Day 28 - Hoi An to Hanoi

I woke up feeling quite ill and not really able to eat much. At 2pm we left from Hoi An, arriving first in Hue at 5.30pm. After that we moved on to a sleeper bus that lasted 12 hours, having small and thin beds so that you could stretch your legs. Unfortunately I didn't get much sleep as I had to continually get up during the night, but we eventually got to Hanoi this morning (Thursday 23rd). Sorry for not keeping up to date with these, I've been feeling a bit under the weather :( But the guesthouse we're in has a good internet connection so I should be able to stay in touch.

Day 27 - Hoi An

Will keep these brief as I've got out of sync being a bit ill. We did the cooking course and learnt some Vietnamese dishes: beef with lemongrass and chili, fresh spring rolls, and 'pho bo' (beef noodle soup) which is pretty much the national dish. We should be able to get all the ingredients in London so maybe we'll put the effort in when we get back. Picked up our clothes and generally just tried to escape the 40 degree heat by resting in the guesthouse or in cafes by the river.

Day 26 - Hoi An

Last night I woke up a few times. I won't go into detail, but it appears I have an acute bout of food poisoning. I managed to get out of bed to get measured for a suit and some shirts. All for 100 dollars - thought I might as well. Then spent the day out of the sun in a cafe reading a book. I felt like shit, and it didnt help that it was about 40 degrees today. We paid a small deposit for a cooking course which we're doing tomorrow, so that'll take up much of the day, which we're both looking forward to. We're also trying our hardest to find a sleeper coach to Hanoi, but at the moment it looks like we're gonna have a 17 hour trip in a cramped bus istting up right al the way. Fantastic.

Day 25 - Hoi An

After the horrible bus journey, we slept for a while before having a lazy walk around Hoi An. There's loads of French colonial architecture, and the town is a world heritage site, although it's been taken over by tourism and notably the textiles/tayloring industry. But still, chance for a cheap suit. We spent the day drinking cheap beer (draught beer for 10p) and chilling out. In the evening we even managed to catch the end of the Chelsea - Liverpool game.

Day 24 - Nha Trang

We left at 8.30am on a bus which spent an hour driving around Nha Trang centre ikn the blistering heat picking people up for the day trip on the boat. When we eventually got there, it was rammed full, but still we met some nice people and had a good time. We stopped off for some rather uninspiring snorkelling, and were glad that we hadn't spent 80 dollars to go scuba diving and see no fish. We saw 4 islands in total, messed about on a jet ski, did plenty of swimming, and had an amazing lunch on the boat. Some of the local guys working on the boat did some hilarious covers of western songs using a guitar and some barrels, getting everyone in the party spirit, after which one of them jumped into the water with a 'floating bar', which we swam out to for plenty of free Dalat wine, which turned out to be stronger than we at first realised. We made a few friends on the trip who'll hopefully be travelling up to Hoi An in the next few days, so it's likely we'll be able to have a few nights out here.

At 6pm we got on the bus to Hoi An, the worst journey of my life. In the end it was 13 hours on a bus with dodgy air conditioning, tight seating, and a Vietnamese man behind us with chronic bronchitis. The bus got in at 7am this morning (sunday), and after having got no sleep at all we went for a lie down to recover. It was a nightmare journey but I'm so glad it's over. Only here would it take 13 hours to travel 400km...

Day 23 - Nha Trang

Have to do 3 entries today as I've struggled to get a decent connection. On Friday we spent the day in Nha Trang, a large town on the coast north of Mui Ne. We walked to Long Tranh's gallery, he's a Vietnamese photographer who takes all his shots in black and white using old equipment. Over the years he's taken some great shots and it was great to see some beautiful images of Vietnamese life. We also spent some time at a gallery with some incredible embroideries, which clearly took a long time to make but were ridiculously cheap. In the evening we went to an non air-conditioned gym, where we both almost died of heat stroke, but had a good workout anyway. The beaches aren't that impressive in Nha Trang but it's lively and there's plenty to do. In the evening we booked a boat 'cruise' which does some island hopping for the next day.

Day 22 - Mui Ne

The longest day ever. We got up at 4.30am to get to the white sand dunes near Mui Ne for sunrise. We hired a jeep for $20 with Tim, and head out with a driver who looked uncanningly like Gollum from Lord of the Rings... The dunes were incredible, we were the only peple there when we arrived, and did some sand sledding which was a laugh. But the kid who lent us the sleds and walked there with us then tried to charge us over a dollar each, and to cut a long story short, the 10-year-old tried to start a fight with each of us in turn, before finally accepting a dollar in total and walkig off in a sulk... From there we saw loads of stuff - the 'red canyon' calved out of red sandstone, the red sand dunes, Mui Ne fishing village, and some rather mediocre waterfalls. All this before 9.30am, and when we returned we grabbed a second breakfast, after which Ali and Tim fell asleep together 0n Ali's bed, which was very cute.

At 1.30 we got the bus to Nha Trang, a large port city further up the coast. We arrived in the dark after a rather uncomfortable 5 hour journey, and so aren't really sure what to expect. We went out for a meal in a 'posh' restaurant and had a disgusting 'fish jelly' and then a crab noodle dish. I felt really sick and so washed it down with as much alcohol as I could stomach to try and kill anything dodgy. Tomorrow we're heading to a Vietnamese photographer's gallery, who Ali's been in touch with by e-mail. Looking forward to that, and also potentially doing a bit of scuba diving or fishing, whatever takes our fancy.

Day 21 - Mui Ne

Not much to report again, just messing about on the beach, reading etc. At lunch we met a Swedish bloke called Tim, who we chatted to for a while, organised a trip with for early tomorrow morning to the dunes, and then went out for a few beers and dinner. We also met up with some English lads (one of whom was from Southam) and played a bit of pool and drank some more. A good night but an early start tomorrow at 4.30am so we didn't stay out too late. The English boys are doing some kite surfing, but at $250 for 7 hours, it seemed a bit pricey, especially when you can live like a king for a week with that kind of money here. So tomorrow afternoon we're gonna just head up to Nha Trang where for much less we can do some scuba diving and watersports.

Day 20 - Mue Ne

Another relaxing day at the beach. I'm reading a book called The Sorrow of War, passed on from Ali, written by a North Vietnamese soldier after the war. It's good to read it in Vietnam, although our current setting is a million miles from the images it conjures up. It's really relxing here - a great beach, and so quiet considering. Most people who come here seem to do so for the kite surfing or windsurfing. We just read that the wind hits 15+ knots on most days of the year, and it seems more windy at the moment. But on the beach it's baking hot, with teperatures in the 30s and really humid. I braved a run this morning at about 7.30am, but in the already oppressive heat it was unbearable.

Most of today was spent just chilling out and lying around. I had a good swim and a little run, but really have just been lazy, enjoying the peace and quiet away from the city. I did manage to get some laundry done (for the first time) so I hope my clothes won't have shrunk to Vietnamese sizes when I pick them up tomorrow.

Day 19 - Mue Ne

Iw as a bit apprehensive about coming to the beach, worried that it might not live up to my expectations. I drifted off to sleep on the 5 hour bus journey, in the rain, and woke to bright sunshine, clear skies, and a 22km stretch of beach. We're paying the most so far this trip for accomodation, but 4 quid each has got us a big en-suite room on the beach, with air conditioning and a bar 10 yards from the door. Bargain I feel.

The coastline is great, and we'll spend a few days just chilling out, sun bathing and reading on the beach. We'll probably take at least half a day out to visit the huge sand dunes where you can go sand boarding - it's the most photographed part of Vietnam so it's surely worth a look! There's plenty of surfing, kite surfing and wind surfing to be done, so depending on the cost, I might have a go with the kites, although there's a crazy wind blowing out there, and all the guys doing it look like professionals... We'll see. Happy to be out of the city and the rain!

Day 18 - Cu Chi Tunnels

We got the bus 2 hours back towards the Cambodian border to check out the Vietcong tunnels, which were used in the wars with the French and America. Unfortunately the whole thing had turned into a bit of a circus for tourists, with huge tour buses bringing heaps of people from Saigon every hour. Still, it was a good experience, especially going down into one of the tunnels and crawling through until our thighs were burning with fatigue. Ali led the group, opting to go first, followed by myself and then a crazy clautrophobic girl who started screaming to get out after a few feet. With museums of genocide and war beiong a common theme this trip, we decided not to pay to shoot pistols and automatic weapons down a range which was on sight, although a few fat Americans and rich Japanses tourists jumped at the chance. No surprises there. In the evening we chilled out, had a few beers, and bought our onward bus tickets for Mue Ne for the following morning.

Day 17 - Ho Chi Minh City

This morning we set off again on foot and walked through the large park in the centre of the city, on our way to a Chinese pagoda in the northern part of the city. After a long, hot walk, it was somewhat uninspiring, but still interesting to see a bit of the Chinese influence on the city. We also walked past a few landmarks that we'd missed yesterday, including the huge French colonial building now used as the city's post office, and the 200 year old cathedral, which stands slightly out of place in this city.

On the way home we visited the Reunification Palace, previously the Independence Palace. The previous President of South Vietnam used the palace before being forced to resign in 1975, and Ali and I both ignored the warning signs by sitting in the seat of his underground office whilst no-one was looking, and catching some amusing poses on camera.

We've just got back. The plan is to phone home at a decent hour and then meet up with Chris, a friend we met in Cambodia who's just arrived in town and fancies catching up for a drink. Tomorrow we're going to the Cu Chi tunnels, which requires a day trip out of the city.

Day 16 - Ho Chi Minh City

Our long walk through the city started with a noodle soup breakfast at 'Pho 2000', a noodle restaurant where Bill Clinton dined some years back. Clinging on to past glories, in what is essentially a noodle bar like any of the other hundreds in this city, photographs of Clinton line the walls. After the strongest cup of coffee I've ever had the misfortune of drinking, we hit the market. We bought our obligatory beer branded t-shirts, desparately in need of some clean clothes, and walked around the market for a good hour, marvelling at the quantities of coffee and strange foods.

From the market we continued past various landmarks, including the Hotel du Ville, a huge colonial building. Here I got a bargain - a refreshing coconut for just 20,000 dong... I'd accidently payed 18,000 too much! Still, I made an old lady very happy, she'll no doubt have run to the bank to deposit her 50 pence. Best was the War Remnants Museum, an unashamedly biased view of the Vietnam War, but certainly eye-opening. This included a video which featured the terrible injuries caused by American chemical warfare, including those that have been passed on to future generations. Although a one-sided account, the exhibition told some horrifying truths about the 'war-crimes' committed by the American army.

The museums and public buildigs shut at just 4pm here, so too late to finish off our 'tour' we came back to the hostel. Both in need of some exercise, we got a cab ride to a nearby gym. It was more like a country club for rich Vietnamese men. It was actually equipped with some decent machines, not that the locals had any idea how to use them - in fact they make a mockery of the whole thing by smoking in the changing rooms after walking for 5 minutes on the treadmills. After that we watched some shitty American TV in the room, too knackered to do anything else...

Day 15 - Ho Chi Minh City

The original plan had been to get a boat down the Mekong into Vietnam, but after our last boat trip, from which I think I'm still suffering heat exhaustion, we decided on the 6 hour air-conditioned bus instead. The border crossing was a little slow but no complications, and we're now staying in a hostel in Saigon. There seems to be a lot to do here, so before heading off to the Vietcong tunnel network (Cu-Chi) just north-east of here, we're going to do our own walking tour of the city tomorrow, taking in all the big sites and a maybe have a drink on the rooftop bar of the Rex hotel at lunchtime. Ali has it all planned with a little help from the Lonely Planet, so it should be a good day. We will probably spend a couple of days here wandering about and taking in the atmosphere before heading up to the beach.

Day 14 - Phnom Penh

Not much to report here. We caught the bus from Kampot to Phnom Penh and endured another 5 hours of Cambodian karaoke television. Only this time without air conditioning. I did meet a nice Cambodian teacher though, who pushed his physics and maths textbook on me. He told me he earns $30 a month, and that's after studying 5 years at university...

In the evening we stayed at the Happy Guesthouse again. We didn't know that it would be the venue of a rich Khmer girl's birthday party. Lots of loud music, although it did give us the chance to see plenty of the glamorous Cambodian elite.

Day 13 - Bokor Hill Station

Last night I checked the weather forecast, as has become habit even in Cambodia, on the BBC weather website. To my delight it predicted a hot, sunny day, with blue skies - perfect for our jeep ride through Bokor National Park. We woke up this morning to the sound of torrential rain which didn't cease until nightfall. The BBC has failed me again.

So we jumped in the back of the pick-up truck, completely open to the elements, and got pissed on for the 40km through dense jungle, up to the highest summit of the Elephant Mountains. The ride up was hard, the truck got stuck, but we eventually made it up to the top, sodden wet and cold. But spirits were raised when we started the short trek to the waterfalls. Our new Aussie friends commented, 'At least with all this rain the waterfalls will be spectacular'. Unfortunately, with all the rain, our route to the waterfalls was blocked by a raging river, completely unpassable.

Pretty miserable, we stopped for lunch. This was the highlight of an otherwise shit morning. The 'beautiful views of the coastline' (Lonely Planet, 2004) were non-existent due to the cloud and mist which brought visability down to about 6 inches. Despite this rather rubbish start to the day, we were in good company, and laughed off our misfortunes before heading off to the abondoned Casino Hotel on the top of the mountain. If it were not for this impressive building, spooky in the howling wind and mist, the day would have been a complete disaster. But in fact it was the day's saving grace. We wondered around the eerie building, as if wandering around the set of 'The Shining', and to be honest I could have spent a whole lot longer there. The Elephant Mountains and surrounding hills in the Kampot Province had been one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Rouge right up until the 1980s. A train from Sihanoukeville to Kampot had been ambushed and 3 westerners on board executed as late on as 1994. One could imagine the lavish casino during the 1960s being home to some of the richest French colonials, and then a makeshift army base in the 70s and 80s for the Khmer Rouge. The awful weather actually added to the atmosphere!

The trip back down was long and painful, but all in all we'd enjoyed the day and met some fun people. In the evening, once we'd dried off, everyone congregated at our hostel for dinner and beer. Tomorrow we travel back to Phnom Penh (again!) as we've decided that the Vietnamese dry season on the East coast of the peninsula is more inviting than more monsoon rain in Sihanoukeville...

Day 12 - Kampot

Considering that we were going to have a quiet day relaxing, we actually did quite a bit today. We woke up early and had a stroll down to the nearby 'Blissful Guesthouse' where Ali ate some Heinz baked beans which I think were very much appreciated. I'd read about some caves nearby so we decided to check them out after breakfast.

Sometimes you do stupid things when you're traveling, I guess hiring a motorbike wasn't the most sensible thing to do on the Cambodian roads, but it was fun none the less. It did occur to me that the bike may not be in great working order when the lady giving it to me failed to start the engine and get it into gear, but I did my best and despite a few dodgy gear changes and dodging between cows and pot-holes. At the caves we were greeted by some of the local kids, who can't have been much older than 10 and offered to be our 'guides'. Actually, they did a pretty good job and spoke amazing English considering they ditch school everyday to come to the caves and make a couple of dollars. And the caves were pretty good, actually the best I've seen. Huge bats flew around in the larger, open caves, and we crawled through tiny cracks in the rocks, which reminded me that I do actually suffer slightly from claustrophobia, bring back memories of the film 'The descent'. Good fun though - mum, your head torch came in very handy! The kids jumped around on flip-flops or bare foot like monkeys, zooming ahead of us, while Ali and I awkwardly stumbled and slipped as we tackled the rather demanding paths in our 70 pound asics trainers... We were the only people there, which was great, and we were encouraged to visit another cave a few kilometres away in which stood a 7th century temple, which had been preserved inside the cave away from the weather for 1400 years. The only problem was that to get there we had to trudge through a load of muddy rice fields. We returned to the guesthouse triumphant but covered in mud.

Tonight we went out for a meal. We've just walked home a mile or so in torrential rain from a riverside restaurant, built on stilts over the water. Ali got some dodgy soup with bits of 'chicken' floating about in it, and I got a plate full of, well, Ali described it as 'Caesar' dog food. Thanks Lonely Planet. An early start tomorrow as we jump in the back of a jeep to visit Bokor Hill Station. Apparently there's a free-legged tiger that roams the hills there nicknamed Tripod - very exciting..!

Day 11 - Kampot

Today was again a bit of a write-off, with neither of us feeling particularly great and in need of some r&r... We got the bus to Kampot, a sleepy colonial town. To be honest, sleepy is an under statement. We went out at 9pm to get some food and the whole place had shut down. We wandered about in the dark and pissing rain in search of a guesthouse or restaurant, got lost, chased by a dog, and returned with just a bottle of coke. Another day with just one meal, but to be honest, I've lost my appetite completely.

The place where we're staying is costing us 80 pence each per night. That's for a twin double, cable tv, en-suite - a cavernous room with ample space. Not bad really. Tomorrow we're just chilling out and schlepping about the town, before a jeep ride and trek up to Bokor Hill Station on Tuesday.

Day 10 - Phnom Penh

Things didn't quite go as planned today. Unfortunately Ali ate something last night that didn't agree with him, and the 8 hour bus journey to Kampot leaving at 7am didn't seem very appealing to him this morning. We did manage to make half the trip and arrived tonight in Phnom Penh, and I'm glad to say he's feeling a lot better. We're staying lakeside again, this time in 'happy guesthouse' just down the road from last time. It's a really nice place, but we're not staying long, and we're hoping to leave for Kampot and the South coast beaches tomorrow. I just hope that tomorrow's bus journey doesn't involve more Cambodian karaoke TV...

Day 9 - Battambang

Took an 8 and a half boat ride from Siem Reap to Battambang today, 50 odd people packed into a boat which should probably carry 20. We sat on the roof as it 'raced' through Tomle Sap lake and then up river for an eternity in the blistering heat. We got stuck a couple of times in the sand because the rainy season hasn't got into full swing. The scenery was fantastic though, with paddy fields, farms, and countless floating villages and shacks built on stilts. I really got a sense that we were finally of the tour route and into the country. Battambang is navigable by foot, but still quite a dense, populous town. We splashed out for the first time on air conditioning after a day with the sun beating down on us, and it was very much welcomed, although it dented our wallets at 2.50 pounds each. We're off in a little while to a riverside bar which is supposedly Angelina Jolie's local watering hole, although I doubt her and Brad will be sitting across the bar later tonight... ANOTHER early start tomorrow, off to Kampot via Phnom Penh. Then maybe we can have a lie in and relax!

Day 8 - Temples of Angkor

Our final day in Siem Reap. Today we left the room at 5.30am and hired a couple of rickety old bikes so that we could cycle the 'grand tour' of temples, some of which we had already seen, but starting off with Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious building. Unfortunately we went east out of the city instead of north, tripling our 5km journey to Angkor Wat. We arrived after sunrise which we had planned to see, but still the temple was quiet and the light perfect for getting some great photos. This temple is massive, too big to comprehend. The near vertical climb to the upper tier is rewarded with great views and some beautiful stone work.

After this we had some breakfast at a nearby stall before heading off on the 24km round trip arond the temples (in the oppresive heat). Still, it was good to do some exercise, even though I couldn't use the saddle after about 2km because it hurt so much! At lunchtime we haggled a cheap lunch and a couple of hammocks to have a bit of a read and a nap at the roadside, before continuing all the way round back to Angkor Wat, where we stayed for the sunset to get some good pics. A long and tiring day! We've just bought our boat tickets which will take us to Battambang tomorrow, about 6-8 hours depending on the water level. The only down side is the 6am pick up from the guest house...

I've really enjoyed this place. I guess the main downside is the feeling that with time, these temples are going to be ruined by the influx of tourists and rapid growth of the nearby town. Seeing coaches full of Japanese tourists zooming past does detract from the beauty and definitely the feeling of remoteness and adventure, but I'm glad we've managed to travel out and explore some places off the beaten track. To be honest I'm ready to leave, if I hear 'you want postcard?' or 'you want nice laaaaady' one more time I'm going to scream.

Day 7 - Temples of Angkor

Argh! Still can't get any pissing photos up... and so much to show. Today was amazing. We travelled 2 hours away from the town to go to a temple totally engulfed by the surrounding jungle. Clambered over rocks and into hidden rooms for much of the morning in the overpowering heat. It was incredible though, especially as we were the only people there for much of it. Then on another hour to a couple of hindu temples with intricate carvings built from a reddy pink stone that looked awesome. In the late afternoon we climbed up a temple which sits on the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside and the great Angkor Wat (saving the best till last!) and watched the sun come down as a storm rolled in. Another great day, I just wish I could show some pics - might have to wait until we're in Vietnam. Tomorrow's our last day here before we get a boat on Friday to Battambang along what we've been told is a beautiful stretch of river.