Tag: kay hunter

Cover Reveal – Gone To Ground @rachelamphlett

Posted on June 10, 2018 by

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There are many things that I have never done in my 47 years upon this earth. I have never: Been to Mars. Wrestled a Great White Shark in a tub of jelly – lime flavour, since you asked. Completed a Legend Of Zelda game….

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Our road trip along the Ho Chi Mihn road is slowly coming to an end 😢 Yesterday we got wet. Like proper soaked on our 180km journey from Huong Khe to Tan Ky. The heavens opened for the first time since we left Hoi An just over a week ago, so we can't complain. It rained a smidge when we were in the rain forest - go figure - but this was the first time we got proper soggy. Fortunately our hotel in Tan Ky was excellent (unlike the previous night in Huong Khe, which was shit, lol), so we dried off and went in search of food. Ben got a street kebab whilst I had some excellent beef dish in a roadside café 👌🏻 Anyway, because of the rain we got no photos, but today was sunny so we managed a few. After having been spoilt rotten the previous few days, the scenery on this stretch has been much less dramatic, though no less beautiful at times. We've seen an increase in traffic (though still not much really), and farming and industry. There are far more people about. After the remoteness and isolation of the jungle and mountains that is quite a shock 😅 With increased people come increasing problems. Litter and general crap everywhere is a problem here; Huong Khe stank - it was rank even though the town itself was so friendly, our hotel receptionist aside, rude cow - but that soon passed and we were back into the countryside again. Today was much much nicer. Smooth roads, huge limestone mountains rising from the flat plains, and some gorgeous villages along the roadside. I found a beautiful dragonfly at the café we stopped at, and there were huge numbers of what I assume to be Black Kites in Cam Thuy, our current overnight stop. This trip has been utterly magnificent from the moment we stepped from Ho Chi Mihn airport and I really don't want it to end. Still, we have 4 days to go and two days in Ninh Binh beckon before the chaos that is Hanoi and my flight home early Monday morning 😄
Today we spent the day in Phong Nha. After yesterday's epic bike ride through the isolated jungle we needed a day off the bikes. This area is surrounded by huge, towering and densely forested limestone mountains that are the home to many a cave system, some that have only just been discovered. As such this area will likely undergo a big transformation in the coming years as people flock to the caves and the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. It's already busy with homestays, hotels and hostels, with many a westerner here, but it's still pretty quiet. We did our own thing, walking through the town and along the undeveloped riverbank on the other side. A local woman and her daughter offered to take us across by boat back to our side for a meagre payment (and we gave them a little extra). I'll be sorry to say goodbye to Phong Nha, but the Ho Chi Mihn road beckons once again. We're slowly reaching Hanoi, but there is much to see before then. 🇻🇳😊
Today Ben and I travelled 115 miles up the Ho Chi Mihn road from Khe Sanh to Phong Nah. An unbelievably beautiful stretch of isolated road where we hardly saw another living soul for hours on end. This was a tad worrying after Ben punctured, but we got it sorted fine, losing around 90 minutes or so. In total we were on the road for 9 hours, but what a 9 hours they were. Vietnam is a stunning country in every way 🇻🇳😍
A gratuitous cock shot and some sightings from my morning walk earlier. Vietnam you never cease to amaze and delight. ♥️🇻🇳 #Vietnam #travelling #travels #travelswithmyson #dragonflies #insects #insectsofinstagram
Today I got leeched, twice, we got mobbed - well, flown at - by giant Asian hornets, ate beetle larvae, and had a great trek up and down the forested mountain. All in all another perfect day in Vietnam. 😍
Today we hiked up a mountain with our host, Phú, to his little remote farming shack where he introduced us to the local cuisine, lol. Some kind of bamboo beetle larvae that was surprisingly *not* awful, but it's also something I'm not in a hurry to try again 😂 He gave me the head end, crunchy, and Ben had the arse 😅 It was a great trek, despite seeing very few animals, surprising even Phú. Oh, and I picked up two leeches on the way that managed to get to my precious blood through my thick socks. Little buggers 😂 There were some huge giant Asian hornets there though that even Phú the Fearless was afraid of (and this guy goes hunting for their nests for their larvae, nutter.
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