A stay with the salt of the earth

This week: an unusual hotel in Bolivia; historical Poland; going up river in Sarawak; a foodie tour of Vietnam

monstrosity – was, when built, the highest reinforced and unsupported dome in the world. Do not ignore the surrounding parkland, and the small, marvellous 14th-century wooden church of St John of Nepomuk tucked away in the woods. HOWARD DARBON

Dancing with Dyaks

Travelling alone (“50 great holidays for solo travellers”, October 15) lets you slip into adventures that suddenly present themselves. Aged 22, watching a young Briton load his gear into a longboat at Sibu, Sarawak, I asked for a lift. He was an agricultural officer about to visit a settlement two days upriver. “Get in,” he said.

The Iban boatman steered us up the Rejang, passing clusters of attaproofed houses, then on under dense overhanging trees as huge butterflies and colourful birds fluttered past. Hidden Dyaks relayed news of our progress, as from the forest came whoops, shrieks and howls.

Traversing some rapids, we lost our boat – but downstream men emerged from the trees to catch it. We danced for our supper at a longhouse, then lay down to sleep with human heads hanging above us.

Late next day, a group of young Dyaks welcomed us with Scottish country dancing. It was an unforgettable experience. CHRISTOPHER DEAKES

Up, up and away

Reading about Caroline Shearing’s balloon adventure (“Take to the skies in the Atacama”, October 15) brought back memories of our holiday to Bolivia. The highlight was staying in a hotel made entirely of salt from the Salar de Uyuni.

Vietnamese delights

Vietnam (“Rare beauty in a country reborn”, October 15) is a culinary delight. At the Lac Thien restaurant in Hue, eat bánh khoai (“happy crepes”), rice paper pancakes with pork, prawns and sprouts. We peered down Ba Le Well, where supposedly water drawn from it is used for authentic

It consisted of very large blocks, all stuck together, and the furniture was made of smaller blocks with cushions on the chairs and reeds under the mattress. The floors were made from chips of salt.

Water for our morning wash was heated up by a geyser, and brought cao lâu – fresh rice noodles, barbecued pork and greens, found only in Hôi An. Visit Dalat to see Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery. Organic in design and made of concrete, the rooms are like trees, with a maze of branches complete with cobwebs, reminiscent of a haunted fairground. Afterwards, explore the Prenn Falls to us in bowls. With no heating, it was cold, but this was the most spectacular hotel we have ever stayed in.

Afterwards we crossed the salt flats, then the Atacama Desert, before taking the descent to Chile. IRIS GRIST, WINS A £250 RAILBOOKERS VOUCHER and see tea and coffee plantations with pineapples growing between the coffee plants. At the Cu Chi tunnels, our guide told us some had been adapted for tourists who could not squeeze down the originals. We had visions of a rotund traveller permanently stuck in a tunnel’s entrance hole. TOM KINGHORN