We have finally gotten used to seeing so many people wearing face masks in Vietnam, mainly women with their faces almost completely covered with a facemask, sunglasses and hat. We found out the biggest reason for wearing face masks, pollution aside, is to protect their faces from the sun. Dark skin is a big no-no here and there are skin whitening products avaliable everywhere; its just not cool to be tanned here ( so im REALLY uncool right now and Dom is super cool).

Since our last blog we have been busy exploring the South of Vietnam.

We visited a place called Dalat, which is a bit of an activity centre. Dalat is at a higher altitude, so its much cooler and the town was created by the French. In memory of this they have converted their main radio mast into a mini Eiffel tower. Dom did a days canyoning which basically involved treking through forest, swimming down streams, jumping off rocks and abseiling down a massive waterfall. The highlight was "the washing machine", which was an abseil into the bottom of a waterfall where you get churned up, it could most be likened to wiping out on a huge wave whilst being wedged between 2 huge rocks. Scary but fun, would never be allowed back home. One advantage of French occupation is the abundance of amazing wine. We got to sample several bottles as part of our cultural appreciation for the place. We also had some time exploring the area by scooter, saw some beautiful sights, and I even got to do some ostrich riding. Very random, I know. I felt soarry for the poor ostrich who had to carry a large russian lady who screamed the whole time.

After that a few days spent in busy Ho Chi Minh city, where just crossing the road without getting wiped out by a scooter takes massive concentration.

Ho chi Minh city felt like Bangkok with a real backpacker vibe. We weren't that impressed with the city and spent time getting massaged, eating loads and visiting a war museum. This museum was basically a group of photo exhibits slating the USA for bringing war to their peaceful country. Seeing this really highlighted the brutality of the war through USAs "bomb them back into the stone age" tactics. I guess this propaganda is to be expected in a city named after the founder of communism in Vietnam.

We then we flew to an Island called Phu Quoc, where we stayed in a bungalow just steps away from the beach. Everyday we would eat out at one of the many beach cafes, there were tables on the sand, a couple of metres away from the sea. You could eat fish caught that day which they would bbq. It all sounds quite extravagent but it was cheap! We watched some awesome sunsets here too. We did another snorkelling boat trip and tried to explore the island by scooter, however the lack of tarmac roads soon put an end to that.

Well thats it, we have spent a month in Vietnam. I read a review somewhere that said Vietnamese people were unfriendly and agressive, and I was a bit worried about coming here. Im pleased to say that our experience of Vietnamese people was a good one. Yes, they can be loud, (very loud!) and some were a bit more abrupt then we are used to. When they talk (scream) into their phone it reminded me of the trigger happy tv sketch. But generally they were perfectly friendly and we met some great local people!

So its goodbye and thank you to Vietnam. Bali, here we come!