Well after 3 days at Daves I take his advice and book a bus ticket to Ko Kong on the South Coast near the Thai border. Booking bus tickets here is a bit strange - they must be pre booked the day before but you can't book them 2 days in advance - I suspect that if you turned up on the day and they had space they'd take your money ;-) Apparently this journey takes 6 hours with a couple of stops. Before they built the 4 bridges it used to take 12 hours as you had to get ferries across the river and change buses every time. Anyway, Sa Vannah picks me and Dave up at 07:20 and my stomach is feeling none too clever - I've been to the loo 3 times already ... read more

Yesterday I spent in Saigon. First I took a taxi to the War Remnanats Museum - what an upsetting experience. If you think Mai Lai was an isolated incident think again! Quite how the Americans justified killing and disembowelling 3 boys aged 10, 8 and 6 I will never know. Several war reporters witnessed civilians being shot by US marines. It seems to have been an every day occurrence. The Vietnamese claim that of the 3 million vietnamese that died only 1 million were soldiers. Anyone who beleives that modern warfare is any different is living in a fools paradise. Not every Iraqi was a Saddam supporter or a member of Al Quaeda - most of the 'collateral' ocivilian damage in any war wanted what we all want peace, security and happiness. The photographs don't pull ... read more

Up early and off at 08:00 on a bus tour to Cu Chi. This place is famous/infamous and a place the French and the Americans who fought there will never forget. There are approx 200km of tunnels in this area dug in to red laterite clay - which hardens like iron when dry and is pretty much the same when it's wet - it was certainly rock hard walking on it today. I know we're close when we pass through a large rubber plantation - this pre dates the War and must have been replanted since. The trees all had the 'white 45 degree line' cut into the bark at varying heights with a small wooden bowl to collect the rubber sap tied to the tree. Several locals are walking amongst the trees collecting it. We ... read more

I met Nick again at the Bo Bo Cafe - he's just got back from Ha Noi and even he nearly got ripped off by the taxi drivers and they knew he could speak Vietnamese! We talk about jacking our respective jobs in the UK in - he was Civil Service and found it very constricting. He's developed more, done more and achierved far more in Vietnam. He told me about a British guy who started at the bottom in one of the big hotels and made General Manager of te hotel in 4 years without having to do all the qualifications and the degree course that you would in the West. There's opportunities here for anyone who wants get on. We shake hands and he gives me his card - he reckons that I would ... read more

The weather is exceptionally good today - apparently this is more like Spring for them. At least the locals won't keep asking me if I'm cold in just a T-shirt today. This time of year is very cold to them - cold at 14C! I try to explain that I would not take the heat when it's hot like they can but the women still think I'm going to catch a cold. I walk throught the town along the river and notice a boy with crippled legs shuffling about selling nuts, 2 old women in ;ong slim boats with eyes painted pn the bow are actually 'gondoliers' for hire - everyone works here! Absolutely everyone works here - they don't have a choice about it! No freebie houses and state hand outs here. Makes you think ... read more