Imagine the setting......Its raining heavy outside, your full of flu, got an 11 hour coach journey ahead of you, and the coach rep gets on and informs you the road to Nha Trang has had a landslide and the road is therefore closed so the only other road there takes 18hours...great I think, oh well this is Asia these things happen! Well if only that was the nightmare Id have been okay at least I have an ipod and books! Its now 5am, I have not had a wink of sleep...Im lyed in the walkway of the coach in my sleeping bag trying to doze off when the bus stops quickly...everyone of course wakes up intrigued to see what the hold up is.....now the nightmare starts! We're high up in the mountains, minus tempatures and there's a severe traffic jam. Its dark outside still so everyone decided to stay put...an hour later still no movement so myself and 2 others decided to investigate as our driver doesnt speak a word of english...we start walking, an hour later we're still walking and none the wiser what the hold up is...when we stumble upon the problem...3 coaches have crashed, upside down (which im not suprised about judging by the way they drive here)....everyone is alive just cuts bruises...there is coaches/trucks/cars everywhere and not one person has any organisation skills....their were 3 policemen who didnt take lightly to me advising them what trucks needed to back up to let traffic through...in fact started shouting at me, whoops gary you should have learnt by now when to keep quiet-no chance! Anyway 6hours after stopping we get on our way...journey from hell...11hr journey turned out to be 24hrs, not nice! Hoi An is beautiful and well worth the journey, the french settled here during the war so all I can describe it has it a tiny french village in vietnam..its great! Its well known for cheap tailors, who didnt take lighlty to me advising them I do not wear suits/shirts..just sports wear..oh well! I met an australia (Phil) on the way and we both hooked up and shared a room, of course with it being christmas the need to treat myself was on the cards...swimming pool/hot water was just the ticket! Mind you the swimming pool was minus temp, but what the heck still had a dip would have been wrong not too! Christmas eve Phil and I rented motorbikes and explores the old ruins of My Son...nice but they are all starting to look the same to me now after angkor wat. The day had a dramatic end though has Phil ran over a Vietnamese lady who just pulled out in front of us (thankfully I swerved enough to miss, but poor phil had no such luck) this lady was on a bicycle laden with heaps of herbs on both sides of the bike...I can laugh about it now. I have memories of the bike on the floor with herbs everywhere with about 100 locals crowding round on a small highway with traffic piling up beeping their horns....whoops! Of course when I showed concern the lady nearly killed me even though it was not me that hit her. Thankfully a local guy said just get out of their....a close scrape if you ask me! The lady only had a cut toe nail...drama queen! Poor Phil and I spent the evening in the hospital...phil had broken his toe and therefore ended up in plaster....And subsquently has had to cut his trip short and should by now be in London. If you read this phil I hope its healing okay and your not still hopping about! Santa came a few hours early for me as later that night I pulled a nice american lad, from california. Result Id say! Christmas day was very strange and did not feel like such not being around family/friends....well not too dwell too much on the matter what else could I do...of course eat/drink! And end up in a random club in the countryside...what a dive that was! Christmas day also brought darkness (no not the band)..the whole of Hoi an had its electricity cut off...complete darkness for 26hours. It was really funny and added to the experience, a whole town in darkness, people eating in the dark and walking down the road with candles/torches! Good old Vietnam! ha ha ha Its time to head north for New Year and see what delights await me....! Hue & Hanoi here I come.