The 5 hour long bus trip to Hue was relatively painless and we checked into a nice family run guesthouse (where the owner brought me a portable tv just so that I could watch the footy). Hue is a really pretty and relaxing city situated astride a river and with loads of trees everywhere. However, even with the breeze from the river and shade from the trees it was still horrendously hot which made exploring somewhat tiring. On our first full day we wandered around the central part of the city inside the city-walls which is known as the citadel. Within [View Full Entry]

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The overnight bus to Hoi An was a nightmare - another 11 hour trip with no sleep whatsoever. Luckily though, our open bus ticket came complete with a free one night stay at a hotel where we were dropped off. This was really good for two reasons: 1) we didn't have to bother lugging our bags around looking for a place to stay at 6am 2) The hotel was really swanky (a free $15 room included in a $22 bus journey spanning the length of the country!) and definitely the nicest hotel I've stayed in. Hoi An is a nice little [View Full Entry]

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Luckily the mode of transport down to the coast was more comfortable than on the way up and we arrived at Nha Trang by early afternoon and checked into a guesthouse complete with air-con, sky tv and minifridge - pretty luxurious compared to most places we've stayed at so far. Nha Trang is a pretty busy and extremely commercialised beach resort which is popular with both foreign and Vietnamese tourists, but does have a really nice beach which is where I spent most of the first full day in the town. Although popular, the beach is long enough so that it's [View Full Entry]

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The journey up into the mountains of central Vietnam was a painfully slow one in a tiny and unbelievably uncomfortable minibus. However, the stunning views as we ascended through the clouds made it bearable. Climate-wise, Da Lat felt like a completely different country. It's several degrees cooler than the lower ground, and far more humid and gets regular rain. The locals were all wearing their warmest winter coats and bobble hats- much more like home! Our first task upon arrival was to get ourselves a room - the problem was that, as it was a Vietnamese holiday, half of the country [View Full Entry]

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First impressions of Mui Ne weren't great - we got settled into a guesthouse near to where the bus dropped us off and headed out to get some food shortly later. The problem was that the nearby restaurants didn't seem to have any food. Pretty much everything we ordered was "finished" and what we finally got wasn't great. The following morning we hit the beach which seemed nice at first, but I soon discovered that if you strayed more than a 10m either side of the area right outside the guesthouse the beach was coverred in debris (including a dog's skull). [View Full Entry]

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We arrived right in the middle of the backpacker area of Saigon (as the locals still refer to it) in the early evening giving us enough time to check into a guesthouse and get some food before getting some much-needed sleep. The Pham Ngu Lao area (still no idea how you say it!) is definitely geared up to tourists - plenty of western food and crafts shops - but has it's fair share of locals enjoying the cheap beer so it's a pretty nice atmosphere. On our first full day here we decided to visit the War Crimes Museum which is [View Full Entry]

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Our two day tour of the Mekong delta started in fairly uninspiring fashion. First of all we stopped at a fish farm (see what I mean). There are many people who live in floating houses on the Mekong delta, and underneath the houses they farm fish. That's about it. Next stop wasn't far away at Cham minority village, home to a self-sufficient community of relocated Malaysians who survive by fishing (including during the three months of flooding a year when they live in their boats) and by selling the silk they weave. One of the main selling points of the tour [View Full Entry]

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The journey to Vietnam was a fairly pleasant and suprisingly organised one. The decision to travel by slow-boat to Chau Doc in the Mekong delta, as opposed to a bus straight to Ho Chi Minh, was justified by a pretty pleasant and comfortable journey with nice views along the Mekong. Having already arranged our Visas the border crossing was straightforward and our guide didn't run off without us which makes a nice change. Chau Doc itself is a pleasant, albeit quiet, little border town with little of note apart from a colourful and busy market selling locally caught fish as well [View Full Entry]

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Luckily, despite the ongoing rain, the roads survived and so did our bus (I didn't like the idea of waiting 4 hours in the rain this time). Our first step was to fight our way through the frighteningly persistent moto/tuk-tuk drivers who attacked the bus before it had even stopped and who wouldn't take "no" for an answer until I shouted it at them. Although somewhat damper than we had left it, it was nice to get back to familiar surroundings of Phnom Penh and we made our way back to the same guesthouse we had used before. Luckily, the city [View Full Entry]

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For a pleasant change the bus journey South to Sihanoukville was straightforward and uneventful. We were slightly peterbed to discover, however, that Sihanoukville doesn't have and tuk-tuks, and that travel is only by motorbike (or "moto" at the locals call them). This wouldn't normally be a problem, however it's not quite so comfortable when you include a rucksack and take into account the locals driving! We headed to the West beach of the headland which is the main traveller area (i.e. where the cheap accommodation is). For the first night we stayed in a bungalow not far from the beach [View Full Entry]

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