were wearing crocs, were half my size and their only form of weaponry to protect us from these creatures was a long stick...(image 8) We then set off on the two hour hike to be told that the dragons weren't very common on this island but on the one next door, GREAT and we should have done the six hour not the two hour hike if we expected to see one, again GREAT. Our luck however quickly changed and about an hour and a half in we saw this bloody 'dragon'. Now i won't sugar coat it, it was literally just a giant lizard, that moved slower than a snail, but if you like anti-climaxs than the Komodo Dragon is for you.

- Diving school was completed with PADI
- Boat hired was La Lunia
- Airline flew with was Merpati

Komodo Islands (Indonesia) = Insane diving!!