I keep thinking about this chocolate brownie cheesecake that I had yesterday. It was creamy and luscious and had chocolate swirls on top. I had it with an iced coffee, Heidi , David and Lucas (Fabian had moved on to another place). We relaxed in a swanky cafe called Cargo where we had previously had cinnamon swirls before breakfast the previous day. I really enjoyed the easiness with which we combined and mixed as a group and it's a shame none of us are going in...

I tell you what. De Nang know how to decorate a train station! The town was quite a happening town an they were building an awesome looking bridge looking like a yellow Loch Ness monster. But I left there yesterday and arrived in Hoi An where the hostel dorm where I stayed last night contained a brilliant bunch of people and we all get on great. 3 have come separately from China for the holidays and Heidi from the Philippines on we travels. We explored some bars ...

That was grumpy hungry tired Alex this morning. This is full, relaxed happy Alex of this afternoon. I have settled onto my train now an we have left ugly Vietnam behind us and are in some beautiful jungles and farmland. I will still miss the best sights but this is better than nothing! Status (pm) • Content... • Lots of reading done, Rachel's Holiday: a free iBook apple gave away at Christmas which is easy to read and amusing... • My phone works!... ...

Under the very trustworthy advice for Kate from Brighton who I met in the Hanoi hostel I am going to Hoi An, the anagram! And in typical Alex style I woke up with exactly enough time to get out to the street hail a taxi and get to the station with no waiting time. I think the tired stress made it easier to haggle the cheeky taxi driver down from his ludacris 100000 dong offer to 40000 dong. Unfortunately, I timed the train wrong so I will actually be in the dark ...

I had a great day trip to Halong bay where I felt like I was in Pirates of the Caribbean except there weren't any proper Vietnamese sailboats with cool sails. But me and Kam (from Ho Chi Minh) who I sat with rented a kayak after lunch and skilfully navigated a couple of island caves, my chinos got drenched but he water was almost warm so I didn't mind. When we got back to the boat (almost late) we had some photo ops with his girlfriend who had opted to stay be...