Back from an extended hiatus, but back nonetheless.

I know, I know, I've been slack - incredibly so. But I'm back, and for the record I intend to stay on track for the rest of my trip. I worked out today that it's been exactly ten weeks since I left Sydney. I know it's a cliche, but time really has flown. I'm writing this post from Hue, in central Vietnam - quite a way from where I last left off, in Darjeeling!

Honestly, one of the reasons that I've taken so long to blog again is that after not having internet access for three weeks in Nepal, it got to the point where the thought of writing about everything that we'd done just seemed too overwhelming. I'm going to give it a try though - here's the abridged (x 1000) summary:

Darjeeling: For those who don't already know, I did end up flying from Darjeeling (well, the Indian/Nepalese border technically) to Kathmandu, while Phil got the 17-hour bus. It was quite fun to compare experiences when we finally met up again, but considering that I was struck with a 24-hour stomach bug as soon as I got off the plane, I think I made the right decision for me.

Nepal: I just don't even know where to start - but I can say that these three weeks were three of the most amazing, memorable and physically and mentally challenging of my life. Maybe this period would be better summed up by a photo essay! Luckily Phil has kindly offered to make a guest appearance on Chai Chillies & Cheddar to write about Nepal for me, so watch out for her contribution coming soon.

Bangkok: we stopped over in Bangkok for two nights on the way from Kathmandu to Ho Chi Minh city. I'd actually been dying inside with excitement in looking forward to these couple of days as unbeknownst to Phil, I'd organised for us to stay (and most importantly, gorge at the buffet breakfast) in five-star luxury at the Millennium Hilton in honour of Phil's birthday, which she spent trekking. After having a grand total of three (cold) showers in the previous three weeks, it was absolutely paradise - although when we traipsed into the lobby in our grubby clothes lugging our backpacks, we did feel as if we lowered the tone of the place by a few notches!
There was just one problem: both of us were struck down, just 24-hours apart (Phil went down first, on our last night in Kathmandu) with a still-unknown stomach bug/virus/bacterium that had us doubled over with severe stomach cramps and confined to areas within 20m of a toilet for our entire stay. It wasn't such a big deal that we weren't able to see much of Bangkok, as P has been there many times before and I'm going back there in a couple of weeks, but it meant that we couldn't really enjoy the facilities (indoor beach, incredible pool, spa, sauna, steam room....) like we wanted to. The only exception was the breakfast buffet: in true tightarse backpacker style, by hook or by crook, we were going to get our money's worth there! This meant that each morning we forced ourselves through about five different courses (I only wish you could've seen this buffet for yourself - I have never, ever seen anything more extravagant or delicious) in between trips to the loo, then had to retire to our room afterwards to lie down and nurse our crampy and distended stomachs!

In the end, when we were not much better five days after we first got sick, we went and saw a doctor in Ho Chi Minh who prescribed us a course of antibiotics and a bland diet, which combined had us feeling 100% again almost straight away. I just can't believe that we managed to avoid getting sick while eating street food in India for five weeks, with not even a hint of Delhi belly, only to succumb to something while eating well and staying in relative comfort after our trek in Kathmandu.

Vietnam: It's been fantastic so far, and we've still got just under a week to go before we head back to Thailand. We started off with three days in Ho Chi Minh, from which we did daytrips to the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi Tunnels, and invested in an open bus ticket which allows us hop-on, hop-off tansport north up to Hanoi. From HCMC, we went to Mui Ne, a beach resort and mini-Russia (so many Russian tourists!) where we lay by the pool, drank $1.50 pina coladas, ate mangoes, rode bikes up and down the beach and got ridiculously sunburned for three days.

The next stop was Dalat, a small town north and inland of Mui Ne in the mountains that didn't really have a lot to do, particularly as the main attraction, the lake, was completely empty! We were only there for a night, but it was nice to escape the sweltering heat and energy-sucking humidity of April in Vietnam for a short while. We later found out that the best thing to do there are the Easy Rider motorbike tours that are advertised everywhere - but then again, I have a major paranoia of riding on motorbikes (thanks Mum and Dad) so I wouldn't have done one anyway. Another experience was a faux-meat pure vegetarian restaurant. The food was great, but to me there's something a bit wrong about eating something that has skin and fat, looks like meat, tastes like meat, yet isn't actually meat!

After Dalat we went to Nha Trang, another beach resort. I thought it would be a feral backpacker hangout with lots of seedy dives and dodgy rooms but actually it was beautiful, and althought the beach wasn't on par with its Australian and Thai counterparts, it was lovely in its own way. Not that we actually lay on it - we spent one day at some mineral mud bath springs (it was so fun, hours of soaking in a huge pool of brown mud then flitting from the multitude of different mineral showers, pools and spas) and another on a daytrip on a boat that took us around the nearby islands.

Hoi An was our next stop - a fairytale little town that despite being swamped with tourists (many of the old, fat and North American variety) was full of charm. I really enjoyed the three nights that we spent there - we spent most of our time wandering the streets of the old town and the local markets, shopping (I succumbed to the tailoring bug in a big way) and eating great food at ridiculously cheap prices. I also picked up a new addiction: Vietnamese iced coffees. I'm not usually a fan of sweet drinks, but this refreshing concoction of ice, filter coffee and condensed milk is just the ticket after traipsing around the streets in 38+ degree heat. It's sort of like the Vietnamese anwer to chai.

We arrived here in Hue from Hoi An late this afternoon and haven't yet had a chance to look around. The main attraction here is the Purple Forbidden City on the Perfume River, which we'll see tomorrow before getting an overnight bus north to Hanoi. I'm a bit worried though as on our last overnight bus trip, Phil had a blanket that was infested with bedbugs and she's still suffering the after-effects. That said, it was surprisingly comfortable, with two levels of seats that recline to a completely horizontal position and lots of legroom.

We're flying from Hanoi to Bangkok on April 17th, from where we'll head straight down to the islands - definitely Kho Phangan, then when Phil goes off to her yoga retreat I'll head to Kho Tao on my own and hopefully do a dive course.

I'll be back in Bangkok on the 2nd, and then I'm flying to New York City ( a recent spur-of-the-moment decision) for a week on the 6th, before heading to London - my last stop before I have to come home and face real life.

I'm exhausted so had better be off to bed. Now I've got my blogging mojo back though, you can count on the fact that I'll be back again to update you on my adventures very soon.

E xxx