> The next leg of the journey started like most had so far in Vietnam: > with us alighting from transport tired, some with hangovers > (thankfully not me this time) and knowing that we would have to face > the rigours of sightseeing before we were allowed to get any sleep. > It is one of the only things about an Intrepid tour that I found > hard work - the incessant pace!>> Chinh took us to the hotel where we dropped our stuff before ...

Saigon is the alternate name for Ho Chi Minh City's (HCMC) District 1 but is affectionately used interchangeably by most people to describe the city whole. We arrived once more suffering the after effects of the rice wine (thanks Chinh!) and also slightly weary as the arrival time was closer to midnight than wake up time!Once again the hotel wasn't ready forbes and we all marvelled at quite how many unconscious taxi drivers appeared to be living in our hotel...

The arrival in Hoi An marked a step change in the pace of the trip than the leisurely speed with which things had been conducted so far.My first impression of the place was that the hotels were all spread along one road heading away from the town. It seemed the more expensive the hotel, the further away it was! The really expensive places had little shuttle buses to ferry the affluent public to their new suits and dresses.We were staying in a nice lit...

The journey from Sapa back to Hanoi ended up being a far less debaucherous affair and we arrived back in Hanoi tired but content. My liver was also happy for the respite from rice wine!Unfortunately for us, the night train got us into Hanoi at about 0330hrs and needless to say, Vietnamese hotels being what they were in terms of helpfulness, there were no rooms available for us to grab some sleep. Instead, we dumped our bags in reception and went for an earl...

So I am sat here on the beach in singapore typing my first blog entry on my new iPod touch. I'm reply pleased with it thusfar and managed to get a great deal. Anyway, back to the Blog! We spent a good couple of hours imbibing bia hoi from the same establishment as previously mentioned before a lovely chap came along telling us that if we went to his bar, we could drink for free. Now being the cynic I am, I wanted to know what the catch was but on arrival, there ...