Good Evening/Morning!

We have not been keeping you all up to date with our adventures recently primarily because the internet connections in Vietnam are awful and the keyboards are not much better. Aside from that, we have been having a fantastic time and have been out doing so many things with lots of great people.

We last left you in Mui Ne where we were waiting for the bus in Nha Trang. We arrived in the town late at night to find our hotel reservation had been cancelled due to the bus being late! After several minutes of frustration we were zoomed off on a motorbike with rucksacks in-tact to another hotel run by the same company. This turned out to be better as the rooms were only $8 and there was free internet. Our plan for the next day was to relax on the beach and pass the time until our sleeper bus left at 6pm to Hoi An. Unfortunately, the weather was not great so we ended up walking along the beach for an hour passing only a handful of people. By this time the sun had come out and we started to feel the heat so we returned to the road and jumped on another motorbike that took us to the aquarium. The aquarium was fantastic (I have a few good underwater shots) although it was quite scary seeing as the fish were only kept in open top tanks and it was very easy to put your hand in a tank full of zebra and coral reef black tip sharks!

We eventually returned to the hotel to pick up our bags and board the sleeper bus. Once again we witnessed the beauty of Vietnam with our 6pm bus not departing until 9pm. The sleeper buses are a fantastic form of transport in Asia with a 12-15 hour journey through the night made very easy. Each bus comprises of 3 rows of bunk beds that are wide enough to lie on your side and just about long enough to lie down on your back. Despite the feeling of being very enclosed, they are surprisingly comfortable and it is very easy to drift off. After 14 hours of driving and probably 8-10 hours of sleep, we arrived in the beautiful town of Hoi An.

We walked through the tiny streets and busy market of Hoi An with all our bags for about an hour until we reached Cam Nam Island. Here we met up with my friend from home Kate McNeil and her boyfriend Alex. She took us to her house where we set up camp for the duration of our stay. The house was fantastic. It comprised of 4 rooms: a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom but they were all ridiculously big with outrageous wooden furniture and extremely high ceilings. They also had a pond inside and outside although the one in the living room was dry. We now understand that having water in your home is a sign of good luck to Vietnamese people. After putting our feet up for an hour or so we went off to rent some bicycles which we eventually took to the beach. This beach was long and wide and had many bars lining its side, although it was not as crowded as Sihanoukville in Cambodia. We then soaked up the afternoon sun with a few beers and spring rolls! After being interrupted by many nagging women wanting us to buy their products we met up with Kate and drove to the local 5* hotel and spa where we relaxed in the jacuzzi and supremely minty steam room. The day ended with an amazing meal in a restaurant located on the river front - it felt too modern for Hoi An.

The next day we wandered along the streets of Hoi An looking in every shop for souvenirs and paintings before arriving at the Japanese Bridge. This amazing bridge overlooks the river and marks the boundary between paint shops and tacky souvenir shops! In the afternoon we were taken to a high-class tailors (C&C Boutique) to get some suits fitted. In the end Heather managed to design a beautiful summer dress and I had a grey suit made out. We then proceeded to a local tailor where we had some more clothes made for extremely low prices. In the evening we booked into a restaurant that overlooked the river called Banana Cafe. We were very fortunate to get this table as that night was in fact a full moon and traditionally in Hoi An they block the streets from vehicles and send hundreds of lanterns along the river. We witnessed this spectacular event and have some very nice photos to share later. We also managed to meet up with the Intrepid group in a bar before we left to find to bikes that ended up in the middle of the street!

The next day we woke up to dark skies and rain. This put an end to our planned snorkelling trip so we decided to book some flights and go to the beach if the weather cleared up. As luck would have it, it did clear up so we were able to have one last day of sun before the storm hit. I passed the time by trying to surf the waves without a board with Luke and Nick while Heather sunbathed like most girls. In the evening we had an authentic Hoi An meal with Crabs, White Rose and Cau Lau, as well as 10p beer!

Our last morning in Hoi An started with me sleeping in whilst Heather and Kate went to the market to pick up the weeks food. We then ran to pick up our suits before we boarded our second night bus, destination Hanoi. It was raining and was cold. Bit like England, but better.....