Saturday 1st November - After an hour delay sitting outside our old hotel waiting for the correct bus to turn up we were on pur way to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We didn't arrive until gone 7pm because of the delay. We are only really here to get our visas for Cambodia sorted and book a bus to the border. As we arrived so late we were forced to book into a hotel for 2 nights. Immediately i preferred Saigon to Hanoi as although it's just as busy, the streets are wider, cleaner and everyone is a lot less fussy and seem to mind their own business. I spent the first evening tucked away in my air conditioned room watching english football. That's what Saturdays are for. Sunday 2nd November - Found out this morning ... read more

Monday 27th October - Arrived in Nha Trang at 5.30am after another dodgy journey. The bus would speed through as fast as possible despite the roads being covered in potholes. At about 5.15am we reached the coast as we entered Nha Trang. There was the most fantastic sunrise over the sea and the nearby islands but as my bed was in the middle of the bus i couldn't get a good picture. We aim to stay here two nights but if it rains then there will be little point as all the tours are beach based. After a nap for a couple of hours we headed to the beach. Despite it being overcast it was great as there were no sunbathers clogging up the sand and we pretty much had it to ourselves. You can see ... read more

Our overnight bus left Hanoi at 7pm and would arrive in Hue at about 8am the next day. It's supposed to be a sleeper bus but they do everything to encourage you to stay awake for the whole night. Firstly, the beds are great, if you are Vietnamese and therefore only 5 feet tall. They are also great if you like to sleep at a strange angle - half laying down, half sitting up. When we got on the coach we were forced to watch some sort of Vietnamese Variety Performance at full volume. Naturally, my bed was directly under a speaker. This finally finished at 11pm so i tried to drift off. But then throughout the night, we'd make a couple of pit stops where all the lights are put on. Then at 5.30am the ... read more

Day 46 - Thursday 16th October - We were awoken at 2am by the staff on the train to be told we were at our stop. Very tired, but luckily it was only a few minutes walk to our hostel - Lotusland. It was then our turn to wake the staff there, but they were very friendly. For some reason i couldn't sleep so just lay in my bed until about 5am that morning. Got up early though and went for my usual wander on my own to check the place out. There is very little tourism in Nanning, but it's another friendly city. Once everyone was up we went on our usual mission to find some edible food so headed to a Wal-Mart. We met Wilf in the hostel so he joined us. I was ... read more

Day 41 (cont.) - We left our hostel in Shanghai at about 3.30pm. The cab driver who took us to the station was ridiculous. He'd just use his horn constantly, half the time there would be nobody in the way. I think it's just a hobby for them out here, it doesn't really seem to serve any purpose. Still, he got us to the station in one piece (just about). We had a bit of a wait for the train so after buying some supplies (blueberry flavour and cucumber flavour crisps!!!!) we sat and waited. People just turned round and stared at us. I guess this is what it feels like to be famous, but without the money or women. It makes you feel like you have to perform, i just wished i could juggle or ... read more