No sleep on the sleeper bus

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Nha Trang, Hoi An & Hue

We got onto another early bus headed for our next stop Nha Trang and almost immediately fell asleep. The journey took around 8 hours and was broken up with a quick stop off at food stall next to a temple on a hill. As we weren't stopped here for long we decided to forgo the temple and grab some food instead. We did get a photo from a distance however.

Nha Trang is a seaside resort and so we approached it along a coast lined with palm trees. We saw the worlds largest over water cable car stretching across to an island sporting a Hollywood style saying VINPEARL, the name of the amusement park on the island.

We had heard lots of mixed reviews about the city with lots of people finding it too western and commercial. We got there and booked in and went with the flow by ordering a big burger and chips each. We spent the next couple of days just catching up on sleep and trying out some of the more local dishes. We had several dishes cooked in clay pots which were all lovely and Emma had some more la lot.

However being in such a westernised place we gave into our baser urges and had a few fry ups for the next few mornings. This was purely because we were homesick and had nothing to do with the cheap Saigon beer we had found.

We spent our time in Nha Trang relaxing and admittedly the best way to do this was at the local mud bath and hot springs. This totaled about 6 quid for the two of us and involved a mineral shower, soaking in a mud bath for 15 minutes and then a series of sprays and soaks in mineral water that was 35 degrees. It was fairly touristy with plenty of other people around you all making the same shrieks and screams. There was even the obligatory tourist photographer getting you to pose and buy a picture. It was however still relaxing and Emma was convinced good for your skin as well. After all this there was a man made waterfall and swimming pool again heated to 35 degrees. We were so hot just in the sun that we tried this pool but could never last more than 5 minutes. After a few dips in and out we eventually noticed people going around the corner to a normal swimming pool and went with them to cool off.

That night we had a few cocktails and some chocolate cake from a place that helped keep kids off the street. In a welcome twist of fate we ended up in a bar that was showing the Chelsea Man City game and Emma was rightfully shunned for 90 minutes.

Our next bus was our first night bus and we checked out of our room and spent the day in restaurants nursing a bottle of water and plate of spring rolls until 7pm when we got on a coach that had all the seats taken out and reclining beds put in there place. It seated 40 people and the beds were about 6foot long. This is 2 inches too short for us tall people but when we saw where our seats were we soon realised sleep was a distant possibility for us. We were along the back row - so whilst other people had a contained bed we were on one big open bed with 5 people on it. Emma grabbed the safe seat in the corner and I spent the night between my girlfriend an a Dutch girl in a bed for people without any shoulders.

The next day we awoke (yes we got some sleep) in Hoi An which was a town famous for only one thing - custom made clothes. Needless to say one of us was more excited by this than the other. Our original plans to get suits and customer made wardrobes soon changed when we realised we would have to lug them around with us for another 6 months. Emma did opt for some custom sandals as every pair she had bought so far had rubbed, broken or not matched her capsule wardrobe. She also boosted this wardrobe with a skirt.

We spent some time looking for a room this time as we had been dropped off early and not in the usual rush. The first place we were dragged into looked promising until some guests checking out got into a huge barney over a can of coke being charged to their room. This ended with the hotel bloke kicking the desk, calling the guests aggressive and us quickly slipping out in all the confusion.

We settled for a place that seemed great until after one night we realised our room doubled up as a swimming pool and would leave us with a damp smell that would take weeks to shake. As we were only there for 2 nights we accepted this flaw and proceeded to take in the sights.

We stopped off for a bite to eat and I tucked into the local dish Cau Lao (cold noodles with pork) and Emma had her favourite soup to date - Won Ton Soup. The town was split by a bridge with the Old Town being on one side and the places that the local now live in on the other. There was also the Japanese bridge which we managed to see but not actually cross despite only being feet away from it.

We continued to eat well and had the usual spring rolls, noodle soup and I even had some duck finally! There wasn't a lot to do but we had a two days to kill whilst Emmas shoes were being made. Down by the bridge of a night the lights were beautiful and gave a real sense of the pride people took in this town. The old town was immacualte and so well preserved. There were no modern buildings until you got to the edge of old town.

We met a bloke called Mike who was from Yorkshire and after being made redundant had set out to travel around Asia before returning back to work. We drank a few "Fresh Beers" which were basically a lager that had been brewed that day to be drunk that night but at only 20p a glass we could live with the weak taste.

A few days later and Emma had a new skirt (ordered in the morning and fitted by 5pm) and two pairs of custom shoes. We once again boarded the bus early in the morning and were on our way to Hue. We had no idea what to expect from Hue and were knackered when the bus arrived that afternoon. We were railroaded again as soon as we got off the bus but this time it worked for our favour for once as the room we were taken too was cheap, clean and had a balcony. It was fantastic.

We were running out of time before we had to be back in Bangkok and decided to get out of Hue the next day so that we could be sure to have enough time in Laos. The next day was going to be a night bus anyway so this still gave us plenty of time. We wandered around and got our bearings stopping off for a bite to eat as lunch. We went for an Indian that night and after hearing a bloke interrogate the waitress over wether the chef was native Indian or trained by a native Indian tucked into a satisgfactory curry and naan. Emma hadn't been feeling too well all day and so we went to get an early night. Unfortunately Sex and the City the movie was on and joy of joys it was followed by two episodes - looks like karma got me for watching the football.

The next day we checked out as late as possible to make the most of the comfort. There was a huge citadel with many bombed relics in the middle just over the water but in truth we were just too tired and hot so we decided to give this a miss so we could at least be fresh for Hanoi. We were learning quickly that the pace we had set for ourselves was too fast.

It was yet another night bus to Hanoi and as we clambered into our bunk beds both of us knew that we would not be resting properly until we arrived in Hanoi and found a room.

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