Hi Guyyyyys!

So we have made it through Vietnam unscathed, a little more cultured and with very fond memories of this fantastic country.

First stop was Ho Chi Minh city, where we spend 4 nights and 3 very cool days trying to get to grips with the sheer pace and sensory overload that seems to encapsulate this place, much like the rest of Asia - we are pretty sure that this is the fastest moving continent around!

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh on Friday 30th Jan, and were whisked off to our Hotel right smack bang in the middle of the central district. Our cab journey to the hotel immediately gave us a taster for this country... lights, colours, horns, people, cars, bikes, neon, old buildings, new buildings, street sellers, food stands, restaurant shops... and the unenviable task of working through the traffic that is as close to chaos as you could possibly imagine (we spent most of the journey going 'whoooa' and 'dear god that was close').

Ho Chi Minh is in the south of Vietnam and immediately gives off a sense of free flowing in your face kind of vibe... its a total playground for backpackers and tourists wanting to really immerse themselves into the way of life and unfamiliar culture. There are around 10million people in the city, and literally every corner is crammed with someone doing or selling something, at all times! The are we stayed in was 'old town', and the buildings and homes here really are old and give the appearance of mistreatment and lack of care. The streets are battered and the curbs are almost non existent .... BUT, it works, everything goes where it needs to and everyone seems happy and content. We immediately noticed how lots of people eat and drink out on the streets, on what we can only describe as the SMALLEST CHAIRS IN THE WORLD... its not cut out for 6ft + people like us (and yes, we do look stupid sat on those stools... think Will Ferrell in Elf sat in class, and thats us). There is very much a culture of sitting and watching the crazy world go by whilst sipping a good coffe (and man, is the coffee here spectacular) or a very cheap local beer.

Vietnam can be both expensive and cheap we have found, but when you look around you really can find exceptional street food and very reasonable local beer for a very small price. The best we managed was 6 beers for under £2, and lunch for around £2.50 (two courses, each, and a beer to wash it down!). Equally, it has its fair share of nicer places as well as some very strange set-ups with bars and karaoke (booming music, no people...).

So, here are the highlights from our 3 days here:

- Vietnam markets - we found a tradtional market on our second day here. Everything here is so fresh and raw... vegatables, meat, fish. The stalls are way to small for us, so we ended up ducking and diving our way through this little market and working through the array of 'interesting' smells... some far too pungent for our novice noses.

- War Remnants museum - Now this place is cool. Very one sided, but very cool. It has lots of sections which go into grave and very graphic detail about the impact of the Vietnam war on the country and its people. Paints a pretty stark picture of the American antics, including experimenting with chemical warfare (most famously agent Orange) and the treatment of its civilians. It takes some determination not to get engrosed and quite moved by some of the stuff you see, but defintely worth a visit.

- Food: ok, so basically it is a paradise for anyone who loves freshly cooked rice, noodles, fruit or BBQ grills. We found an AMAZING garden restaurant on our last night which allowed us to cook our food right in the middle of the table, and was some of the best BBQ food we have eaten in any place we have visited, or at home!

- Beer: ok so basically, it costs nothing... so whats not to love! Green Saigon was our favourite and at 20p a large bottle, it makes for very happy times :)

- Cu Chi tunnels: what. an. experience. This place is just awesome, and very much worth the money and 3 hour round trip to get there. We wont go into too much here, suffice to say that the way they were built is absolutely fascination, and that they are almost impossible to locate and very very small. The fact that they have a live gun range on site also adds to the atmosphere to give you a real feel for what it must have been like during the war. The introduction video was a little questionable - Bruce and I had to not make eye contact to save bursting into fits of laughter at the lady on the film shouting 'CU CHI' every few seconds.... weird.

Those are the real key highlights from our first few days in Vietnam. We also discovered that whilst it can seem overwhelming when you first arrive, once you have your bearings of the place it you settle real quick and jump straight into the madness going on around you!

Next stop to Da Nang in central Vietnam, which we expect to be very different!

We hope everyone is well and send our love and best wishes home to you all.

Bruce and Ash

x

p.s. - yeah we know the flag picture is the wrong way, but we couldnt change it... sorry.