norman328

Dalat was a brief, one-night stopover on our way to Saigon from Nha Trang, reached after a four hour bus ride up an incredibly twisty road. The main objective was to see a little bit of the apparently quirky town, and sample some of the local mountain biking trails. And quirky it was. Dalat was probably the most unusual place we visited, I can only describe it as an odd cross between a run-down alpine resort and a counterfeit Disneyland. Grand, French-built houses were dotted about in the surrounds of the large, man made lake just outside of Dalat's centre, a TV aerial made to look like the Eiffel Tower looms in the distance, and kitschy touches like the 'Valley of Love' - a romance orientated theme park - are in abundance. It's also much cooler ... read more

The next day we figured we were due a little R&R, so took a short taxi ride to An Bang beach. It's a beautiful, secluded beach that looks like something off the front of a postcard. We didn't do much else that day other than head into town in the evening to grab a bite to eat. Deciding to sample something else from Hoi An's very international palette, we went to what is said to be the best Indian restaurant in town. Sadly without air conditioning in that temperature, the restaurant was so hot it made me feel a little ill, so we switched to a takeaway and ate back in our delightfully cool hotel room. After checking out of Thanh Van 2 the next morning, we boarded a bus heading for a tour of the ... read more

I was looking forward to awaking to what I'd been told would a spectacular coastal view as the train trundled at as leisurely 30-40mph towards Danang. It turned out, however, that our enjoyment of the remaining part of the journey would be dampened by yet more illness. Rach succumbed first, closely followed by me. The worst part, though, was having to use the unbelievably grim squat toilet in our carriage, with its urine-soaked floor. Having to use the thing while I was in that condition was possibly one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. The parting words of Kurtz from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - or more appropriately from the Vietnam-based film adaptation Apocalypse Now - rang in my head. The Horror, The Horror... The train finally pulled in to Danang, where we ... read more

It had to be something we'd eaten. Not long after calling it a night, we both started to feel a bit ill, and our worst fears were realised as we began fighting for the bathroom to violently expel the contents of our stomachs. It was one of the worst nights of my life, and I couldn't believe our trip had taken such a disastrous turn so soon. Rach was worse off by some margin, and there was even talk of how we could throw in the towel and fly home early, though it quickly occurred to us that a 10 hour flight in our condition wasn't the best idea. Carrying on wasn't the most attractive option either. On most other holidays you'd have the option of recovering from such an unfortunate ailment in your hotel, but ... read more

After awaking early in the afternoon, we stumbled out of the hotel, surveying the chaotic streets of Hanoi with our bleary eyes. Upon the hotel's recommendation we headed down the road to a very basic establishment for lunch. It served only one dish, Pho, a traditional Vietnamese dish consisting of noodles, beef, broth and herbs. A small group of women squatted on tiny plastic chairs partially in the street as they made the dish, cooking it over a small fire. It was surprisingly tasty for such a simple dish, though I wasn't keen on the presence of lemon grass. After eating our Pho, we had our first experience of crossing the road in Vietnam's hectic capital. There's no point in waiting for a clearing in the traffic, as you'd be waiting all day. Instead, we took ... read more