After arriving in Saigon at about 6am in the morning it only took about an hour until I had bumped into almost everyone from Nha Trang and previous. Shows how all the backpackers head to the same place. Had a look around the city and although there are even more motorbikes on the road than there are in Hanoi, the streets are wider so it is not quite so chaotic. Ended up walking all the way to the botanical gardens but when we went in it turned out it was prett...

One week to go until I'm in Singapore with Jo and Neil and am so excited to see some family and celebrate the big engagement as well! Arriving in Nha Trang from Hoi An gives one of the biggest contrasting images Im likely to see while away. From the old city with the shophouses built 100+ years ago to a beach resort that would look more in place in Europe with ugly high-rise hotels lining the coast and of course an Irish pub! You can be assured there wasn't one...

I arrived in Hoi An in the evening after an easy bus journey chatting to some Aussies I had met in Hue and also being sung into a sleepy slumber by a couple of English girls at the back of the bus! We all ended up staying in the same guesthouse although I moved to a bit more of a central location the next day not that the first place was particularly far away. I went for a bit of a wander around the city and it was as people had described, like walking back in ti...

The night train from Hanoi and early in the morning arrived in Hue in hope of some warmer weather but it was not to be as I stepped off the train to cold and drizzly weather. Went with the first person to offer a reasonably sounding guesthouse and had a nice surprise when the room had a computer in there as well which was perfect for a rainy day. Went for a quick look around outside but in the crappy weather and it being their New Years Eve meaning most places we...

So it's my birthday in Vietnam and it will be something a bit different not having any family or friends from home around and also no cards to open or presents to unwrap but being in Vietnam is a decent enough consolation! Booked up a 2 day trip to Halong Bay not too far away from Hanoi so the start of my birthday was spent on a bus ride sat next to a fat French man! Boarded our junk and I did a quick summary of who I would be spending the next 2 days with and t...