Good Morning Vietnam!

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It's been a while since we last updated our blog, but we've been so busy soaking up the delights of Vietnam!

We flew from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh and spent a few days exploring the city. This southern capital is rapidly being transformed into a southeast Asian western style city. The city moves at breakneck pace, faster than Hanoi! We knew it was time to move on when we got caught in the middle of a huge tropical storm that turned the streets to rivers. We thought the storm would pass pretty quickly but after 20 mins standing in a phone box watching the water rise above our feet with the thunder and lightning getting closer, it was time to run/swim for a cab!

From there we braved a night bus North East to the coastal town of Nha Trang for a bit of r&r. We chilled out on the white sands for a few days to build up a bit of base tan and took advantage of the cheap beer! We hired a boat out to the surrounding islands to do a bit of SCUBA diving and where Martin completed his PADI. We saw some interesting stuff, but not the best dive site in the world - I'm sure we'll see better on our travels!

From there we travelled south via Ho Chi Minh again, including a visit to the Chu Chi Tunnels famed for the Viet Cong resistance during the war. We went into one of the larger tunnels and they're not designed for our Western frames - crawling along in a pitch black, cramped, hot tunnel was a pretty scary experience.

The last part of our Vietnam tour was to continue south to the Mekong Delta, where we spent a couple of days exploring the river ways and local life. We left Vietnam, crossing into Cambodia, via a slow boat up the Mekong. The border crossing went suprisingly smoothly and we had a warm welcome from the Cambodian children from the banks of the Mekong. From the boat we made an interesting journey to Phnom Penh.

Further Cambodian update to follow shortly!

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Photos

The Cu Chi Tunnels
The claustrophobic, narrow tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the American War

In one of the larger tunnels
Apparently this tunnel has been made wider to accommodate the larger western frame! It was so dark and hot, we can't believe that the Viet Cong managed to survive underground for months at a time without surfacing.

Messing around on the river
... taking a trip around the Mekong Delta