Bound for Vietnam

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Lifting the ban - something Vietnam has long sought - would anger Beijing, which resents US efforts to forge stronger military bonds with its smaller neighbours at a time of rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea. But there was no immediate word of a final US decision on the issue.

Vietnam's poor human rights record remains a possible sticking point, but the Obama administration appears increasingly swayed towards giving Hanoi some leeway to build its deterrent against China. Closer military cooperation with allies and partners has been a major thrust of Obama's strategic "rebalance" toward the Asia-Pacific region, a centerpiece of his foreign policy.

Obama's Vietnam visit comes just days after Chinese fighter jets carried out what the Pentagon said was an "unsafe"intercept of a US military reconnaissance plane in the South China Sea. Beijing is pursuing territorial claims there that conflict with those of Vietnam and several other countries.

Obama will be the third consecutive US president to visit Vietnam since diplomatic relations were restored in Lydia never takes no for an answer. Against all protests she finds ways to venture through rarely travelled parts of China, overcoming language barriers and standing her ground in crowded buses, boats and trains.

She makes a meal of a snake and submits to the ministrations of the Dental Department of your worst nightmare.

Leaving China by pedal-power, Lydia Laube enters Vietnam by motorbike and discovers a beautiful and resilient country. Sit tight as you ride with our brave lone traveller. Her adventures will amaze and impress you. Read more Read less. Countdown to Christmas Sale. Sale ends on 24 December at Customers who bought this item also bought.

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Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. The Long Way Home: Nobody Goes That Way.

Slow Boat to Mongolia. An Australian Nurse in Saudi Arabia.

Temples and Tuk Tuks: Is This the Way to Madagascar? And then we recommend a soothing beer at the Wheatsheaf afterwards. This site requires JavaScript to function properly.

Please enable JavaScript in your web browser. It's funny how things turn out.

A chance encounter with a Welshman on the Trans Siberian Express en route to Ulaan Bator had made me decide once again to take the long, and difficult, way home. I planned to sail down the coast of China to Shanghai, ride river-boats as far south as I could go on the Yangtze, make my way over the mountains to the border, and, with luck, be allowed to enter Vietnam's far north Lydia Laube never says no to adventure, whether that means galloping a horse across the Mongolian plains or hopping on a cargo ship to Madagascar. Born into the farming community of Caltowie in the mid-north of South Australia, Lydia trained as a nurse in Adelaide, then set off to see the world.

Her debut book, Behind the Veil: An Australian nurse in Saudi Arabia , was an instant bestseller, and she has become one of Australia's favourite travel writers.