After a good night’s sleep we woke refreshed and ready to start our laid back island life . Picture this if you can: A small island out in the South China Sea. No towns or villages or roads or even pathways. A collection of 15 bungalows constructed with raffia walls and thatched rooves, no glass in the windows and no locks on the flimsy doors. A restaurant and bar to serve the temporary residents of the bungalows, most of who visit for a few days to a few weeks, flowing in and out like the tide. A white sand beach, sprinkled with remnants of sun bleached white coral, shelves gently into a pale blue ocean that changes to a deeper blue where the coral reef begins. Days can be spent relaxing in a shady spot ... read more

We have been in the Philippines now for just over a week, we spent a night in Puerto Princessa on Palawan before taking a mini bus up to El Nido in the north. This whole area is renowned for it’s spectacular scenery and marine life. The town of El Nido it’sself is little town mostly set along the seashore and surrounded by towering limestone cliffs. During the daytime the shore is lined with boats coming and going taking visitors to the many offshore islands and local children splashing around in the sea, climbing in and out of the boats and swinging on their outriggers. In the evening the beach comes alive with restaurants set on the narrow strip of sand and live bands entertain you as you dine. Back on the main street there are ... read more

We have been in Hue for 3 days now, it’s midway between Saigon our starting place and Hanoi out last destination. Hue’s main attraction is the Citadel, the imperial city on the northern bank of the Song Huong River. The Emperor’s official functions were carried out in the imperial enclosure. Within the enclosure is the ‘ Forbidden Purple City which was reserved for the private life of the Emperor, the only servants that were allowed in were eunuchs who posed no threat to the royal concubines.Nowadays visitors are welcome. As well as visiting the Citadel we have visited yet more pagodas and temples around the city. The river has attractive banks with ‘Dragon Boats’ taking tourist on a cruise to yet more tombs and temples. We declined the boat touts and strolled along the riverbank instead, ... read more

We arrived in Hoi An just after dawn after taking the sleeping bus from Na Trang. Fortunately there was a man complete with mini bus touting his hotel, as the bus station was a kilometre out of town we took him up on his offer thinking we could always move the next day. As it turned out it's one of the best value ones in town and right at the heart of everything so we're staying put. The main attraction here in Hoi An is the ancient town, it's aUnesco world heritage centre. A river runs through the centre and it's banks are lined with really old traditional wooden houses, restaurants, bars and shops. The Japanese bridge is a 16th century bridge that has become the official landmark of Hoi An.The bridge used to connect what ... read more

We left Dalat around 1pm, the sun was shining in a bright blue sky and despite being cold overnight it was now a lovely temperature around 26 degrees. Soon into the journey to Na Trang, back on the coast, we were climbing steeply. Before reaching the coast there was a whole mountain range to cross. The higher we climbed the more the clouds moved in and the tops of the mountains were swathed in mist. Before long we were in and out of the mist itself driving along steep narrow roads with deep drops to one side. All around us were towering hillsides covered in rainforest bathed in the mist. We had a brilliant coach driver who stopped constantly and waited while everyone piled out to take photographs and of course the odd cigarette break for ... read more