Our day in paradise started with a quick shuttle bus and moto-taxi for some down to the harbour to get on our private boat. Bit of jostling for position on the top deck but everyone eventually got a decent sunbathing spot. After a while we stopped to go into some caves, they were pretty impressive though not many of the photos make it look that way!! There were lots of shapes made by the rocks that looked like animals and things but i wouldn't say we spotted many of them!! Back onto the boat for a short trip and then we [View Full Entry]

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Another overnight train, our longest yet- and a massive pigs championship commenced in Gary and Carolyn's cabin.. not too much drinking and mischief..just some light refreshments and attempts to sleep! We arrived in Hanoi after a long journey and had a little nap before a little walking tour around the town. The streets are very odd, each street or section for streets is dedicated to a certain craft, so there was a street for paper and paper products, sweet street, wood and carvings, even random things like paint and lino had their own little section. I suppose it makes shopping a [View Full Entry]

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A fairly early start we walked down to the Perfume river to start our day trip on a Drgaon Boat. The boat itself was huge, though there are smaller ones you can go on. It is like a big square house on two boats, but it is painted and decorated really brightly though a bit tired and old looking now! We went at a leisurely pace to sevral tombs and temples, through a fishing farm and waved at about 50 boats of people! The perfume river was much cleaner looking than the Mekong but didn't smell particularly nice so i'm not [View Full Entry]

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On to another little bus, and off on a 4 hour journey to our next destination. We stopped off for lunch at a beautifulun-spoilt beach for lunch and admired the view and the sunshine! We arrived in Hue around 4pm and relaxed before we had to venture out into i think what is known as a monsoon!! we ended up wading in knee-deep water to get to our restaurant.. and our 'Royal Banquet' (complete with costumes!) We all dressed up in traditional gear, and Gary and Carolyn were elected King and Queen and we had an 8 course meal whilst being [View Full Entry]

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A great trip to fill our morning!! We hired Mopeds with some of our group and headed off on the 40min ride out to a huge mountain called marble mountain which is pretty self explanatory. It was a warm drive but if you kept your speed up you managed to stay cool in the breeze. Once we arrived we took some time to look around at the marble carvings made at the base of the mountain, there were some HUGE ones-of course we would have bought one for all of you but we couldn't choose and we figured you might not [View Full Entry]

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So after a crazy night out at a local beach resort, woke up feeling less than human. After the normal hangover would have worn off i was still feeling pretty dodgy and after attempting a swim and a moped into town to pick up our purchases i spent the rest of the day in bed whilst matt amused himself with the moped driving around and exploring the town. Lot's of Harry Potter and DS to keep me occupied but still felt a bit wobbly for a few days! [View Full Entry]

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Today we kicked things off with a walking tour and lunch in Hoi An, had a look around old town and then went to the shoe-makers and taliors to see what we fancied. Matt got measured for a suit and i had some trousers and sandals. The people here and in Nha Trang are much friendlier than the people in the city, maybe to do with the fact they want you to buy stuff but still generally the atmosphere is a bit nicer! The hotel we are at has a little pool out the back which is great as the beach [View Full Entry]

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Just a short entry, we spent a chilled day on the very pretty beach just relaxing and playing football with some locals! the sea once again was lovely and warm! We opted for a 3 quid 60 min massage on the beach which after a chilled previous day just completely chilled us out-hard life!! After checking out and showering we headed off for another night train-thinking we were old hands at it by now but opting to sleep rather than misbehave! Hoever Mr-train driver had other ideas and his unhealthy relationship with the brakes plus a rickety track made sleep quite [View Full Entry]

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First things first, back to bed after very little sleep on the night train! After a few hours catching up we got ready and took a trip to see the Cham Towers nearby, it is a shrine temple to Lakshmi (sorry for spelling! and do correct me if i'm wrong but i think she is the goddess of beauty?!) We saw some amazing views of the coast from the top and took some arty photos of flowers and things!! After we had spent a while there, we headed down to the local mud baths and mineral spa for some much-needed relaxation!! [View Full Entry]

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Day 14 (i think) and we started with a mooch around the town, killing time after check-out. we went to the big indoor market and wandered around so matt could practise his bargaining skills some more-getting bargains for a few of the girls we were with! he's very skilled now!! We went and had a huge lunch in anticipation of the Night train later on and then went to stock up on snacks for the trip. I have to say, sitting outside the supermarket during rush hour in Vietnam is quite an experience, it is ridiculously busy,noisy and i am shocked [View Full Entry]

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