OK, this one combines railways and travel.

Back in 2011 Dawn and I visited Vietnam as a side trip from time in Thailand. It’s a country I’d always wanted to visit so we made it happen. Sadly, I took my eye off the ball somewhat as I’d got a lot going on at the time, which meant I didn’t do the research I should have. We flew into Bangkok and had a great time in balmy temperatures. Knowing we’d be coming back, we left a lot of our clothes in a hotel storage room. Big mistake..

We flew out of Bangkok and arrived in Hanoi to a real shock. The weather was bloody freezing. Hanoi was more like the UK in January than Thailand and we’d not brought the right clothing and I’d only brought sandals! We were so cold we ended up sleeping in our clothes for several days. It was so bad I had to go out and buy some enclosed shoes. As I didn’t want to waste any money (I’d only need them for a couple of weeks) I bought the cheapest pair of trainers I could find. They were shiny white plastic of the sort you’d expect to see a pimp wear – but who cares? Well, at least they gave Dawn a laugh!

Whilst we were in Hanoi I took this picture. Talk about ‘the railroad runs through the middle of the house…

I have to chortle when I remember stuff like this, then think about the Nimbys in the UK who’re objecting to the fact our new rail line (HS2) will ‘ruin their lives’ by passing 100s of metres away! If you want to see the rest of the pictures from our trip. You can find them in this gallery.

 

 

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