I was in Nam!

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I love Vietnam. Errrr....I love Vietnam. Yeah I do. Love it. 10 hours on the bus from Phnom Penh with Cambodian karaoke being played at full volume did start to grate on us by the end. The only redeeming feature of the bus ride from hell was crossing the Vietnam border where the customs official pronounced "Isaac Paul" as "I-suck-balls". Instantly taken with Saigon we set off on a walk and I ate the most delicious (and incredibly spicy) tacos I've ever had at a Vietnamese-Mexican place in the backpacker area. We then sat and had a drink by one of the busiest roundabouts in Saigon and counted roughly 18,000 bikes in two minutes. That evening we said farewell to Pheap and half of our tour group.

We had a free day before meeting our new guide at 6.00pm that evening, so Will, Jess, Michelle, Amber, Olivia, Isaac and I took the cultural option and went to the waterpark. I don't think health and safety is much of an issue in Vietnam as we all returned with minor injuries. Our new tour guide, Phuong, turned out to be an absolute legend specializing in dirty jokes and Aussie slang. The next evening we had a homestay in a tiny province north of Hanoi. As the night drew on, the owner of the house, who clearly had both a vanity and drinking problem, started singing "local Music" (As was explained by our temporary tourguide, a Vietnamese Sean Connery). Sean explained that the owner enjoyed "Rishe Waaain" (Rice Wine) for breakfast as it made the girls appear "very more beautiful....Yeash". On the way back to Saigon we stopped at the Cu Chui tunnels, on of the areas in the south the Americans could never gain control of. It was certainly an eye opener and the traps and conditions of the tunnels were terrifying.

Overnight train to Nha Trang.

Nha Trang had a beautiful beach and some fairly decent bars to go to in the evening. Our second day in Nha Trang was an excursion to a fishing village, snorkeling area and "private beach" (it was in no way private, reminded me of Hastings on a sunny day). However the seafood lunch was amazing and I managed to stuff myself before roasting in the South-East Asian oven.

Several applications of after sun later and we are back on the overnight train to Hoi An. Instantly we are hit by the comparative luxury of the previous train. This train cabin had more of a prison feel to it, similar to the S21 torture rooms we visited in Phnom Penh. My mattress was tastefully decorated in mold and the bed sheet appeared to be a replica of the Turin Shroud. At 5am we were called out of bed and told to start getting ready to get off the train. Isaac responded by farting directly in Olivia's face....twice. Despite the rain and gloom Hoi An is probably our favourite town in Vietnam. It's layed back, friendly and generally less touristy than the other parts we visited and the beach, a couple of miles out of town, is really nice (although the Aussie's disagree. "Nothing like Australia..blah blah...blah.."). So we hired a bike and scooted round town and to the beach and so on for a few days. Found some nice bars with good pool and the riverfront was amazing at night.

We've got very good at pool, and even better at avoiding writing these blogs......Vietnam part two coming soooooon. x

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