Most of Cat Ba Island in Vietnam is designated as national park, with jungle clad limestone karsts that are home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, including the rarest primate species in the world: the Golden Headed Langur (Cat Ba Langur).

From Cat Ba Town you can take a lot of different tours to Cat Ba National Park where you can hike through the jungle. The longest trail is around 18km and takes all day. It was scorching hot when we were there, so we settled on a short half day tour to the park which included a stop at the Hospital Cave, and a 4km hike to the top of one of the mountains inside the park.

From the Cat Ba National Park entrance, our guide took us along a flat concrete path that leads up towards the mountains. As we started hiking, we quickly entered the jungle where the already humid air became even worse. The climb at this stage was gentle and steps made the ascent fairly easy.

Walking towards the mountains

Stick insects in the jungle

The trail through the rain forest

A butterfly resting on a leaf

Trees cling to the rocky slope

The sounds of the forest surrounded us as we turned right at a fork in the trail and continued to climb. The sweat was already pouring off me when we came to a section of ladders that we had to climb up to get past some small rocky cliffs.

A strange caterpillar on a tree

Climbing a ladder

Looking down at the ladders

The climb was now becoming much steeper and the draining heat didn’t help. More ladders led us up to the final steep section near the top of the mountain. The path was now just rocks rather than dirt and steps, and the jungle was leaving us open to the scorching sun as we neared the rocky summit.

The steep rocky trail near the summit

The final climb was quite exhausting, but when we finally made it to the top it was all worth it. The view was stunning and all I could see before me was an endless landscape of limestone karst mountains covered in jungle.

The view from the top. Worth the effort!

Panoramic view from the summit

At the top of the mountain we were completely open to the scorching sun, so we couldn’t linger long in the heat and began our descent back down the mountain. This proved to be a lot more difficult than the climb up as the rocky steps are high and steep, and a fall could be very dangerous.

Heading back down the mountain

A spider in the jungle

It took quite a while to make our way down to the easier parts of the trail, where steps had been put in to make the descent easier. By the time we reached the bottom I was completely drenched in sweat, and the cold drink that I bought was like a gift from heaven.

Despite the heat, our hike in Cat Ba National Park was really interesting and the view from the top was stunning. Definitely worth the effort, and we had certainly earned ourselves a beer when we got back to Cat Ba Town.

Hiking in Cat Ba National Park, Vietnam is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

During the Vietnam War, Cat Ba Island was used as a kind of safe haven for the North Vietnamese army. Due to the heavy American bombing, a secret bomb proof hospital and safe house for the VC leaders was built inside a cave, high up on one of the many limestone karsts which dominate the island. The hospital could not be seen from the ground or the air, making it the perfect spot for a safe house.

It was abandoned after 1975, but now it is a popular tourist attraction on the island.

As I climbed up the steps which lead up the mountain, I would never have even known that there was a cave here, and even when I got close to the cave mouth it wasn’t easy to see that there was any habitation inside.

View from from the entrance to the cave

Entrance to the hospital

This secret hospital was actually built into three different levels. The first level is entirely man made from concrete, and after entering through the tiny door, it was quite eerie inside even after our guide turned on the lights. We were the only people there.

The hallway on the first level

The rooms are all empty, but our guide told us about what each room was used for, most of which were hospital rooms for injured soldiers as well as surgical rooms and doctors offices.

One of the first level rooms in the hospital

The second level of the hospital is much smaller and its walls are mostly natural rock. Up here there was a swimming pool and the natural cavern was used as a cinema.

The tiny third level had offices for the VC leaders who used the facility as a safe house.

The cavern on the second level, which leads up to the third level. This cavern was used as a cinema.

The swimming pool

The hospital is a true feat of engineering, with ventilation shafts and fresh water access. They even had a quick escape route from the upper levels straight to the bottom level, as well as a second entrance for a quick escape if the cave was ever invaded.

The second entrance to the hospital cave

The guide who showed us around the cave was excellent and knew everything there was to know about this secret hospital. Definitely check it out if you head to Cat Ba Island.

The Hospital Cave on Cat Ba Island: A remnant from the Vietnam War is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

Getting up close with a pride of lions in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, is one of the highlights from my travels in the country. The stars of the show were definitely the four cute lion cubs that were playing by a waterhole with two lionesses. This photo is of three of them trying to have a drink from the same spot in the waterhole. I could have watched them all day!

Three lion cubs drinking water in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

Halong Bay was one of those places that I knew I wanted to visit in Vietnam, but I wasn’t sure that I would like it. It is undoubtedly some of the most stunning scenery in the world, however a lot of people describe the area as “tourism gone bad”. For this reason we decided to avoid taking a typical Halong Bay tour from Hanoi or Halong City and instead headed to Cat Ba Island, where we booked a cruise through Han La Bay and then into the more remote parts of Halong Bay. This turned out to be an excellent decision.

Cruising through the limestone karst islands and floating fishing villages of Han La Bay was amazing, and it is very quiet when it comes to tourism. We didn’t see a lot of other boats, and there was none of the rubbish that I heard plagued Halong Bay.

A tiny limestone karst island in Halong Bay

Boats cruising in Halong Bay

We started our journey into Halong Bay in the late morning, cruising through calm warm waters with limestone karsts towering above it. We dropped anchor in a calm bay where it was time to hop off the boat and into a kayak.

A boat at anchor in the sheltered bay

People kayaking

We paddled through the calm water towards a huge cave in one of the cliffs of an island, and when we got closer I saw that it was actually a tunnel to the other side of the karst. It was darker inside and I felt drops of cool fresh water fall down on me from the stalactites above. When we emerged back into the sunlight on the other side, I found that we were in a secluded lagoon. This tunnel is the only way in.

Exploring the lagoon, we paddled towards what seemed to be a dead end, but I could see the kayaks before me suddenly disappear. When I got closer I saw that there was another cave, this one much smaller and tighter than the last, and I couldn’t see where it ended.

Kayaking in a secluded lagoon

The tide was rising which made the water in the tunnel rush like an underground stream, and it was difficult to avoid hitting the rocks on the side of the cave. We had to use our paddles to push off the rocks a few times but eventually found our way through the exit, where we found ourselves in yet another secluded lagoon, this one much smaller. I could almost feel the tall cliffs above closeing in on me, but it was truly beautiful.

The only way out was to go back the way we came, but paddling against the current made it a whole lot harder. By the time we reached our boat, my arms were glad to get a rest.

After having lunch with the stunning scenery around us, we continued on cruising through the beautiful bay, a maze of waterways between the tall islands.

A small fishing boat

We pulled up at one of these islands for a short hike, where we found ourselves in yet another cave which made us emerge higher up on the island. I short walk further and we had a stunning view out across the bay, along with another hidden lagoon. If it wasn’t for the other tourists around, it would have seemed like an untouched paradise.

Walking through the cave

The view from the island

The hidden lagoon

Our cruise continued on through the bay on the way back to Han La Bay and Cat Ba Island, and on the way we stopped in another sheltered spot for a swim. It was just a matter of jumping off the boat into the lovely warm water. It was like a bath and I could have floated there for hours.

This really is just a stunning part of the world, and I am so glad that I decided to come here. Don’t miss it if you travel to Vietnam.

Cruising and Kayaking in Halong Bay, Vietnam is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

I had heard only good things about Hoi An before I travelled to Vietnam, and when I got there I was pleased to find that all of those positive reviews were right. Hoi An’s picturesque little old town is just beautifully preserved. The pedestrian and cycling only streets are lovely to walk around during the day, surrounded by protected old historic buildings, and at night the streets are all lit up by silk lanterns. This photo is of a fairly typical view of the streets of Hoi An. I could have stayed here for weeks.

Typical street view in Hoi An, Vietnam is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

Our recent road trip across Australia from Brisbane to Perth was amazing. Over about five weeks we travelled from the south of Queensland through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and then into Western Australia, camping and sight seeing along the way in our old camper van. Along the way I made lots of live updates through Instagram, one of my blogger addictions. Here are a few of my Instagram photos as I travelled across Australia from Brisbane to Perth. Click here if you would like to follow me on Instagram.

Camping in Canungra

Pies and Coffee at Mt Tamborine, Queensland

Mindy swimming in the Logan River at Flanagan’s Reserve

A stormy day in Byron Bay

An old pub in Glen Innes, New South Wales

The Golden Guitar in Tamworth

Lake Liddel

The Hunter Valley wine region, New South Wales

Driving along the racetrack in Bathurst

The Hall of Memory at the Australian War Museum in Canberra

Lake Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains

Mindy on Golden Beach, Victoria

Driving along Morwell River Road, Victoria

The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road

Cape Bridgewater

Coffee time at Meningie, South Australia

Lighthouse and Jetty at Port Germein

Lighthouse at Point Lowly, South Australia

Barossa Valley Wine

Beach at Walker’s Rock, South Australia

Wildlife sign on the Nullarbor

The straightest road in Australia

Giant Tingle Tree near Walpole, Western Australia

Beach in Dunsborough, Western Australia

Instagramming across Australia from Brisbane to Perth is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

I should be writing about my travels through Vietnam right now, but all I can think about is what I witnessed today. This post is jumping a month ahead from my last post to the city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, to this very day when I visited the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Today, I saw what humanity is like at its worst.

Before I continue, I should warn you that this post will not be a happy one, and it contains images, footage and descriptions that will be disturbing to you; however if you would like to learn about the horror that the people of Cambodia went through during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, please read on.

On this blog I like to promote travel as a way to make you smile and be happy with every moment, but I also believe that travel is the best education that you can receive. Sometimes that education will not put a smile on your face, but will make you grow as a person and understand the world a little better. This often means learning what mankind is like at its best and its worst.

Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to visiting S-21 (Tuol Sleng Prison) or the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh, but I knew it was something that I had to do.

The memorial stupa at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields

As I wandered through Choeung Ek and listened to the audio guide, I was often shocked by what I was listening to, even though I had read a little about it before. I walked past huge depressions in the earth that marked the sites of the mass graves of over 8000 innocent people who were murdered for nothing. These people were only a few of the near 3 million people who died during the mass genocide of the Khmer Rouge, and this was only one of many killing fields in the country.

Just a few of the mass graves at Choeung Ek

From one grave to the next, I learnt about the Khmer Rouge and the genocide. Not so different to Hitler or any other leader that has committed such crimes against humanity, Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, believed in an ideal race. He eliminated education, religion and culture and drove everyone out of the towns and cities to work on organized farms. Anyone who was against his beliefs were considered enemies and executed.

As bad as this was, the way in which these executions were handled was even worse. Bullets were expensive, so the prisoners were made to kneel next to their grave and then killed using any tool available, including machetes, hammers, shovels, hoes and bamboo clubs. One of these mass graves contained over 400 corpses.

The edges of these sugar palm fronds are lined with jagged thorns and were sometimes used to slit the throats of the prisoners

As I moved on, I discovered that there was simply no mercy for anyone. Soldiers were made to execute everyone, including women and children. Babies had their heads smashed against trees and then thrown into their graves. Their mothers had to witness this, stripped naked and killed as well. It is also believed that many of them were raped first.

Any soldier who disobeyed orders was also killed. A mass grave was found here that contained over one hundred headless corpses who were wearing soldier uniforms.

This tree was used to smash babies’ heads in to kill them. When this site was found this tree was covered in blood, brains and bone fragments.

I was feeling sick as I saw displays of victims’ rags and bones that had occasionally shown up on the surface after heavy rains. In the centre of the site is the huge memorial stupa which contains thousands of skulls and bones of these people, which stands in memory of what happened here.

Skulls of victims inside the memorial stupa

I was only witnessing a small part of the horror that this genocide really was. The prisoners who were sent here for execution came from the S-21 (Tuol Sleng Prison) in Phnom Penh, and this was now where I was heading.

At first glance, Tuol Sleng Prison (S-21) looks like an old abandoned school. This is actually what it originally was before the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh. They transformed this former site of learning into a facility for torture, interrogation and murder. There were so many prisoners here that they had to end up opening the killing fields to send them for their execution.

One of the buildings at S-21

The facility has been left exactly as it was when the Khmer Rouge were driven out in 1979, apart from the last 14 victims who were killed here and left in the facility. They are now buried within the grounds.

From room to room I saw beds with shackles where people were tortured and interrogated. Amongst the dust on the floor there are bloody footprints and splattered blood on the walls and floors. I could feel only death and horror in these rooms.

A bed in one of the interrogation/torture rooms

Photo of the corpse of the last victim in this room before the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in 1979

Shackles on a bed

Bloody footprints on the floor of one of the rooms

Blood splattered on a wall

Piles of shackles

A few of the tiny cells

Blood and chains on the floor of a cell

This was used to hang people upside down by a rope until they lost consciousness, before holding their heads in the bowls below which were filled with filthy water usually used as fertilizer. Once they awoke again they would continue their interrogation.

In the next building are the photos of those who were brought here. The Khmer Rouge documented everything. For some reason I felt the need to look into the eyes of every victim, to try and understand what they must have felt. Some were skin and bones, others looked like they had just stepped into the building and had no idea what was about to happen to them. There are photos of men, women, children, elderly people, even babies. Every face that I was looking at was murdered, all for nothing.

Just a few of the photos of those who were murdered

More victims

They also photographed the deceased

When I got to the end of the museum after viewing some of the torture devices, I walked into another room displaying yet more bones of those who died during the genocide. I tried to light a stick of incense to put at the small shrine here, but my hand was shaking so much that it took me five goes to even light it. I was filled with dread and sadness, but also anger towards the political and judicial side of this whole thing. I am left with more questions now than I had before I even visited Cambodia.

A painting depicting a scene at Tuol Sleng Prison

Why, after all of this, was the Khmer Rouge still acknowledged as the true government of Cambodia, and even aided by developed countries such as the UK, USA and even my own country, Australia? They kept their seat at the UN until 1993.

Why on earth did it take until 2007 for the leaders of the Khmer Rouge who were responsible for the murder of millions of people to be arrested for their crimes against humanity? With lawyers defending them, their trials have gone on for years. Pol Pot himself died while under house arrest in 1998 at the age of 72 and never even stood trial. Ieng Sary just died earlier this year at the age of 87, again before the verdict was settled. Nuon Chea was the first to fully admit to and apologise for his crimes on March 31st this year, at the age of 86, but this is far too late. These men got to live full lives. The babies and children that were murdered didn’t even get to start theirs. Where is the justice?

What happened here in Cambodia still lives on through memory today. It wasn’t that long ago, and it is still fresh in many people’s minds. If you do decide to visit Cambodia, please make sure to visit Tuol Sleng and the nearby killing fields. It will not be easy, but it is important to really know what this country has been through. I know that I will never forget what I learnt today.

Finally, please take a look at this footage that I filmed while walking through Tuol Sleng Prison. I decided to leave it in silence in respect for all those who died.

Video not working? Click here.

Humanity at its worst – Visiting the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

The city of Hue is the former capital of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam which lasted from 1802 to 1945. The Emperors of this dynasty ruled from the Imperial Citadel in Hue, but they believed that life is short and death is forever, so they all wanted elaborate tombs nearby to see them through the afterlife. While in Hue, I visited some of these tombs, but the one that I found most elaborate and beautiful was the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh. He was one of the later emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty, ruling from 1916 to 1925. This photo is of the front of the main building of his tomb. The interior is even more exquisite than the exterior, and there are many European influences to be seen.

The Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh in Hue, Vietnam is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

Instead of taking a typical Halong Bay cruise from Hanoi in Vietnam, we decided to head to Cat Ba Island. Geographically, Cat Ba Island is the largest island in Halong Bay, and from here you can take cruises to the more remote parts of Halong Bay and also to the equally beautiful, but far less crowded, Han La Bay. This is what really drew us here.

Sitting on the top deck of the boat, I felt the breeze in my hair and the warm sun on my skin, while the calm waters passed by in our wake as we left the dock on Cat Ba Island. Ahead lay a beautiful scene of tall limestone karst islands, with a village of floating fish farms sitting in the calm waters at their base. Slowly, we cruised through the maze of waterways of Han La Bay and most of the time it was just us and the local fishermen who call this place home.

Leaving the dock on Cat Ba Island

Part of the floating fishing village

A boat passes by in the floating fishing village

Calm waters and limestone karsts in Han La Bay

A boat cruises through Han La Bay

A floating fish farm

Men working on a pontoon in Han La Bay

A local boat passes by

A secluded beach and temple in Han La Bay

Han La Bay is certainly a place of pure beauty, and it is far less touched by tourism than the overcrowded and rubbish strewn Halong Bay nearby, which is often seen on day trips from Hanoi.

If you want a less crowded and more authentic experience, head to Cat Ba Island and take a cruise from there. It is a lovely place to spend a few days.

A cruise through beautiful Han La Bay in Vietnam is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog

London Bridge is just one of many amazing sights along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. This natural rock formation actually had two arches and was connected to the mainland until it collapsed in 1992. Two people were left stranded on the newly formed island when this happened. I guess they were just lucky that they weren’t standing on the part that collapsed!

London Bridge on the Great Ocean Road, Australia is a post from: The Road to Anywhere | World Travel Blog