I had a nice rest in Phong Nha, albeit a short one- with just 11 days left on my visa, time really is precious and still with so much to see, every day counts. It seems to be an up and coming town, becoming more popular with tourists, especially when it has so much to offer. The town itself is situated within the Phong Nha National Park which is packed with mountains, rivers, waterfalls and caves. There are loads of activities to do here, depending on your budge...

The longer I stay here and the further I travel, the more I begin to love this place. Over the last couple of days I've travelled around 500km, beneath a hot August sun, along the Ho Chi Minh Trail that is a piece of artwork in the form of road. And when I say hot, I mean really hot. Really, bloody hot. When I left Hue it was 39 degrees and that was at 10 in the morning. A few pages in my book have started to fall out because the glue has melted. There are thre...