After a few days in chaotic Hanoi, we boarded another night train, heading south. After an 12 hour journey at 50 km/h max, we finally reached Hue, the capital of the Nguyen emperors, located on the Central Coast of Vietnam. The imperial city is charming and comparatively quiet after Hanoi’s incessant touts, with its grand, crumbling Citadel [...]

We thought the Vietnamese border will only be a short bus ride away. After all, Hekou is only a mere 197km away. How wrong were we! It was a grueling route over bumpy dirt roads, on board of a taxi-bus stopping every kilometer. Along the route the bus was stopped by donkeys, chicken and pigs… we [...]