So Far...

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When we arrived in Vietnam after the eight hour flight it was absolutely pouring down with rain. For some stupid reason it didn't click that it was the monsoon season. So we got pretty much soaked, bargained our way to a cheap taxi ride to our hotel and went to get some dinner. There's this food called pho which is rice noodle soup- very basic but really, really good. Anyway, it's everywhere here. The people seem to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The next day we checked out some of the main sights in Ho Chi Mihn- the War Memorial Museum which was really sad, devestating, depressing almost, Reunification Palace- where the President lives and a whole heap of historical stuff happened, Notre Dame Cathedral and Diamond Plaza. We wandered around the streets and found some great traditional Vietnamese style markets, mostly selling food. There is this other market too called Bin Than Market and it is absolutely huge. It sells every single thing you can imagine!

We did a day tour up the Mekong Delta which is the second longest river in the world- I think. Mostly we went by boat, horse and carriage and also traditional little Vietnamese rowing boats through the islands and natural canals. Checked out a lolly factory too which was good. And tried all these different foods. The cuisine here is amazing! It's so different to back at home. It's healthy- everyone over here is tiny. I think I've only seen a few overweight people so far. Lots of rice, rice noodles, herbs, meat, coconut- that sort of thing. We tried avocado juice which was suprisingly good, tapioca tea, lots of different tropical fruits- that sort of thing.

After Ho Chi Minh we took a five hour bus trip up the south-east coast to a little coastal town called Mui Ne which is good because despite it's beauty, it's still not completely run over by tourists. It's just about 10km of coast line. We stayed in a cute little hut right on the beach for $4 US each a night- maybe $5 Australian. It was pretty basic but the location was amazing. We spent our time there relaxing on the beach, getting massages on the beach, going for walks, swimming. We hired push bikes and went for rides around the village. The next day I went to hire a motor bike (which, by the way, are absoultely everywhere in Vietnam- there are literally millions of them!). I crashed it though and came out with these massive, dark bruises all over my legs. I tried again the next day though- on an automatic this time, and had so, so much fun with it!

We also did a day tour from Mui Ne which took us to a fishing village which was covered with tradional, colourful Vietnamese fishing boats and kids running around everywhere. Then we went to the White Sand Dunes which are massive. They stretch as far as you can see. We had heaps of fun there- these little kids followed us with sandboards and we went head first down the most steep, long slopes we could find!

After that, we headed back to the city to catch our flight to Paris.

We didn't have long in Paris, probably about five hours. But we made the most of it. First we went to the Louvre. It was so much better than I'd imagined. Everything about it was grand. High ceilings, white marble walls and gold fittings. The art work was amazing too. Saw Mona Lisa and some of Michelangelo's work which was particularly interesting. After the Louvre we walked to the Arc de Triumphe, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Then back to the airport.

We were so tired when we finally arrived in London so we pretty much just went back to Marika's friend, Aaron's, where we were staying and fell asleep.

In London so far we've checked out the London Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster and Westminster Abbey, China Town, Soho, Harrods, Camden Markets which I loved, The Britsh National Museum (sounds boring but it's incredible- saw Cleopatra's mummy) and a whole heap of places off the Monopoly board- Leister Square, Trafalgar Square, Fleet Street, Mayfair, Park Lane, Angel Islington, Euston Street, The Strand, Oxford Street which has the best shopping you can imagine! Georgia has gone down to visit another friend in Surry so I took the bus to Bath which is renowned for it's architecture. It's such a beautiful town- really old fashioned and surrounded by country side just like that off The Bill. Appart from that you can't really describe it. I saw the roman baths too which date back to thousands of years BC. Appart from that, we've been hanging out, meeting heaps of new and exciting people, drinking- I swear people drink so much, so often over here.

We've had a few problems, minor ones, a bit of heat stroke, lost bank cards, a bit of sunburn- it was so hot in Vietnam! Appart from that things are going really well. I'm having a great time. Missing people at home of course, but not enough to let it get in the way of all the adventures!

I'm staying with my cousin Casey at the moment and have just booked the ferry and bus over to Brussels in Belgium where we plan to spend a few days before heading to Amsterdam! Looking forward to it.

Anyway, just thought I should write becuase it was got pretty annoying writing the same thing in emails to lots of different people.

Lots of love to all xoxo

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