After re-uniting the team in Hanoi, we set about the task of negotiating adequate transport to some of the more remote parts of Northern Vietnam. This in itself was no mean task, trying to convey the concept of kayaking in general is hard enough without the added confusion of going to destinations which are very rarely visited. Meanwhile the planning of exactly which rivers to paddle commenced, with some of our more detailed maps having been confiscated in Hong Kong (Long story) this involved some serious speculation as to gradient and general topography.

With destinations decided, we headed for the market to stock up on supplies and generic tat. Stu H turned out to be a very useful haggler, his confident and purposeful technique fitted in well.

After all the work was done, we were set for the first couple of weeks. This left us a day or so to get the feel of Hanoi, a fantastically vibrant and busy city with some real character. 

More pictures from our time in Hanoi can be found in our gallery here...

Finally the team have reached Vietnam! After 6 days of traveling we have reached Vietnam and are reunited with Eoghain. Time for the real work to begin...

We have been talking with various people here in Hanoi about transport, apparently the drivers are not big fans of the 'back roads'.

Hopefully tomorrow we will have something sorted and can make our way to the North West where there is some granite, rather than the typical limestone.

Definitely excited!

The Chinese/Vietnamese border!!

Sometimes, getting to the river or just the right country, is as hard as styling that big drop.

On an expedition it's not alwasy about the paddling.

Have a look at some more photos from the journey so far here.

So... we are still not quite in Vietnam! We managed to get train tickets to Hanoi but, at the border crossing leaving China, it turned out our boats weren't on the same train as us and they wouldn't be allowed to cross the border!

A couple of us headed into the city to find some cheap accomodation whilst we waited for the boats to turn up the next day. Some good fortune lead us to a hotel charging under 10 pounds per room in the border city of Guangyue that only opened 2 days ago. Being the first British group staying we also seemed to get some discount and superb hospitality.

That next day came, along with our boats, but no luck with getting us and them across the border. Stu H's incredible international communication skills saved the day when he met Michelle, another resident of the hotel just returning from Vietnam.  Looking to improve her English she helped us out massively to negotiate with the Chinese train staff and the hotel staff who managed to arrange boat accomodation for the night at no extra charge and book us a bus tommorow to cross the border!

Vietnam tommorow! (Please)

Eoghain's cunning plan to ditch the rest of the group with his kit, return to Hong Kong, get arrested then continue to Hanoi on his own worked very well. He is there now!

Here is a detailed breakdown of our travels so far...

So it begins. An un-problematic flight into Hong Kong followed by some fantastically helpful locals found us in a hotel in the city. After food and dessert we headed out to do what we do best, Karaoke!

Day two had us at the Hong Kong border, and after some negotiations we secured a bus into no-man's land. Passports and visa's at the ready, we headed to China. From the border there were suitably large coaches to take 4 boats at a time onwards to our next objective of Guangzhou. Unfortunately the bus stopped a good mile from the train station, so after some fraught discussion we decided to "portage" with all our kit in the 38 degree heat.

After what can only be described as some severe faff, we missed our train and had to stay a night in a cheap hotel. Reconvening in the morning we collected our thoughts along with a large amount of luggage. We are now aboard the sleeper train right across China to Nanning, and onwards to Vietnam!

It is worth mentioning that the team is already a man down. Eoghain's claims of getting a cheap visa on the border seem now unfounded as he is still in Hong Kong. Reports so far seem positive however he may simply stay in his new favourite haunt; Disneyland!

Grinning with delight at the delivery of my shiny new boys (or girls) toy, I was eager to get

stuck into outfitting the Nomad and making it as comfy as possible.

Having spent far too long getting frustrated about temporary loss of screws under sofas and

being puzzled at why I couldn’t get the outfitting where I wanted it to be, I realised that

actually the Dagger outfitting is a huge amount more simple to adjust then I’d anticipated

(What a plank). Below is a short guide to how I got on…

 Bulkhead and Footrest Removal

In order to adjust the shape of the footplate easily, the bulkhead can be removed using a

moderately sized Phillips screwdriver (screws A&B) and a small socket set (A).

 Protecting Those Feet

There are several articles on building footrests that are comfy and protect your feet however,

it really is a case of what works best for you. The self adhesive foam blocks provided proved

to be quick, mess free and super sticky no matter what style construction you use for your

foot plate.

A small section of the bulkhead foam was trimmed to allow the footplate to move to the

furthest final tiers down to accommodate my unusually lanky legs. Care is needed to not

cut any more than essential, protecting the boats structural integrity and warranty.

 Thigh Brace Adjustment

The removal of screw C and loosening of D & E allows the thigh braces to slide to the best

position to grip your legs. A couple of layers of foam on the interior of the boat already

fitted meant that the contact was nice and comfy too.

The seat cushion provided is nice and thick which should be great for helping to avoid the

dreaded numb-bum and is more than comfy enough in it’s own right. I’ve opted to play

around with a few pieces of foam beneath this however – the screws holding down the

cover are designed to be pulled out with a wee bit of force. Some under my coccyx to

protect a tad more on flat landings, and a few wedge shaped pieces to really lock my legs

up into the thigh brace. These will definitely be adjusted in due course on the river to see

what works and what is comfiest on my derriere.

 Backrest & Hip Pad Alteration

Both done in a matter of seconds, the hip pads and backrest are best tight (but comfortable)

to help accurately apply and maintain edge adjustment and transfers crucial to hitting your

desired line on the river.

The hip pads have a pocket sown into the back of them meaning you don’t even need glue.

Just pop x amount of the provided squares in and fasten with Velcro and buckle strap.

Adjusting the backrest is even easier as you have the standard yellow crank levers that can

be pulled forward once seating but also buckles (circled) on the rear of the backrest to pull

it tighter or give some slack. Due to their shape they are easy to grab and mess around with

while seated in the Nomad so no annoying repetitive jump in-adjust-jump out routines.

It's got the thumbs up from me if only for being the first boat I've owned and been able to

fit in with river shoes on! It may not be Vietnam yet, but all that is left is to hit the Black

Country Canals to work out any final tweaks before flying out to catch up with the others in Asia.

Andy J

This was to be the first time a number of us have met up since the selection weekend.  So naturally the first thing we did was went to the pub.  Over a few pints we had some much needed discussion about the ideas we each had for the trip and what information we had found so far. Of course a few pints turned into a few more and eventually we headed back to Tim's to get some sleep as we had an early start in the morning.

We got up on Saturday morning feeling bright and breezy and headed off to Stirling Uni to start the course.  We went through approaching a casualty, examination, immobilisation, CPR.  By far the most interesting part that day however, was the bits that involved chickens.  We arrived back from lunch to find a raw chicken for each of us.  Using these we practised giving injections, suturing and how to canalise.

"The Mekong will eat a grunts feet right off his legs... Two standing orders in this platoon: One, take good care of your feet, Two, try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed."  Leutenant Dan in Forrest Gump.

Lucky for us Teva have kindly outfitted us with some quick drying footwear to keep our feet looked after. That's One sorted, Two is another matter...