Hello. You buy something???

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Firstly, we'd like to apologise for the delay between blogs, we meant to do more, but were having too much fun to sit in an internet cafe. I hope none of you were too worried about our lack of contact.

After arriving in Vietnam, thankfully a much easier border crossing than the ordeal at the other end of Cambodia, we were dropped off in the tourist area of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and found ourselves a hotel behind a silk shop. Finding it the second time was a litlte harder as there is more than one silk shop on the same road.

13th we explored Saigon including a trip to the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum, followed by some shopping in the market.

14th we went on a trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, on the way to which we once again bumped into the Hungarian couple we'd met back at the Thai-Cambodia border. The tunnels are a 200km long network of tiny tunnels used by the Viet Cong, only 40km from Saigon. Neil went inside one of the tourist tunnels which is bigger than the ones actually used, Rosie didn't. In the afternoon more shopping was
required as it was someones birthday coming up and presents had to be bought.

15th we went on another tour, this time down the Mekong Delta for 2days. On the first day we learnt how to make coconut sweets and rice crispies and rice paper, all very interesting and the free samples were excellent. We also saw a floating market where each seller hung their produce on a bamboo pole to show their wares. On the second day we went to another floating market and learnt how to make noodles and how to husk rice, no free samples this time. That night, on returning to Saigon we immediately got on a bus bound for Nha Trang.

17th arrived in Nha Trang and slept for most of the day before getting up for a very late breakfast. Explored town a little and booked ourselves on a Party Boat for the next day (Rosie's Birthday).

18th (Rosie's Birthday) we were picked up bright and early for our Party Boat, the look of the other people on the bus and the weather outside didn't give us the impression that this would be the best party ever. Once we got on the boat there were plenty more people, and some who, like us, didn't seem to be prepared for a rainy day. Thankfully the sun soon came out and the beer ( or Vodka in the Russians case) started flowing and by lunchtime the party was in full swing. After lunch the boat band came out and started a world singing session, with the UK's entry being Rosie doing her best Yellow Submarine (their choice not Rosie's) and a rendition of happy birthday. After all of the countries had been exhausted a lone Russian stood up declaring that he was from a "special country" and that he was in fact a Russian Samurai and got up to sing his local song. This was of course after the Vodka had been finished. In the evening we met up with some people from the boat trip and bumped into the Russians again who were still going strong.

19th write off.

20th Still not fully recovered but got up early to go diving nonetheless. We were the only people on a boat made for around 100 people,
but that meant we could hide in the kitchen when the rain started. Diving wasn't great, the visibility was really poor, but it was better to be under the water than on it. In the evening we planned to stay up to watch the Rugby final, a 2am start over here. Unfortunately, due to the early start and the ongoing recovery from Thursday we lasted till about 10pm. We did manage to watch it though after setting alarms to make sure we got up.

21st we lazed about town for most of the day before getting an overnight train to Hoi An.

22nd arrived in Hoi An after an OK train journey, Vietnamese people are much noisier on trains than Indians. We stayed in probably the nicest hotel we have done yet, complete with bathrobes and free toothbrushes and sewing kits. On recommendation from our last hotel so we managed to get a discount, and, because of the building work going on in reception we got plenty of free gifts too. Hoi An is a really nice town to just wander around in, or even sit in a cafe and watch other people wander around (which is what we did most of the afternoon).

23rd we saw the sights of Hoi An which included an old Chinese house, an old Japanese Bridge and a ceramic museum. All very interesting, obviously.

24th Left Hoi An in the morning by bus to Hue, just 4 hours North. Once there we hired bicycles to explore the citidel.

25th We took yet another boat trip, this time to the nearby tombs of not very ancient Emperors. In the evening we took the overnight bus to Hanoi which sounded good because there were beds on the bus where we could fully stretch out and hopefully get a good nights sleep. However, as with the train journey, the Vietnamese seem not to like sleeping whilst travelling, so Vietnamese pop videos were played very loudly until around 12:30. After which we thought we might get some sleep but then at 1am the bus stoped and the music started again. Finally at around 2:30 the music was stopped and this time we would definitely be able to get some sleep. Unfortunately, the driver was obviously not happy with the silence so started toting his horn at everything we passed, and sometimes at nothing, just to keep us on our toes. Around 5:30 the music was back on, probably to wake us up (not that anyone had slept) upon our arrival in Hanoi at 6:30.

26th Found a hotel and slept for a very long time. In the afternoon we went to the Laos embassy to get our Visas, after being told by our hotel manager that they could get it for us cheaper, obviously this was a complete lie. Whilst waiting for the visa Neil got his hair cut after nearly 4 months of growth.

27th Train to Ninh Binh in the morning, from where we hired bikes and went to Tam Coc, which is known as the Halong Bay of the rice paddies. We took a boat ride along the river and took in the landscape.

28th we hired a motorbike for the trip to Cuc Phuong National Park where we went for a short trek to see an ancient tree which was lovely. After this we went to the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre and saw many primates which was also lovely. In the evening we sampled Bia Hoi (literally draught beer) which wasn't bad and at 10p a pint its difficult to complain, especially after you've had a pounds worth.

29th we got a bus and a boat to Cat Ba island in the middle of Halong Bay. We spent the first afternoon in town and relaxing in the sun.

30th (day 100!!!) we spent theday by the beach in British beach weather, a bit cloudy but not too cold. In the evening we went for a few drinks in one of the only bars in town and afterwards a group of us went in search of a nightclub. After discovering that it was shut we sat in a makeshift restaurant and were met by another person who came to join us on his motorbike which he had won for 24 hours in a card game. Determined ot make the most of his prize he decided to show off his motorbike skills by pulling a wheelie. Obviously this went disastrously wrong and he landed on top of the restaurant. Probably funnier if you were there, but a motorbike landing on a restaurant is funny whether you were or not. Thankfully he was fine, but obviously not embarrassed as he then joined us in what was left of the restaurant whilst the owners hastily repaired the damage.

31st we went on a boat trip around Halong bay, we had been hoping to book a 2 day trip, but thankfully, after we saw the weather, they weren't available. After sitting in the rain for a while we decided that the weather could best be described as bleak. The best part of the boat trip was when we were dumped on a beach, told we had 1 hour there to sit in the cold, and were then asked to pay for the privilege. This was by far the worst of our many boat trips.

1st we headed back to Hanoi with the intention of seeing all of its sights before heading to Laos. in the afternoon we wandered around the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex, unfortunately all the museums and the mausoleum itself were closed by the time we got there so had to wait for another day.

2nd this was that day, so in the morning we went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in which there were many lovely exhibits, none of which we particularly understood. The mausoleum itself was still closed as Ho was on a 3 month holiday to Russia. In the afternoon we went to the temple of literature and the Hanoi Hilton. Not the actual Hilton but the prison in which American soldiers were held and were apparently treated so well that this was the nickname it was given. In the evening we started our mammoth journey to Laos which the Lonely Planet says should only be attempted by intrepid travellers. Our first leg was the overnight bus from Hanoi to Vinh, a town about which the Lonely Planet says nothing, despite it being a major town on the route to Laos.

3rd at 4am we arrived in Vinh and found the bus heading to Muong Xien near the Laos border. The advertised price for this bus was 46000 dong, but we were told that unless we paid 100000 dong we would be going nowhere. After a bit of haggling we managed to get the driver down to 90000 and grudgingly paid up. This bus journey was a lot of fun, especially with almost every woman on board throwing up for most of the 7 hours. After reaching Muang Xien we had only 25km to go before reaching the border at Nam Can, so chartered motorbikes to take us up the mountain, this was quite a spectacular journey, but quite cold in sandals. Waited at the border for an hour whilst the officials took their lunch and were then processed. We were lucky to be at the border at the same time as a bus heading in our direction, so hopped on this for the final leg of our journey. After a further 4 hours we arrived in Phonsavan and headed for the guesthouse listed as having a fire. We later discovered that we could have simply caught a bus in Vinh going all the way through to Phonsavan. So after 19 hours travel we still think we did better than getting a direct bus from Hanoi all the way to Vientiane.

Next stop Laos

more soon (we promise)

Neil and Rosie
xx

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Photos

Reunification Palace
Where tanks from North Vietnam stormed the gates to take control of the whole country

War remnants museum
Previously known as the American War Crimes Museum. The name has changed, but the content seems pretty much the same

Cu Chi Tunnels
Tunnels used by the Viet Cong in the war against the US

Eating in Saigon
BBQ Prawn Rice Paper Roll, very nice and very cheap!

Neil Diving
Off the boat on Rosie's birthday (the camera had been with a bottle of frozen water so the lens was a little cloudy)

Scuba Diving
In Nha Trang

Chinese House
In the Garden