My dad has always given me straight to the point advice without skirting around the issue. 1 piece of such advice includes the extremely annoying "well you know what to do then." This involves whinging about something such as, "ahh dad me knee is killing after football, especially if I bend it", - "well you know what to do then son...don't bend it!"

Ho Chi Minh was our last stop on the Vietnam tour. The city literally hustles and bustles 24/7. It seems much more built up than it's counterpart of Hanoi up north with road junctions that include rules along the lines of - just do what you want. I had previously made a fleeting stop to the city and visited the chu chi tunnels where the Vietnamese hid in tiny underground mazes whilst setting traps with recycled bombs that the Americans had dropped on them. Upon asking Stace if she wanted to go, "wouldn't say I'm that bothered" came the response!

Anyhow, whilst wandering around the city centre zoo for what seemed like an eternity in the searing heat, I'd began to feel slightly dizzy n pretty tired. With Stace preoccupied with the gibbons (shock) and the 2 rather large tigers that were scrapping, I moved from bench to bench trying to recuperate any ounce of energy I had left. After finally admitting defeat, I dragged Stace away from the orang-utans and headed back to the hotel for a kip.

It was that night that my head started pounding, back started aching, body started profusely sweating and pain behind the eyes started building. By the time morning came around I was spitting blood and it was time to get to the doctors!

The English speaking French doctor could tell that I'd contracted a virus straight away and said the dreaded words I really can't stand to hear...you'll have to have a blood test. If there's 1 thing sure to bring me to a quivering wreck, it's needles. So after explaining this to the doctor he said I could have the anaesthetic cream to numb the area. So there I was laid out on the bed, left hand covering my eyes and wiping away the sweat from my nervous brow...and yet as the Vietnamese male nurse got ready to administer his vampire trick all I could hear was........laughter! All 3 in the room, the doctor, the nurse and my own fiancé herself Walshy, were laughing hysterically at my misfortune! "Ahh put some more cream on" came the calls.

Without a Vietnamese NHS, there would be a cost and this is where Stacey's sympathy really did know no boundaries as she exclaimed "nearly 90 quid, bloody hell that's nearly 4 nights accommodation!!!" After learning that it was most likely dengue fever, a tropical virus that you can't really do anything for other than take a few tablets, it was time to get back to the hotel for rest. I just couldn't take anymore "don't be so mard" empathy from Stace and with the pain behind my eyes growing every time I looked either up, down, left or right, the advice from my father would soon ring true in my head..."well you know what to do then son!!" I just hope nobody thought I looked too weird as I tried not to move my eye balls for 2 days straight!