Just a quick'un before I get my bus to Hoi An. The beach party was, I believe, fairly good fun, although for some reason my memory is fairly sketchy. Old age, I'm sure. The next day, however, was not quite so much fun, and was spent attempting to use the restorative powers of the sea, the sun, and the sand to rid my head, along with the rest of my body, of its irksome, and mysterious, aches and pains. (It is possible, I grant you, that these may have been a 'hangover'. But come on...I mean really....you know me - drink too much? Pah). Monday, however, as much as the Boomtown Rats may disagree, was awesome....ooop, bus is here, byeee! Ok, sorry about that, bus came, I got it, now I've spent one day in Hoi An. Let's try again... Monday, however, as much as the Boomtown Rats may disagree, was awesome (sounds somewhat old...). I was up nice and early, ready to be picked up at 8 for a day out on a dive boat, where I was to finish my course - having done all the compulsory modules ('Deep Dive', 'Night Dive' and 'Navigation Dive') in Thailand and Malaysia, these last two were choices made from a list of about 15 - 'Peak Performance Buoyancy' and 'Underwater Photography' - and both were, if it's possible, the most fun I've had diving so far. The PPB (you know I love my abbreviations) was basically an excuse to do lots of somersaults and hovering in silly positions underwater, and it was amazing to see how much it's possible to move around in the water, altitude-wise, just using breath control. The UP (doesn't work as well) was also great fun, mainly because it was practising what had been learned in the PPB, but also because I finally got some semi-decent photographs of the submarine world - when Farida and I last tried in Oz, the outcome was fairly dismal (a fault at the developer's, as I will maintain to my grave) :s. Tuesday saw me out on a boat again, this time on a tour of various islands close to Nha Trang with a group of tourists that was half Vietnamese, half not, and some highly entertaining guides. The photos, when I get them up, will speak for themselves (no need to tell me of your relief to hear that I won't be writing any more). All in all, a most enjoyable time was had in Nha Trang. As I checked out of my hotel yesterday morning, however, I was slapped by the receptionist. Now I know that, given my reputation as a chauvinistic, narrow-minded, crude and crass individual, many of you will believe straight away, without even hearing my side of the story, that I fully deserved it. But I begged, at the time, to differ. I had been nothing but courteous throughout my stay, and our witty (let it go) banter as I payed and retrieved my passport from the safe, seemed no less than jovial. So shocked, I was. I walked from the hotel, still puzzling, and it was not until later in the day that someone informed me that a slap in Vietnam, far from being intrusive, is a sign of friendship. So please don't be angry if, upon my return, I give each of you a hearty slap and perhaps a black eye for good measure, having not seen you for so long. Now I'm in Hoi An, where I have spent much of the day in a tailor's, being fitted for a more sophisticated wardrobe than the one I have been living from for the last 9 months. The family who own the shop were also kind enough to invite me for lunch - fresh fish and vegetable soups, chillis and rice - delicious! (Would have rather had a free silk tie, but hey...only kidding ;) ). So kind, and typical of so many of the locals I've come across all over south-east Asia - a very welcoming continent, from what I've seen. Anyway, that's it from me this time, I'll check in again soon though. Hope you Bannisters had a good month off, tell G'ma'ma how impressed I am with her techno jargon - will she allow 'blog' in Scrabble? Lots of love to the rest of you, be happy and smile. David/Dave/Gorv/Gorvettioso/Malavid/Tom. xxx