Vang Vieng 2nd May We arrived in the gorgeous riverside 'town' called Vang Vieng around 5.30pm after a 4 hour bus ride from Vientiane. Very scenic along the way - and quite quick as far as bus trips go for us lately, so that was a bonus! Vang Vieng is well known on the backpacker trail for it's beautiful river setting with karsts surrounding it, and 'tubing' down the river. There are a heap of riverside 'bars' set up along the banks of the river where they pull you and you tube in with a long bamboo pole so you can have a beer, or two, or three and swing of the massive swings of flying foxes they have set up over the river before letting go and landing in the river. Then, you continue ... read more

We arrived in Hanoi and found a place to stay just before the rains came down. It was a lot cooler here than the rest of Vietnam, which was a relief - but I would rather have avoided the rain! That's what happens when you are travelling in the rainy season, I suppose... We were staying in the middle of the Old Quarter at a place called Hanoi Guesthouse. Hanoi is a real hub-bub of lovely old buildings with French-looking upper parts whilst underneath is a mixture of homes and shops. Different streets specialise in particular things - there's a street where you can get glasses made, another sells bamboo, another sells coffins, whilst another sells sweet potatoes! Other streets you can take your pick from, sell clothes, shoes, books, toys, fresh food, hardware, herbal ... read more

After Mui Ne, we jumped on another bus to take us to Nha Trang, another beach area 5 or 6 hours up north. The bus was great - only about a third full, so plenty of room. We arrived in Nha Trang late afternoon and found the place we had picked from the lonely planet called 'Seaview Hotel'. We had mainly picked it as it was in our budget ($15) and had a pool. What we didn't expect was for the pool to be inside! Not quite what we had expected, but oh well. We had decided that for dinner we would have some of the giant BBQ prawns (about 15cm long - yum!) that were popular around here. Just as we were about to go, I started to feel very off colour. After laying down ... read more

Wednesday 11th April Had a lazy day today after our bad day yesterday. We made the decision to spend 2 nights here as we really like the feel of the town. Can Tho is very quiet compared to Saigon and has a very calm feel about it. It is pretty much in the middle of the Mekong Delta and is based upon a large river. We booked a Mekong Delta tour on a small private boat for the next day and planned to spend today doing pretty much nothing. We went to the tourist office to book our bus for the next afternoon (after our mekong trip) and also to enquire about how we get to the Can Tho Waterpark - we are obviously enjoying Vietnams waterparks! When we were there, we met an american couple ... read more

Sunday 8th April Up extremely early today (4.30am) to catch a one hour flight to the island of Phu Quoc in the very south of Vietnam (actually below Cambodia but belonging to Vietnam). This was a place that was an absolute must on our itinerary as it was meant to have beautiful beaches with 'crystal clear water'. The photos I had seen of it prior to leaving OZ had left me breathless and looked like absolute paradise. We arrived in the morning to find it pretty overcast. It had apparently rained heavily that night which was unusual for the time of year. After getting our bags, we made our way through the touts, and started walking into town. We have a pet hate of touts, especially motor bike ones as they nearly all try to rip ... read more