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Published: April 24th 2011
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Hello hello!
Welcome to another early morning update while Heather is sleeping (I am managing to get up at 7 now, not 6.... hurray?)
So we had just arrived in Nha Trang at the last update, the second day there we had booked onto a snorkeling trip which started early (by heather's standards), when we got picked up we found out there were only us and 3 others on the whole boat, which was sweet! We got taken to a protected dive site and the fish and coral were amazing (shame i don't have an underwater camera to show you guys). Having finished the first site we had a lovely lunch on the boat and got talking to the other people on our tour, one couple from Australia and a solo 50something guy from New Zealand (I hope I can live the dream and go travelling when I am his age!) We then moved onto the other site which wasn't quit as impressive as the first but still saw some really colourful fish. On our way back to shore we stopped at a floating village where they breed fish, we had a little ride in a bamboo raft which
our guide insisted would be great fun.... it wasn't, but it was overly expensive so I guess that's all that matters, ho ho. In all we had a great day and the trip was great value for money, great success!
That evening we went and had a brilliant meal at a Vietnamese place which donates all profits to local projects (see photo of our meal). The next day my mate from uni, Dave arrived along with his girlfriend Sarah and two other guys they have met along the way, Harry and Shaun (or Sean?!). We chilled out on the lovely beach (see pic) and had a good catch up over lunch. In the evening they went to eat at a place we went to on the first night so Heather and I went to somewhere else, we found a Texas rib shack and I instantly wanted some slow cooked ribs, this guy imported all of his meat from the US and had built a custom smoker in which he cooks his ribs for at least 5 hours, they were amazing! I do love having the local food but sometimes you need a break! After dinner we met up with
Dave and the gang and went out drinking, after lots of cheap drinks we made our way to a posh beach front bar which was rammed full of people partying on the beach, we chilled there for a bit then heather brought me home because I was too drunk (poor effort I know).
The next day Heather woke up feeling pretty ill, not sure what it was (blatantly the booze), but we soldiered on and checked out of our room and made for the beach. We met up with the guys again and said goodbye (we hope to meet again in Koh Tao for some diving and then for full moon), and got on our bus to Hoi An. The 11 hour journey went smoothly and I managed to sleep quite well.
So, Hoi An, a lovely little town with a quaint feel to it. I wanted to get a suit made for my new job and headed for a place that was recommended online, having chosen the fabrics I got measured up and we went to explore the rest of the town. Whilst browsing, heather saw a dress she really liked and decided to get that made
too. We had a lovely riverside lunch and sorted out travel arrangements to Hanoi. I then went back for my first fitting, the suit was amazing! it fitted so well and was excellent quality, I had to have the cuffs altered and I wanted the collars on the shirts I had done changed slightly also. We then went to Heathers shop and tried on her dress, it too looked brilliant but she wanted it shorter and tighter (standard). Heather went to get her nails done and whilst there we spoke to an Aussie woman who recommended a tiny family run eatery in a quiet spot, we took the advice and were glad we did, on arriving there were 3 polish people also eating who said the food was amazing, having finished our meal we could not agree more it was fantastic, all for about 1pound a dish!
The next day we went to pick up our finished pieces which we are both really happy with, we have mailed home: a suit, 2 shirts, a tie with cuff links, a dress and a lantern all for the price of about 130quid bargain! (if they arrive). The rest of the day
was spent at the nearby beach which had really soft sand and huge waves to go and play in which was really fun. We then needed to go for dinner, we decided to go back to the same place again because it was so good and so much cheaper than elsewhere in town, funnily enough the other polish people were also back. We had another great meal and soaked up the atmosphere of the town before heading to bed.
Today we head for Hanoi, this consists of a 4 hour bus to Hue and then a 14 hour sleeper bus to Hanoi, a bloody long way! We looked at other options though and the bus is just so much cheaper it doesn't make much sense to fly or train it. We will then book at trip to see Ha long bay and then we fly out of Hanoi next Saturday (30th of April) destined for Bangkok where we will catch a connecting train up north to Chiang Mai!
Talk soon
James (and sleeping beauty)
x
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anonymous
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Hey , just to say hello and enjoy your trip and stay safe. Dilhani xx