Wednesday we got back to Ho Chi Minh at 17:00, we had showers and stuck our clothes in the wash. Kate and Max's friends Talia and Mark came round for tea, we had pizza and played lots of games of cards and charades.

Thursday we had a bit of a lie in then spent the rest of the morning on the sofa waiting for Kate and Max to come home for lunch, we had paninis. After Kate and Max returned to work we made a trip to the supermarket to get some supplies, when we returned we started preparing tea as we agreed to cook for Kate and Max, we cooked Tuna Pasta Bake and after we played card games.

Friday we were up early to go to the Chinese Embassy for round 2 of visa submission. This time we were confident we had the right documents so handed them straight over and requested a quick process as we needed them done by Wednesday, not a problem. We were given our ticket (used for collection) and were then told we had to go and pay for our visa at the Chinese Bank, so off we went in a taxi to the bank. The bank was in a very posh tall building, we explained what we were there to do and they advised us we could only pay in dollars!! So off we went again on the hunt for an exchange, we decided to ask the doorman of the posh building as he was white and fingers crossed could give us good directions, he was British and advised us it was actually illegal for shops to sell dollars in Vietnam!? He realised what a pickle we were in so offered to sell us some dollars, if we met him on the 20th floor in 10 minutes, so off we went back up the elevator to his office where we realised he is not a doorman but a Property Manager of a Joint Stock company, he sat us in the meeting room and asked us all about our travels and sold us our much needed dollars! We went back to the bank and paid for our visas to be collected on Tuesday, fingers crossed that's the end of the visa drama!!! We popped to backpackers street for a look around then headed back to the apartment to meet Kate and Max, they only had half day at work as they have now broken up for Tet, Vietnamese New Year. We spent the afternoon chilling and getting the apartment ready for a party, Kate and Max's friends came round from 20:00 and we had a pretty fun night.

Saturday we had a long lie in followed by lieing on the sofa hungover all day watching films. At 19:00 we headed out for valentines dinner at a posh Italian and after went to a shisha bar with belly dancing.

Sunday we were up early to collect Michael from the airport, we were all tired when we got back so napped, watched films and played cards until lunch time. For lunch we went to L'uisine then walked to the cathedral and post office for a look, after we went to backpackers street for some drinks and food.

Monday we got up and went to the War Remnants Museum minus Kate and Max. The museum comprises a series of themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment placed within a walled yard, it was quiet depressing and we all found the exhibit including graphic photography covering the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defolant hard, there was a really good photographic display of work by Vietnam War photojournalists. After we met up with Kate and Max at a Vietnamese restaurant and had Pho, beef noodle soup which was delicious. We all popped to the supermarket to get supplies for our train journey on Wednesday then hung out in the apartment for a bit, later we popped to Hard Rock Cafe for a drink and a few games of riddles then for dinner we went to a Bbq place where you Bbq your own meat. We ordered Beef, Ostrich, Crocodile and Frogs Legs, all quite tasty! After we went to Kate and Max's friends Charlie and Rachels for some drinks.

Tuesday the 2 of us were up early to collect our passports from the embassy, success!! When we got back to the apartment the others were still sleeping so we decided to start packing our bags ready for tomorrow. Kate and Max ordered us the nice tasty kebabs for lunch then after we headed out to the Reunification Palace which was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, it was the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the fall of Saigon in 1975 when a North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates. We visited the Financial Tower which is the tallest building in Vietnam with a brilliant view. We walked to another rooftop bar and on route was a beautiful flower display laid out along a closed off road, it was obviously very popular to the locals as it was packed! We had some drinks on the rooftop bar which had a great view of Ben Thanh Market and the crazy roundabout. As the sun went down the Financial Tower also looked pretty all lit up. For dinner we went for Mexican then went to bed as we were shattered!

Wednesday we were up early for our trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, minus Kate and Max. The tunnels of Củ Chi are a network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers in the Vietnam War as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous Vietnamese fighters. The entrances to the tunnels are little hatch doors on the ground, so small that we had to get in with our arms up, Ben managed to crawl through an original tunnel where he made friends with lots of bats and then all 3 of us went through a slightly larger one, which we think had been amended for tourists to fit in, and even then Laura and Michael only managed 20 metres before getting too clostrophpbic!! We looked at many different boogy traps the soldiers would set up in the jungle and got to taste the sweet potato type vegetable that they would have lived off. Ben and Michael had a go on the shooting range and shot AK47's, which they enjoyed. When we got back to Kate and Max's we ordered some lunch then finished packing up all our bits and bobs and loaded our electronics with music, films and battery for our onward journeys. At 19:00 we had to say good bye Ho Chi Minh and board our 17 hour train to Hoi An.