What a culture shock! The bus journey was not so bad really: we are used to sweaty bums on plastic seats and crappy aircon by now! This bus had the added comedy bonus of a 'window policeman' a skinny guy who would stalk the aisle every now and then checking for sneakily opened windows. If he caught you out....oooh! he would quickly slide them shut and stare at you madly while pointing to the crappy aircon unit wheezing warm farty smelling air from above yo...

Saigon....just a bigger, hotter, noisier version of Hanoi really...but we like what we have seen so far :) The traffic is mental as ever, and crossing the road is so much more difficult here as the major roads have four lanes of potential death to dance across! Mac took a video of all the scooters waiting at the traffic lights (and got some really puzzled looks from the locals) you have to see it to believe it! We are staying just off Pham Ngu Lao whic...

Hey Petals! Nha Trang is lovely...our first beach resort! It used to be the place to be for the American GI\'s during the war, at night the beach is still full of lovely ladies offering to \'love you longtime\'! The overnight bus journey here was the worst ever. We had some really unusual Vietnamese blokes sat infront of us, they didnt wrestle and giggle at eachother the whole way mind you...the rest of their time was divided between snoring, fartin...

Hey Petals, Hoi An is another beautiful town and another UNESCO heritage site. Set on the banks of the Thu Bon River, it used to be a trading port as far back as the 17th century. The old town is amazing with narrow streets and an unusual mix of Oriential and European architecture...or so the guidebook sez! The food seems to be getting fresher as we head South. Hoi An has a few specialities to try: White Rose is a steamed dumpling stuffed with prawn...

Hey petals! We were so glad to leave Hanoi, in the end the pollution, endless beeping, strange food and overly persistent street vendors did our heads in a little bit! We took a sleeper train the twelve hours south from Hanoi and had a lovely journey. We shared a berth with an old Vietnamese couple who helped me learn some useful phrases and were happy to share food and drink with us. They live in Nha Trang and have invited us out for a meal when we p...