So I have been in in Vietnam for nearly a month now and I have learnt a lot about the culture. In the south they said that the northerners eat monkey brain and the northerners say the southerners do! If the Vietnamese smile and say yes when you ask something they haven't understood you and just want to please. In the various visits I have made to Hanoi I have noticed the huge build up to tet, the lunar New year which they celebrate this year on the 10th February...

So back into Hanoi for me and an introduction for calum...the traffic and bustle took a bit of getting used to after the peace and quiet of Laos. The old quarter held a place to eat temples and a place to get all our clothes washed! We visited the market which turned me veggie and intrigued calum! We adapted to city life by sipping strange iced tea and beer on the road side with locals. We visited the mausoleum in the morning to see ho chi Minh in his resting pl...

Hue was a place steeped in history, with the citadel with 3 citadels within 1 and so many beautiful buildings. We wandered to the citadel through th bustling city. We also managed to explore the surrounding area near Hue on motorbikes, on the back (sorry for those who will not like that but I am back and safe now) we went and explored local countryside, villages making inscence and conical hats. We visited a pagoda and learnt about son of the symbols in Buddhis...

Hoi An was a beautiful old city with some real history and old buildings. We hired bikes to explore the city as it is one of the few places where bikes and cars are not allowed in the city centre so our safety on the chaotic roads was slightly better! It was incredibly beautiful with mountains, rivers, sea and old buildings. As expected some of th group got lots of lovely clothes made including suits and ball gowns. So much temptation but I am no designer so I ...

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh city was busy, big,cosmopolitan city where you could barter for cheap tat at the market or go all out on designer clothes, we opted for bartering at the markets! As well as shopping we ventured out to the chu chi tunnels where over 10 thousand Vietnamese people hid for about 10 years during the war with America. We got to crawl through one the bigger ones, which was a challenge for the slightly taller people! I know that I was uncomfortabl...