Checked out of Red Sun at 7.30am and boarded a bus for Nha Trang, which is about 7 hours not\rth of Ho Chi Minh, on the coast. Once out of HCMC the countryside changed so much, it became almost desert-like by the time we stopped for lunch at Phan Thiet, there were sand dunes in that area. Between there and Nha trang was quite mountainous, really dramatic lanscapes. Got to our hotel, Blue Star, the room is OK and clean. (US$8/night) We've booked for...

On the bus at 7.45am to go to the Mekong Delta. This is south west of Ho Chi Minh City, and is the end of the Mekong river which flows from China through Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and into Vietnam, where it splits into what they call the 'river of nine dragons', then flows into the South China Sea. This is the area where rice, among other things, is farmed. In fact, this area produces enough rice to feed all of Vietnam, with some surplus (which is...

Up early for the bus which took us about 2 1/2 hours north west of Ho Chi Minh to a buddhist pagoda. When we arrived it was 40 degrees. We spent ages looking for the toilet (the only reason I mention this is because we then found out they call it the \'happy house\' here!) Went into the pagoda, after taking off our shoes, of course. There was a ceremony about to start so there were people everywhere. The pagoda was beautiful and the ceremony was fascinating,...

We decided to follow a walking tour of the city mentioned in the LP (Lonely Planet). Only got as far as the market when I felt really light-headed and sick, I'd just taken a malaria tablet and you're not supposed to go out in the direct sunlight, oops. I was sick but then had lunch and felt better (sorry for the details...). We walked up to Reunification Palace first. This is the place where the Vietnamese government were based. It had been bombed in the mid...

When we were in an internet cafe this afternoon it started raining, and it rained really heavily for about an hour, so I was scared the mosquitos would be out!! We just had a wander today, been into a few shops and stalls selling gorgeous silk, hand embroidered handbags, am trying to resist as its only 2nd day! We kept seeing people pushing round these contraptions that we thought looked like a shower on wheels! Can't describe it any better than that bu...