Dalet here, saying xin chao Up early in Da Lat, this frenchy-feeling village out of the coast. It's cold here - by which i mean I can wear trousers. I went out with the aforementioned easy-riders today. Mine was a bloke called "Windy". He had no flatulence (sp) trouble as far as I could see/smell so the name apparantly came from his speed. That was not the case, but his ability to receive a phone call up a windy mountain road was impressive - negotiating mental drivers (and mental driving) one handed in perilous circs. Have to praise the easy-riders though - it was great to see the Vietnam highlands countryside from the back of a cruising motorbike - some beautiful landscapes and a great way to see Vietnam unseen by us stinking westerners! With these ... read more

I bought a camera! In the words of Del Boy: no income tax no VAT no money-back no guarantee. I did get a warantee for this Canon Ixus 65 but they don't really have a concept of refund over here! With some western-style bartering (that throws them over here) I knocked they sales lady down to 1 600 000 Vietnam Dong (that's about £50 to you and me) the focussing was a bit dodgy and the battery cover was a bit shifty, i think it's been knocked off from somewhere, but it takes pics, so at least I'll have some! So I made it to two tourist hot-spots: the tunnels at Cu Chi and the War Remnents Museum. At the tunnels I discovered a type of fruit called Deorian (sp). If anyone ever offers you one, ... read more

Hi all Arrived in Saigon after four hour extension to my 6 hour night bus ride (that's Khmer time for you!) Took me long time to find place but eventually found Lizzie Assman from the beeb (apparantly her joker father named her brother Richard... you work it out!) Knackered as I was, but please to arrive in a nice air-conned room, I took my clothes to the lundry as I'd run out. In Cambodia I was desperately over budget, but in Vietnam everything costs a lot more! It's a communist country, but you wouldn't know it! Saigon is bustling, advertising of big international names is on every street, export/import is flowing and there is market competition at the lowest levels here - not like Cambodia where everyone sells the same stuff for the same price! After ... read more

I'm here! The capital of this great nation! I met a guy called Yuki on the bus - a seasoned traveller, out doing it for 2 years. He knows his stuff, getting humungous discouts on tuk-tuks and how do deal with everyone - he had some real insights. I've only walked around this city for a night but I can tell it's a place you really need to get to know - the Khmer friendliness and spirit are as present as ever, even if every "you want tuk-tuk?" is then followed by "you want boom-boom?" If I ever come back, I'm going to need to spend a while here! Went for some street food (my favourite kind - cheap and good) and several beers. I was going to blog about the rest of Sihanoukville but my ... read more

After the majesty of Angkor Wat, we decided to go and see this floating village we'd heard all about, and hired our favourite tuk tuk driver for the trip. When we got to where the boats are, we found it was surrounded with police and government officials. Surely not another ploy to make money for tourists? Yep. $20 So we asked driver if he could drive up the road and we'll find some guy with a boat and he can take us for 5 bucks. Lucky said no with a laugh that said "you are joking me. So after some failed attempt at negotiation we paid the bucks and went on board. There were a lot of tourists doing this, all paying $20 dollars. The money goes to building schools a hospital for the orphan kids. ... read more