Our favourite place so far in Vietnam is the little town of Hoi An. It's very small and so everything is within walking distance and the tiny traditional streets are lined with shops selling amazing paintings, crafts and specially tailored clothes. During the 3 days we were here we spent most of our time on the beach….white sands and clear waters with waiters on hand to serve up food and coconut juice out of its shell.

Our hotel was just as good, with a massive room that had 2 double beds and a balcony. The TV also had sports channels and so Ben set his alarm for 2am on derby day and got up to watch the match from the comfort of our room. Ben also managed to get 9 bites on one foot at some point and so we decided it was time to put the mozzie net to use….we were quite proud of our first attempt at putting it up (picture to followJ).

In the evenings we tried out the local foods (pork fried rice and pork with noodles known as Cao Lau). Afterwards we sat on the side of the river front and had drinks and set adrift paper lanterns into the water (and making a wish of course - mine got stuck after 5 meters, Bens made it all the way downstream).

An hour back up the coast is the city of Da Nang, which is well known for its beach (My Khe). So not wanting to miss out we packed up our bags caught the local bus heading for Da Nang, after 3 nights in Hoi An. The local bus was extremely rickety and it took a good 10 minutes for the engine to kick in and for us to pick up any speed. After an hour or so we arrived in the centre of Da Nang. It was the hottest part of the day and we were already feeling very warm from the bus ride. This time our hotel was not nearby, however determined to not be ripped off by taxi drivers we decided we would walk. I had a sketch of the map and it was daylight….no problem. 5km later we arrived at Mango Hotel dripping with sweat and exhausted, it had felt like the longest walk of our lives and our bags had got heavier and heavier. Reception then told us we could have got off the bus at a stop just a km down the road….great! On the up side our hotel was located right on the front of the My Khe beach and it was gorgeous. We only had time for one full day on the beach here but we made the most of it!! The centre of Da Nang is set on a large river and we spent our second night walking along the water front where the bridge is lit up with colourful lights and there are lots of different marble statues. We also gave into one of our home comforts and found a little Indian restaurant and had a curry feast….it was amazing and very filling.

The next day we caught the little local bus back to Hoi An and prepared for our next sleeper bus to Nha Trang.