Hi all, very quick update. Have just managed to upload photos....hurrah! We have moved on via overnight trains and coaches to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We will fill in with more information tomorrow (if we can?). Still having a great time. Great to hear from you all -keep getting in touch.

24 hours later!

(just seen message from Margot, great to see you following our travels!).

Our next port of call after Whale Island (and only a 3 hour drive!) was Nha Trang -described in our itinery as a laid back holiday resort. It was good to share with Vietnamese people their leisure time on equal terms instead of seeing them merely as a curiosity to be photographed. We escaped from the 'gang' and ventured across the newly opened cable car (longest we've ever been on) to arrive at Vin Pearl, a still being developed huge holiday resort, to be met by Goofy and his pals! Well, you sometimes have to do the tourist thing, don't you? Later that evening we boarded yet another overnight train and arrived at the crack of dawn in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), a far more modern, sprawling city of some 6 million people.  After a quick pavement breakfast we set off for the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is an area which comprises of a huge underground network of tunnels (200 Km) averaging 80 cms high which contained sleeping quarters, hospitals and schools and was used by the Viet Cong to attack Americans on their doorstep! Cu Chi is just outside Saigon in a fearfully communistic area and even though the Americans defoliated the entire area, ploughed up the earth and carpet bombed it, the Viet Cong still resisted -and finally defeated their attackers!

Just one night to refresh and catch up on a few domestics and we were of to the Mekong Delta via coach and boat and finally being paddled down the river by a Vietnamese girl in conical hat (see photo).  Our overnight  say was as guests of a local family in 100 year old French colonial home, complete with mother of pearl inlaid furniture - distinct signs of previous grandeur.  On arrival at our home stay 5 of us needed to stretch our legs (whilst those worn out by the coach journey just had to relax!!!)  so, in rising humidity we set of for a short stroll along the river and were soon enveloped by a torrential downpour - much appreciated by us and the locals who ran into the river and splashed around in excitement.  At night we slept in shared rooms under mosquito nets, lulled to sleep by the nocturnal sounds of the jungle swamp.  The following morning we had to walk 1 km down river to get the boat because the water level had dropped with the outgoing tide.  The boat visited a local brick and pottery works, sweet factory and floating market and gave us an opportunity to see  how many of the locals earned a living.  Incidently, the average wage in this area is 250 pounds per annum (more than twice the national average!) - so job centre salary, not so bad after all and teachers......well, they are in another league, aren't they?

Today we have explored Saigon and had a lovely time doing it (photos to follow) and tomorrow we say goodbye to Vietnam.  Cambodia, here we come.