Vietnarrrghhhhhh!

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Xin chao from Vietnam!

It's been quite a while I know, but quite alot has been happening I can asure you.

At times it looks like I've just landed on the set of Jurassic Park, the landscape is unbelievable!! Compared to Thailand It really feels like I'm 'travelling' here rather than on holiday, however as I'll explain the difference between the Thai's as people and the Vietnamese is massive and is the sole reason why I probably won't return.

The country is still kind of 'divided' after the recent wars and therefore has two capitals, Ho Chi Minh, named after their legendary revolutionary and Hanoi, which is where we started our trip in the North. The people on the streets, women walking around in their pyjamas, men excercising in the park (spinning helecopters becoming dizzy and tw*tting a shin on a bench) busy markets and mental roads where the horn once again replaces any kind of indicators, lights or driving sensibility reminds me of India. There's a lot less poverty but it's almost as old skool, minus a few horse and cars.

We spent a few days on Cat Ba Island avoiding the famous Halong Bay (as this has now become too touristy) Cat Ba Island looks like the set of Avatar, where the rocks are all floating in the sky, replace the sky with the water and It's close. We took a kayaking trip, swam with (near) jellyfish, visited the floating villages, where people live on big floating raft like shelters & farm fish in big enclosures. We visited the Monkey Island and were lucky enough to see a few. I was a little worried to hear that other tour guides had handed out big bits of wood to beat off the monkeys if they attacked (We had nothing! I did sh*t myself when won little one ran at me with his teeth poised!! I didn't fancy a trip to the local hospital for a rabies shot in my arse, so I legged it like a little girl, much to the pleasure of the many onlooking tourists)

We've slowly headed south via Ninh Binh. During this time travelling we had our travel wallet stolen from a tour operators desk and a few hundred quid stolen, we had one of our bags swiped and some money stolen from it,during a coach swap over where half the passengers got onto another bus heading north, the bus conductors threw ALL the bags including ours onto the other bus, stressful and suprised to have it back, I think we were lucky to only have a few Indian Rupees and a fiver missing. We also had a card stolen and money taken from the account.

The people in Vietnam rarely smile at us and come across very rude and at times it's quite hostile here. I think it's down to the recent wars with the French and Americans largely involved and they take one look at us and judge. Before I came away travelling I imagined meeting lots of cool people, different cultures, hot weather, amazing landscapes, wildlife, DRINKING, exaustion and a spot of bartering here and there. Vietnam has had all of this and even though the people aren't that nice and the foods not great (Eel porridge for breakfast?!) I can't whole heartedly say I dislike the country, I just wish perhaps the country liked me a little more.

Face Face (who is now answering to 'biscuit') and I have spent the last week or so with my old friend & sunburm extraordinare Travis Holland and his girlfriend Paula. We all went to school together and it's been nice to mix it up a little bit with old faces. We've just spent a couple of days in Dalat. It's right up in the mountains and the heat gets to about 25 degrees tops. So it's like a hot English summers day and it means we had a couple of days dry!! No sweat!! Face Face has even donned her raincoat in the evenings to stay warm.

The buses are the best way to get around Vietnam and at the same time the worst, Imagine a plane landing, it's a bumpy one and people are making 'ooooh, oooow' slight panic with heads in laps, well thats what it's like on the roads here, we did a 17 hour trip and It was horrible, sleeper bus with broken air conditioning, toilet overflowing, good morning Vietnam!

I've actually been writing this over the past week or so saving as I'm going along. So I'm in Cambodia, we took the bus this morning and It took 7 hours, it's mad how you cross the border and your living a completely different culture. I still haven't found a cafe that has a memory card reader so no photo's yet, but add me on facebook and you can see ALL my photos plus the mass upload to come aswell as officially becoming 'friends'.

I'll be back soon with Cambodisms soon as I'm only here for 10 days or so before I get to toast my buns in the south of Thailand. Speak soon and PLEASE give me some gossip from back home, Camerons in charge now thats all I got, how borning.

Lots of Love.

Smelliott. x

PS. Camerons in charge hahahahahahahahaaaaa

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