After a couple of days chilling in the sun on the beach in Nha Trang we had another night bus to catch to Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon (its called both as it has been named by the Americans and the Vietnamese). We arrived at about 6.45am, with the usual hundreds of taxi drivers trying to get you in their cab when they know your hostel is literally two minutes walk away. So we said no to them and like usual the hostel was just over the other side of the park.

We couldn't check in until 10 but they have a rest room and a roof top bar, so we went for breakfast in the rooftop bar then Tim went for a nap in the rest room while us three stayed on the roof for a bit.

After checking in and introducing ourselves to our new roommates we just chilled out for a bit in the room. We then went to explore the capital a bit and find some food. We found a mexcian restaurant which had some real nice food. After that we came back to the hostel as we wanted to book our bus to Cambodia and a tour to see the Cu Chi Tunnels. It cost us 360000VD (£10.40) for a bus to Cambodia and an all day tour to the tunnels, and as we booked two tours you get a free 'Blind Foot Massage' in the hostel. BARGAIN!

We had heard about theses blind massages and didn't really know what to expect, so we went straight up to the spa. They sit you down in big loungers with your feet in a bucket of water/disinfectant. Then the blind masseurs come out, we think that the woman Lloyd had was completely blind, the man Ben had may have had a tiny bit of sight and the man Tim had was only partially blind. They put your feet up and off they go and it does feel really good, they do know what they are doing, it's just a bit weird. It's also tickilish at some points Ben come out with a few giggles at some points which set Lloyd and Tim off, resulting in the masseur saying 'sorry' to Ben for tickling him! The massage lasts 30 minutes, and it was worth the 50000VD tip we left for each of our masseurs.

We heard Ho Chi Minh was meant to be a good night so thought we'd check it out, we couldn't see what the fuss was about, we couldn't find anywhere busy really and local girls everywhere offering us services that we didn't fancy paying for. We even had a big row with a bar manager as they didn't give us two beers that we had paid for and they were trying to tell us we hadn't paid for them. In reality all they were asking for was about £1.50 but it was a matter of principle and after about 20 minutes of arguing they finally realised the cashier had cocked up by not printing a receipt and gave us the two beers. We then checked out a club which was a taxi ride away but that was full of more of the same type of women so stayed for one drink and got out and went back to the room. Our worst night out of the trip so far!

The next day we all agreed to have a big lay in so we got up at around 12ish. We had been recommended by the Dutch girl in our room to check out the market where they sell loads and loads of good quality fake stuff. Clothes, trainers, watches, aftershave, perfume, you name it they had it. This was our chance to put our haggling skills to the test. Ben and Tim wanted to buy some 'New Balance' trainers. The place was so busy we ended up splitting up so it was Lloyd and Tim and then Ben and David. Tim found some trainers he liked and ended up paying 400000VD, as he was paying Ben came over looking really proud saying 'Ive just done some beaut haggling' he had virtually the same trainers as Tim but in a different colour 'Just got these for 800000'. Lloyd and Tim then cracked up and Tim says 'Just got these for 400000' Bens face was priceless! We also brought a couple of vests some boxers, aftershave and a few other bits. Later on Lloyd went back to the market and got himself some running trainers, as he felt a bit left out he didn't have new trainers and he and Ben brought some running shorts a few days ago in Nha Trang so wanted to do a few runs.

That night we went bowling, yes bowling, the very traditional Vietnamese evening activity. It was fun though, we didn't drink either as we knew we had to be up early to see the tunnels the next day. We took Paddy with us as well, a 19 year old lad from Winchester on a gap year who was in our dorm and had no plans for the evening. Tim won like usual, then Lloyd, Paddy, David and Ben had a stinker! The second game was cut short by two Bowls each as they do it really stupidly and charge you by the hour, so after an hour the lane just turns off! The BLT were top 3 in this game though, back to normal!

Today we had to meet the bus outside the hostel at 8.20 to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Ben and Lloyd wanted to try out their new shorts and Lloyd wanted to try his new trainers so they got up at quarter past 6 and went for a run, decent 25 minutes, was so hot though and a bit mental trying to dodge all the motorbikes. It's amazing how many bikes are on the road so early!

The bus took about two hours but on the way you stop off at a factory where there are loads of handicapped people making plates and art buy hand. It's really clever, they carve out designs in the plates and then fill them with eggshells, shells from the beach and paint. Then they get varnished in these small ponds. They look amazing afterwards.

When we got to the tunnels the tourguide who spoke really good English and was actually quite funny showed us around the site. He talked us through all the tunnels, 250km worth of them. And what different boobie traps they used to set up in the woods to stop the American troops finding them. We definitely learnt more today than we have since the start of the trip, saying that we probably learnt more today than we have for years! There are lots of different photo opportunities like coming out of one of the small tunnels that has a tiny lid that is covered in leaves so it is impossible to know it is there! Later on we got to go through a 40m section of the tunnel, they were really hot, cramped and dark even though there were some lights in there. They have even been made a bit bigger since the 60s for the tourists and we were on our hands and knees. The Vietnamese used to spends weeks underground, it is crazy to think! We also had a go in the shooting range… and got to fire the famous gun, an AK-47. The noise from this rifle is so loud but you are given ear-defenders to wear. We shot 5 bullets each and it was a great experience!

After seeing the tunnels we got dropped off at the War Remnant Museum. We were starving by now so stopped at a restaurant next door first, was really nice but quite pricey. Ben shocked us all when he ordered the GOAT curry!! We all tried a bit though, really nice to be honest, poor little goat! The museum is where we learnt most of what we learnt today about the Vietnamese war. It was a lot bigger war than we all imagined, 17 years long, 3 million people were killed and 2 million of them were civilians. It also taught us how it still effects people today, there were thousands of tons of bombs left behind after the war finished, apparently only about three months ago a family were planting a tree in their garden and hit bomb and were all killed! They also used poisonous gases in the war, people who were affected have passed the effects down the generations and children still get born today with mutated features. Some of the pictures of the children were actually quite disturbing. After that you go outside the museum where they have loads of US army planes, helicopters and tanks which were very impressive!

We have another early start tomorrow as we are getting the bus to Phnom Penh at 7am so it was another chilled one tonight, next stop Cambodia……