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.