JmIntouch33

Geo: 12.2452, 109.199Pleased to say that we woke this morning without growing an exoskeleton and although we had a few little skittles around the bedroom sideways we were soon walking straight again after a night of over indulgence with seafood.In fact, despite declaring I would never eat again, I was making a straight line for breakfast. We are on a mission here at the beautiful Amiana - certainly the resort with the largest buffet arrangement of breakfast in any city - 6 massive food islands to conquer and each one has so many food stations to discover.We had no trouble settling into the relaxed pace of the day, with ease. We had planned absolutely nothing and Nha Trang turned on the weather to make this possible. The early morning mist did hang heavy and low over ... read more

Geo: 12.2452, 109.199It was so easy packing up this morning with the advantage of carefully folded clothing and the luxury of the extra room in the Kipling monkey bag. Final goodbyes with Twee, a dash to the shoe shop (they are amazing) and we were all set for the 11 am meeting with Huan for the 45 minute transfer to Danang airport and the short flight to Nha Trang.Huan saw us safely through the checkin procedure but there was no emotional farewell here. Think he was glad to see the back of his "happy Buddha" clients (sorry LO_RI, not suggesting you are in Buddha class) and was heading out with redoubled efforts for his bike ride, road run and swim. We did have a phone call from Trails of Indochina to get a "happiness rating" from ... read more

Geo: 15.875, 108.336Another day hard at work from our Hoi An base. We have survived the salt infused lunch and after another hearty breakfast supervised by Twee we were met by Huan for our transfer and introduction to the entrepreneurial Tan, the hard working Jack and a spot of fishing and crabbing.This morning's water buffalo ride was with the well credentialed Jack - apparently a local stud with many a hard working son and daughter in his lineage. Coupled the 8 seater cart to Jack and then dominated the road as we took on all comers in the traffic stakes and can I say with the impressive natural bull bar set that Jack had, we were unchallenged and unrivalled winners. Any part of the road was ours.Ever eager to show off his fitness and stamina, Huan ... read more

Geo: 15.875, 108.336OK, have to admit, the hours just disappeared under the wheels of the van which was carefully navigated by Mr Song our driver. At one stage I thought that either Mac or Richard was going to tell him to get the lead out. We literally crawled up the incredible Hai Van Pass. But it was appreciated because we had no motion sickness from any traveller and we got to see all the sights.The first four hours were a back track to Hue and after the relative quiet of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Highway 51 we did join the madness of Highway 1. And as predicted we managed to catch a few traffic snarls and took on lorries and buses and road work equipment head onActually were able to pick out some of ... read more

Geo: 15.12, 108.81A little road trip today of 5 hours and one toilet stop saw us climb from Hue through magnificent pristine jungle to the national park of Phong Nha-Ke Bang.We had thought it was going be an easy drive and could turn off the senses. But if "you snooze you lose." This was a constantly changing landscape as we ventured back into limestone karst territory. Rivers and bridges by the dozens, with each waterway becoming more emerald green. The rice paddies were replaced with watermelon, papaya, corn, pineapples, taro, peanuts and pepper. And the trees transitioned from forest to the verdant green of the tropical jungle. It was too good to miss for about 4 hours.Then we distracted ourselves from the numb bum of the seats with a team effort on a Crossword. Loraine, after ... read more