“It Takes Two” our article as featured in HipCompass Escapes

// August 4th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Travel Articles

Back in August 2008 my fiance and I (Georgina) were traveling through northern Vietnam and stopped in the beautiful mountain town of Sapa. Our $7 room had the feel of an old alpine cottage and unparalleled views of the infinite mountain scenery. We knew instantly we had stumbled over something special, surely one of the most romantic places we’d been on our travels to date.

Whilst drinking in morning coffees and that million dollar view (or seven as the case may be) the chat turned to how we should fill our time in such a beautiful place, that’s when the cracks started to show.

Georgina wanted to make a brutal seven hour bus trip to a remote and rural weekend market in a town called Bac Ha, filled with visions of Flower H’mong hill-tribe people selling everything from dried shrimps to dogs – the “real” Vietnam maybe, she was keen as mustard. I however was not. (more…)

“It Takes Two” Aaron & Georgie featured in Hip Compass Escapades

// July 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // In the Press

Hello everybody, just a quick update to let you know that our super duper article featured in the online travel magazine HipCompass Escapades – “It takes two” is now available for your viewing pleasure. It’s a feature packed travel magazine with lots of useful info and interesting articles (especially mine!!!) so click the cover below to take a look-see… Thanks you beautiful people.

“Things between us came to a head and at that point, in our idyllic mountain cabin, we realised the underlying issue had nothing to do with the market, infact it was a problem which had been simmering beneath the surface for weeks or maybe even months. Somehow we had managed to grow apart as lovers, regularly finding ourselves in intense situations and constantly being around each other, we had become better friends than we could have ever hoped but with all the highs and lows that come with traveling foreign, unfamiliar countries we had forgotten to set aside time for just us.”

Picture of the day: Hilltribe children in Sapa Vietnam

// February 17th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Picture of the day

Picture of the day: Bac Ha market, Vietnam

// February 14th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Picture of the day

The flavour of today’s picture is of pig transportation at Bac Ha in northern Vietnam, every weekend the small town is turned into a mass of people and animals as all the hill-tribe people from miles around descend to sell their wares and livestock… Enjoy.

After a count up there were 20 pigs on the back of each motorbike.

Bac Ha market madness

// September 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Bac Ha

6:00am we woke up for the Bac Ha market… Far too early for any kind of market cultural or otherwise if you ask me but we had made it all the way there and we weren’t about to sleep through it just to get back on the bone shaker bus without at least buying something useless.
A few Vietnamese coffee’s good and strong later and we were ready for anything! By this time the market had started to get rolling and loads of hill tribe people were strolling past the window with their wicker back baskets full of all sorts of stuff so we just followed them up the hill, into the main square where tourist tour buses had already started to turn up and down into the market. It was pretty spectacular how the sleepy little town had suddenly filled with life and colour overnight and even though at this point it had barely began there were ponies running about the shop and livestock being ferried in on the back of mopeds including the odd basket of dogs… (more…)