Hello all,

We are just about to leave Vietnam so I thought I would fill you in on the last 3.5 weeks. We arrived in Hanoi and we got a culture shock and weather shock, 17 degrees and so misty. It was totally different from Malaysia and completely mental! We stayed in a lovely hotel in the old quarter, where the streets were small and cute, and crossing the road was the most challenging thing we had done in weeks....no joke! Apparently you are supposed to walk out slowly and confidently and the hundreds of motorbikes will dodge you but this was easier said than done. Every time we crossed the road we clung to each other for dear life and prayed it would not be the end. Fortunately after a day we became more confident but it was still an ordeal at points. Hanoi is a lovely city with lots of temples, water puppet shows (which are bizarre), and motorbikes. It also has lots of shops selling lots of the same things- lol! We ate 'pho' (Vietnams national dish of beef noodles) for the first time on the street with the locals, which involved minature plastic furniture and adopting a squat position. Even though it sounds uncomfortable its actually quite comfy and the food is not bad either.

After a few days of exploring Hanoi we left for Halong Bay on an organised boat tour for 2 days/1 night. We arrived at an extremely misty and packed port full of locals and tourists waiting to board the boats. We eventually boarded our large boat, which was in a lot better condition than some of the others and were shown to our very nice room. We had lunch and left the port in search of the 2000 famous limestone structures of Halong Bay. These structures were pretty cool and the mist created a mysterious atmosphere whilst sailing. We visited a very large cave on one of the islands which was pretty cool and had the option to go kayaking which Katie and I were up for until we saw the state of the kayaks and the amount of rubbish/dead fish in the water. Despite its 'World Heritage' Status Halong Bay has a lot of rubbish which was really disappointing. Katie made up for this disappointment by singing some kareoke in the evening - 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls to be exact. She was quite good and wasn't even drunk!! On the 2nd day the weather was so misty the captain could only see a few metres in front of the boat which was a little scary so we couldn't visit another island and had to head back to the port and back to Hanoi.

After Hanoi we visted a few temples and a place called Tam Coc where we were rowed for a few hours through rice paddy fields and caves which was pretty good. We then headed south on our first night bus to Hue. This was an interesting experience as there night buses have small beds on, quite difficult to explain but a little cramped and little sleep was had but we eventually arrived safely in Hue. Hue was so much hotter and sunnier than Hanoi....yay! It was a lovely place, which had nice places to eat and drink, lovely pagodas and a walled city which contained the emperors palace which was beautiful and very interesting. There is so much history and culture here. We also went out here one night as the beer is so good and cheap (30p for a bottle) and danced like nutters to some proper tunes!!!!

After Hue we visited Hoi An - our favourite place in Vietnam. It is an ancient city and very cute with oodles of character. It is also the place where you can get clothes and shoes custom made for a cheap price. Katie got a lovely suit made and I got 2 pairs of leather shoes for a bargain. We ate so well here, trying lots of local dishes, hired bikes and explored islands and the beach and visited some cham ruins (which look like Angkor Wat) which were bombed by the US in the war (really fascinating). We also took part in a morning cooking class which was brilliant and the food was so good. Hopefully we can recreate some dishes when we get home. Hoi An was a lovely place to hang out but also lots to do if you wanted to. Well worth a visit.

After Hoi An we took another night bus to Nga Trang....the beach. We wanted to chill here and I wanted to go diving but that wasn't to be as it rained torentially for 3 days solid. This was a little disappointing but also gave us time to chill in our hotel and watch lots of films and eat lots too!!! We did go to the local mud spa which had thermal pools and mud baths which was a nice morning out! We decided to move on and visit Da Lat in the mountains and prayed for no more rain. Those prayers were not answered sadly and we experienced 2 more days of rain. We did venture out and explore as much as we could, we visted the markets which were large as they grow loads of fruit, veggies and flowers in Da lat but mostly we chilled inside a cafe or our room. We decided to have faith and booked an 'easy rider' tour of the countryside on the back of a motor bike for the following day. We were not disppointed by the weather or the tour. It was awesome and this is coming from someone who has never been on the back of a motorbike and thinks they are dangerous! We explored the countryside and our guides Binh and Loy told us about the history of Vietnam and the war. We got to see beautiful countryside, flower and fruit farms, rice whisky and silk being made, a beautiful waterfall and a crazy house. A great way to spend the day.

After Da lat we headed to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh as it is now called. A few little facts about Saigon, there are 9 million people here and 7 million motorbikes....no joke. Crossing the road here is much harder and crazier than Hanoi. It is also around 35 degrees and ridiculous humidity levels. We have spent 3 days here now and visted various museums including the war remnants museum which is both fascinating and very emotional and graphic. We have also visited a huge market and today I went for a vietnamese massage which was done by blind people, quite good, although not as relaxing as I had hoped- lol. Katie has been stuck in an internet cafe today applying for a job, which I think is taking its toll now lol! We also did a 2 day trip to the Mekong delta, which was pretty good although a lot of travelling. We went on many boat trips, saw the largest floating market in Vietnam, visited fruit farms, rice noodle factories and local islands/villages. We also stayed with a lcoal family which was really nice and the best bit of the trip.

We leave Vietnam tomorrow to go to Thailand. We are sad to go as Vietnam is amazing, the people are great and friendly, the food is nice, there is so much to see and do and I think we will def come back. On a down side I have gained much weight through drinking too much beer and eating too many noodles and my tan is nearly gone :-( But i intend to sunbathe much in Thailand :-) Katies not fussed, shes more concerned about her tooth which broke in half the other day whilst eating french bread....no joke! I think she is warming to her new nickname 'gappy'!! lol

We will be back on 5th May now as we are running out of money and its been a long time away from home, can't process anything new anymore. We have had an amazing time though!

Cant wait to see you all

Vicki and Katie xx