Hi and welcome from Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. Lee and I arrived here yesterday afternoon and are just settling ourselves in for a 4 day stay, 3 days of which we will be spending with our friend Christi (from NZ white water rafting and also the lovely lady who sorted us out with the amazing hotels in Phuket).

Lee and I left arrived in Vietnam on 30th April. After a number of lengthy and very tedious coach journeys in Asia, we decided to fly from Vientiane (Laos) to Hanoi, Vietnam, in a cruddy little propeller plane.

The taxi ride from the airport to the city centre was quite strange and amusing. We had been in the country not only 5 minutes, and our taxi was being passed by scooter/motorbike riders with the strangest and most impossible loads. We had been told by friends (Colette) that we'd see some really strange sights when we were in Asia, but up until this point we hadn't really seen anything that funny, but now we're in Vietnam, there is a comical sight at any given moment. The first funny scooter that passed us had a cage with about 5 or 6 pigs in it all squirming about. A few moments later we saw a scooter with a load of white ducks strapped all around the seat and on both sides, still live I might add!! I won't go on too much about some of the other crazy impossible looking loads we have seen since, as we will be adding them as photo's to this blog - so check them out, actions speak louder than words!

The first thing we noticed about Vietnam was the crazy diabolical way in which they drive. Basically no-one looks what is coming when they pull out, and then when they are driving/reversing/pulling out or whatever manouvre they are trying to do, they just go ahead and do it without giving any thought to the other drivers or pedestrians that are around. Because of this, everyone constantly honks their horns to try to warn that driver that they are coming, or in the case of larger vehicles, the lorries, coaches and taxi's, they just keep beep beep beeping in a tone that would translate as 'get out of my way - I'm coming through at speed, you can either get out of my way now or not, the choice is yours as I have no intention of stopping or slowing'. This of course is not so much of a problem all the time you are in the relative saftey of a taxi yourself, however, when you have to leave that comfort zone and venture into the massively busy city centre in Hanoi, it can become very overwhelming. Our taxi driver ended up driving us round the maze like roads in the Old Quarter trying desperately to get us to our hotel, and Lee and I sat in the back, constantly wincing and covering our eyes, sure that he was about to mow down any number of the pedestrians and cyclo drivers. We eventually arrived at the hotel and where pretty overcome when we stepped out and where being shouted at by all the various different hotel touts, and having sunglasses and fruits and books practically shoved in our faces by street vendors, all that and the absolute racket from the traffic all honking their horns. It was one of those moments where you just couldn't think straight for a minute. We ducked into the hotel and went and shut ourselves in the room for an hour, bracing ourselves for the onslaught when we went back out again. We were used to having street vendors trying to sell us their items and either bargaining a good price or refusing, and we were also used to busy traffic, but this was all on a whole new level. We spent a couple of hours mentally preparing ourselves to go out into it all again and then decided to just go for a general walk around to get an idea of where we were located compared to everything else etc. We were soon up against our next biggest hurdle - crossing the road! As described before, the traffic in Hanoi is immense, and everyone drives for themselves. It is completely commonplace to see drivers ride their scooters in the wrong direction and also up on the pavements too, so there really is no 'safe' way to walk along the streets even let alone dare to cross the roads. We were soon at one of the busiest roads in Hanoi, by the Hoan Kiem Lake Pagoda and a massive building with busy resaurants and bars on each of its 5 floors, not to disimmilar to Picadilly Circus. Left to right, every single direction, cars, scooters, taxi's, buses and cyclo's are all snaking their way, weaving in and out of each others paths trying to make their way around the roundabout to their turn off. Lee and I stood rooted to the spot a while trying to contemplate how we would ever be able to get across this danger zone, feeling sure that it would take a good hour to maybe find a big enough gap in the traffic to be able to cross safely. We soon noticed that other people were crossing the road, basically just walking out slowly and maybe slowing if a car was approaching, but on the whole just keeping the pace up, and we noticed that the scooters and cyclo's that were approaching them still kept driving towards them, but kind of slowed down enough to drive around them. We stood a while longer trying to take this practice in so we would have some tips for when we decided to take the plunge. It seems that as long as you keep your pace up, and don't blatantly walk out infront of any of the bigger guys, i.e cars/buses/lorries etc, the smaller stuff will just drive around you. We counted down from 3 and stepped out into the madness. Of course everyone starts beeping their horns and this naturally makes you want to either stand still or go back, but as we have learned, that is the totally wrong thing to do. We're now accustommed to the beeping, which basically translates to 'look out I'm coming'. Of course you can see that that person is coming towards you, as is the other 500 scooters and cars etc, but you just have to trust in yourself, and them, that the crazy system does seem to somehow overall, work!!

Once we had mastered how to cross the roads in Hanoi, we soon gained confidence in the city and were ready to go out and explore things properly. Unfortunately for us, we arrived late afternoon on a Thursday, and so our first day to explore the city was Friday. We were told that most Vietnamese (in Hanoi in particular) have Friday's and Monday's off work as they work on Saturday's and Sunday's. It also happened to be a bank holiday in Vietnam, and so all of the big touristy spots we wanted to go and see were closed. This wouldn't have been too much of a problem if we could have ventured out again the next day, but we had by this time, booked a mini overnight trip to Ha Long Bay, which left on the Saturday and returned on the Sunday. The next day back in Hanoi was of course a Monday and another bank holiday which again meant everything we wanted to see was closed and so meant spending longer in Hanoi than we would have preferred. It did however mean that we were able to get loads of walking around the city in and were able to get a good feel for Hanoi and indeed the Vietnamese way of life.

Our trip to Halong Bay was so we could experience life on board a famous Chinese Junk boat, whilst enjoying the stunning surroundings of Halong Bay itself. The trip out to the bay itself takes about 2 or so hours and your boat sails in between many of the beautiful, craggy limestone karsts. Once there, it's all about relaxing on board your boat in the lovely surroundings, and also a chance for a bit of snorkelling and cave exploration. Lee and I commented that it was not unlike the boat trip we did in New Zealand, sailing round the Bay of Islands. Our particular boat had just 14 passengers onboard, including Lee and I. We made friends with a few couples on the way out and were wondering what the other people onboard were like, knowing that later we would spend some time with each of the other couple's, getting to know them a bit better. After an hour of kayaking, we all got back on board the boat and showered ready for the big dinner and evening together. Lee and I decided to have a few cheeky vodka's before joining everyone for dinner, just to get us started really so we didn't have to spend so much on the pricier boat drinks. The dinner was served, dish after dish of sumptuous Vietnamese style dishes were brought out, and by now the wine was flowing and everyone else was tucking into their drinks. Our tour guide had warned us that after dinner, they would be putting kareoke on and that he encouraged us all to have a go, pitching country against country - being that we were all couples, us and another couple from the UK, a couple from The Netherlands, a couple from France and South Africa and a couple from Norway. Spain and Germany declined to be involved and formed their own little group of 4 away form the rest of us. Before dinner, everyone kind of sunk down in their chairs when the word kareoke was mentioned, all looking uncomfortable but not wanting to be a spoil sport, but as the food and drink continued to flow, so did the friendly conversation and banter, and so by the end of the meal, our group of 10 were all right up for some kareoke. The only problem at this stage was who was going to sing first. In true drunken kareoke style, there were battles as to who would have the mic next and arguements over which song should be sung. Lee at this stage had consummed nearly his body weight in vodka and was singing every word he said whether he had the mic or not. 3 of the other guys decided they were not drunk enough and that they needed to be as happy as Lee was, and so without not too much persuasion at all, they were soon on the double vodka's, courtesy of the vulnerable, untrained new barman, and were joining Lee in swinging and singing in the style of drunken rugby boys. All the usual rubbish kareoke songs got murdered and we were all still warbaling until the early hours. I'm sure the passengers on the other boats in the bay were absolutely delighted to have been treated to such a symphony. Lee sang a version of Rod Stewarts 'Do you Think I'm Sexy' that I will never forget, and will never let him forget either!! Needless to say, after all the vodka, he has no memory of his rendition and is in complete denial about it!

The next day our boat sailed to a small island/karst in which we had to climb loads of steps, but once we got to the top and saw the entrance to the cave, we realised that this was a cave like no other we have seen this whole trip. It wasn't just its vastness, but the natural formations and use of coloured lighting inside the cave that was just mesmorising. Once back onboard we had to start making our way back to the main land as our trip was coming to an end. We felt sad that we would have to say goodbye to the lovely guys we met on the trip as we had had such a great time with them. Its so true that fancy dress and kareoke are guarenteed to bring people together and break down any social barriers!

Back in Hanoi we were starting to get a bit twitchy to realise that we would have to stay another couple of night's so we could finally see the tourist spots we wanted to see, but it was just bad luck on our part that we were there on their 'weekend' days and also their bank holiday's. We eventually got to see most of the things we wanted to see, but even this proved stressful. We decided to use one of the many touting cylco drivers - a cyclo is a kind of wheelchair at the front, with a half bike attached to the back, which the driver steers from behind you, so you are right out facing all the traffic, which really is terrifying at first when you see all the scooters and cars coming towards you, but again, you just have to trust that the cyclo driver knows his path, and that everyone else will swerve around you. We went to see the old Prison in Hanoi, aka 'The Hanoi Hilton' and were suprised to discover that the American Senator, John McCain, was one the pilot's who got shot down during the war there. It showed pictures of his capture and had his pilot's clothing on display, along with all sorts of other intersting photo's, diarama's and memorabilia from both pre-war and 'American War' time. We decided to go the Ho Chi Minh Museum too, to give ourselves a bit of background knowledge of the country and how it came to be today. Unfortunately Lee and I didn't know too much about the 'American War' before we came to Vietnam. I had read a couple of books about peoples stories of their lives during the war, but that was the only information I had until then. We wanted to go to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum but unfortunately it was closed so we didn't get to see it.

Our next destination was a city called Hue, quite a fair distance from Hanoi, and so Lee and I looked into flying down as we couldn't get train tickets until another 3 days later. It turned out to be cheaper to fly there than by going on the train anyway, and of course, a hell of lot quicker. Just over an hour later we touched down in Hue and made our way to our hotel. We had an idea of the things we wanted to do and see whilst we were there, and so booked a couple of tours which we would do starting the next day. We opted to do a city tour, with a tour guide, as many of the sights are located just outside of the city centre and would have meant a lot of to'ing and fro'ing on public transport if we were to visit the places by ourselves. It also meant that we got to see a few other places that we probably wouldn't have visited if we had done our own sight-seeing, such as visiting a jos-stick and bambo hat making village. Lee and I find it so interesting to see handicrafts being made, and these 2 items are about as typically Vietnamese as you can get, they are both simple items that you see everywhere, but it was still intersting to see how they are made. We then visited some ancient temples and Mausoleums of 3 of the past kings of the Nguyen Dynasty, followed by a tour of the Imperial City within the Citadel. Many of the temples and mausoleums are lying partially ruined, but they are all very unique and interesting in their own right.

After a brief trip to see the 7 tiered Thien Mu Pagoda, we then boarded a famous Dragon Boat for a trip along the Perfume River, back to the harbour in the city centre at Hue. It all started off well on the boat, nice and relaxing, taking in the different scenery and other boats chugging along the river, but our boat's engine kept cutting out, and eventually after about the 7th time, decided not to start again. We sat there free-sailing for about 30 minutes until another Dragon Boat passed us and tried to give us a tow. We're still not sure what quite happened, but one minute we were being attached by a tow rope, then the next minute, our boat's engine started up again and somehow managed to last long enough to get us back to the harbour. It was a long day, but well worth it to take in many of the very interesting places within Hue. The next day we were up early to do the DMZ tour. The DMZ stands for Demilitarised Zone, and as the name suggests, was the area within central Vietnam that during the war that was supposed to be a 'no man's land'. It did however become the most heavily bombed area and suffered the highest number of casualties, both civillian and military. We were told that the area had so much napalm and Agent Orange (defoliants and herbicides) dropped on the area, that for many many years that followed, nothing would grow, and it is only now that the area is starting to re-generate itself again. It is also the area where there were a few of the American Firebases (military installations) located, and some of them remain today, less most of the equipment and fixtures and fittings which were stipped down by thrifty Vietnamese people after the war. We visited the Doc Mieu and Con Thien Firebase which still had some of the menacing war machines on display in the grounds, around the museum and monument. The museum houses picutures and some of the recoverd equipment used by both sides during the war, but is all labelled in very anti- American style. I was particularly freaked out by the rusting old 'Chinook' helicopter (Kelly I know you'll understand this!). I have always had a phobia of them and get completely panicky if I ever hear one coming, but I'd never seen one close up on the ground before, and I have to say that now that I have, I am even more scared witless than before. They are just so big and menacing, its hard to describe unless you have seen one yourself.

Part of this day's tour was also a trip to the Vinh Moc Tunnels. The network of 50 or so tunnels were secretly built underground at 3 different levels (12, 15 and 23 feet) by the villagers of the area to take shelter from the bombs, and to live in for 5 years during the war!! The tunnels are a network of fairly narrow walkways with little tiny living areas, pocket like, for families dotted along the way. There were also dedicated areas within the tunnels for a school, clinic, meeting room and maternity room. 17 children were born in the tunnels within the 5 years, all of whom are still alive today. It is just incredible to see the tunnels and the area that they were born in and to imagine what life must have been like for the people who lived down there. We saw the 1 purpose built ventilation hole that was made along with the tunnels, and then the 'extra' ventilation hole that was created when an American bomb exploded above the tunnel and left a huge gaping hole. It goes without saying that is was dark and pretty claustrophobic feeling down there.

From Hue, Lee and I took an overnight sleeper bus down to Hoi An, a historic and very beautiful little town on the coast. It was our first 'sleeper bus' in Vietnam and I have to just explain a little about them as they are so unique. They are generally used for long journeys, usually overnight journeys, and are basically almost a bed. They sit 2 together either side of the isle and are plastic covered, and you get a little blanket (guaranteed to have been sweated on by the previous thousand people to have had it before you). It might sound like the ideal way to travel if you have to travel a long way and overnight, but believe me these buses are way over-rated. When Lee and I got on, there were only seats/beds available along the back row, and we had to squash ourselves in next to another couple. You can't help but brush up against that person as the bus swings from left to right so often due to the poor road surfaces. It is also incredibly unsafe (and wouldn not be legal in the UK) for the poor person who has the middle bed, as there is no safety bar or other measure in place for when the bus suddenly breaks. They are however a pretty enjoyable way to travel if you only have say a 5 hour journey.

We arrived in Hoi An early the next morning, feeling very tired and groggy after a poor nights 'sleep' on the bus. We checked into our hotel and had a few more hours sleep before venturing out to explore the town. Once we were up and ready, we headed out to find a place to have some lunch and then do a bit of exploring. We didn't even reach the end of the road before we were pounced upon by a keen young lady, trying to befriend us and get her all important sale out of us. We knew where she was headed with her friendly chit chat and questions, but decided that as we had already decided to get an item of clothing made up when we got to Hoi An, it might as well be at her shop. She tagged along with us all the way into the main town road, eager to make sure we knew exactly which one her shop was. She then continued into the restaurant with us and sat with us whilst we ate, just to make sure we didn't walk away and go to another shop! She took us to her sister in law's restaurant, and was then trying to recommend we use her husband for Lee's haircut, her sister if we wanted to hire a scooter and her brother for something else etc. We had basically fallen into the typical tourist trap of being lured into something and then almost escorted to every other family associated business. It turned out not to be a problem as we politely declined all of the other services of her family, but we did visit her tailoring shop so I could be measured up for a pair of shorts. Since we have been travellingl, I have put on heaps of weight and sadly and embarassingly, a lot of my clothes do not fit any more, so it seemed a perfect oportunity to get some shorts tailor made to fit my new larger frame. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering round some of the gorgeously cute little streets in Hoi An, admiring all the beautifull, ancient looking builings all squashed next to each other. There is a mixture of Frency and Vietnamese style buildings, and each one has lovely hand made goods inside, such as colourful laqured wood items, bambo furniture, marble scuptures, jewellery shops etc, but by far the most eye catching, and for what Hoi An is most famously known, the exceedingly beautiful coloured lantern shops. Every lunar month on the eve of the full moon, Hoi An switches off its lights in the main streets, and instead, lights thousands of lanterns and sets small lanterns alight and sends them floating down the river. It was our intention to be there in time for this festival, but unfortunately Lee and I got there a day too late. We were still charmed by the lanterns in the tiny shop fronts and the strange but eye catching illuminated animals along the river. We enjoyed a little trip up the river past some of the enchanting shops and animal lights, and were rowed by a really sweet old lady.

The next day Lee and I did a trip about 20 kms out of Hoi An to a place called China Beach, or My Khe to the locals. It is a long stretch of lovely white sand, dotted with lots of eco-tubs (round shaped rowing boat used by locals), gorgeous blue rolling surf and pretty much nothing else around it except for Marble Mountain behind, and very far off signs of a hotel development in the making. We took a lovely stroll along a big stretch of beach and didn't see a soul in sight, but we then eventually came across an area of 5 ancient looking beach umbrealla's and deck-chairs. This seemed to be the only area along the beach that had any signs of tourism there, and even then it was only 2 laid back Vietnamese cafe's set back slightly from the beach. We sat on the beach there for a good 3 hours and we only saw about 6 other people in all that time, so it really did feel like a special place. We also took a little venture up Marble Mountain and saw some of the many caves and temples up there. It might sound ungrateful or rude, but Lee and I are starting to get a little bit cave'd and temple'd out now. They are all fascinating in their own way, but once you have seen so many, they start to lose their appeal a little. We have decided to save our temple visits for Cambodia now for the awe inspiring Angkor Wat.

The next day we headed on a boat tour to the Cham Islands. We took a 45 minute speed boat to the main port and village. Our tour guide wanted to take us to see a temple and pagoda up in the hills, but our small group weren't really expecting to see these and were expecting to go snorkelling, so we ended up abandoning that idea and instead visited the small but quaint food market along the sea front. We then asked our guide to take us over to one of the smaller islands so we could spend some time relaxing and enjoying the tranquil empty beach. As we pulled up to the small jetty, we realised that it was like a mini paradise. It had all the features, the aqau blue water, the white sand, the cloudless blue sky, the small but deserted beach with just a few bambo and thatched umbrella's. Lee and I didn't do anymore than have a little swim and read our books on the island for a few hours, but it truly felt like we were a million miles away from everyone and everything. There was just literally the 6 of us from our little trip on the beach and we were able to soak up the ambience all on our own for the first 2 hours at least. We were soon joined by a larger tour group, but we did at least have the chance to find a gorgeous bit of Vietnam that we could enjoy pretty much on our own for a while. The next day we opted to hire a scooter and head down to the beach at Hoi An itself, and were pleased to discover that it is also a very lovely beach. It is far more commercial than China Beach and The Cham Islands, but still had everything you could want from a nice beach.

The next day we headed down to Nha Trang, another large city based along the central coast. This was another overnight trip and so we arrived the next morning feeling pretty shattered. We caught up on some more sleep then headed out to get some lunch and have a general look around. The hotel we checked into was away from the main backpacker end of Nha Trang, although it was still very close to the beach. After some lunch we thought we'd go and check out the beach, but we were very disappointed to find out that it wasn't anywhere near as nice as we'd come across in Vietnam so far. Although it was almost deserted, it has unfortunatley become the victim of horrendous amounts of litter throwing - very sad indeed. We left the beach feeling somewhat un-inspired by what we had seen and so decided we should go and check out the livelier backpacker area. We soon found a bar that sold cheap cocktails, and so decided to have a few drinks whilst we decided what we should do for the rest of our time there. We didn't get very far with our plans, but did enjoy an afternoon and evening in some of the bars and a lovely restaurant. In truth, we didn't really feel Nha Trang and so didn't do anything of note. In fact we felt early on that it wasn't a place that really suited us and so we booked a coach ticket out of there for the next day.

The day after we were on our way to Dalat. Dalat is a small hillstation town located in the Central Highlands at an elevation of 1500 m above sea level, which also means that it enjoys a cooler climate than the rest of Vietnam. This did fact alone came as a welcome relief to Lee and I as we were starting to get a bit fed up of the constant humidity. As soon as we stepped off the bus we were surrounded by loads of different guys all trying to win our attention and to get us to go on 1 of their motorbike tours. Fortunately, Lee had done a bit of research on this matter and knew that the guys we would be looking for were known as 'Easy Riders' and would have a uniform and some ID. We'd been hassled by guys in Nha Trang and other places all saying that they would take us on a motorbike tour, but we wanted to make sure that when we did one, it was with a reputable company. It wasn't long before 1 of the real Easy Rider guys spotted us checking our map and he came over to us, offering us a lift to the hotel we had selected and to give us an introduction to his company. He made a quick call to his mate, another Easy Rider, and Lee and I were soon on the backs of their motorbikes whizzing through the streets of Dalat towards our hotel. Lan and Son, our Easy Riders met us after lunch and we discussed routes and rates. They suggested that most of their customers do either a 2 day or 4 day tour, but Lee and I had already discussed where we wanted to go etc before and decided that 3 days would be better for us, starting off in Dalat and dropping us off at our next destination in Mui Ne. We talked this over with Son and Lan but they said they couldn't match our itinery exactly, so we compromised in the end and went for a route that started off in Dalat the next morning, and then went out into the highlands, with an overnight stop further inland at a fairly big town, and then started heading southwards but still inland for our next overnight stop, and then they would drop us off at a point further south still, where we could pick up a bus that would take us the rest of the way to Mui Ne.

We were up early the next morning to meet our guides, Son and Lan for breakfast at our hotel, before getting our big backpacks strapped to the back of their motorbikes, and then heading out. Lee and I wanted to take in a few of the local sights in around Dalat as we didn't get a chance to explore on foot properly the day before. We stopped for a few minutes at each place to get some photo's and some information about the place from our guides. We then hopped on the bikes and they took us to the next spot, a place that Lee and I had not requested that we stop at, but a place that they obviously knew would be of interest to us. The place is called 'The Crazy House' and just like the name says, it really is a very crazy house. We had a very brief explantion given to us by a girl who worked their, and we think she said it was designed and built back sometime early - mid last century by a Vietnamese Lady. If you can imagine a type of house that used to be described in childrens fairy tales, it was something like that. It is basically a series of themed rooms that are interconnected by narrow steep walkways or stepping stones. Its the sort of place that you want to race from room to room to see what's lurking around the next corner, and the fact that it is maze like just adds to the tackiness yet appeal of the place. We also spotted the biggest ever spider we have ever seen in our lives. Standing underneath it on its web (we were assured it would stay on its web and hasn't jumped or fallen onto anyones heads yet), looking up at it, it looked like it was easily as big as an adult human hand with fingers splayed out. The yellow and black stripped body was as big and as wide as 2 fingers together - totally horrific!

Once back on the bikes we headed out of town a bit to a flower farm and coffee plantation. This might sound a bit dull, but as we found out, Vietnam is the 2nd largest exporter of coffee in the world, and my goodness, have Lee and I absolutely got a thing about Vietnamese coffee. People here drink it all kinds of ways, but our favourite is hot with (sweet) condensed milk - no wonder the pounds keep piling on! We were then taken to a silk worm factory which absolutely amazed us. I must admit I have always wondered how silk becomes silk, and after this trip I now know. Son took us to the first part of the factory where the silk worms in their cocoons all lay in big wicker baskets. He then explained that they are taken to a production line of machines where the machinist girls put them into hot water for a while to soften them up (which kills the worms). After being softened up in the hot water, they are then all bobbing up and down in another trough of water, where a tiny thread from each cocoon is then attached to a rotating wheel, which in turn then starts spinning the threads into silk yarns. The dead silk worms are thrown into a bucket which we thought would then be disposed of, but we were told that the worms are kept and sold to markets where people pay to have them deep fried and then eat! Some of the cocoons did not get used at this stage and were also thrown into another bucket. We found out it was because those cocoons contained 2 silk worms which means as a result, the silk that is produced from the cocoon is too thick. This thicker silk does not get wasted either, it goes to another machine that makes more durable items such as silk scarves. We then saw some of the ancient looking machines that weave the already spun silk into sheets of silk material and also stamps the pattern into it. It was a bit out of sync, but later that day we were taken to a small house and silk worm farm right out in the countryside, where we were shown the silk worms all squirming around on the big wicker baskets, no cocoons at this stage, just fattening themselves up on the many Mulberry leaves (part of a 24 day eating process before they cocoon themselves). They were really long and fat, about little finger size, and just on the point of turning themselves into cocoons. I didn't realise that the worms, once they've had their 24 day fill of leaves, start producing spittle, or silk, from their mouths which is then what cocoons them, and then the process of turning that cocoon back into silk can begin. It is a truly fascinating process to see and left Lee and I really impressed.

We were told before we went on the motorbike tour that we would drive through places where we would see people who have never seen a white person before. Lee and I thought this couldn't possibly be true as there are hundreds of motorbike tour guides with passengers that do the same sorts of routes every day, but as the day wore on and we were headed further and further out into the highlands, it started to become obvious to us that it was in fact true. We were being stared at by nearly everyone who passed us and when we stopped at a bridge to get off and take some photo's, 2 scooters even stopped and gestured to us to let them take our photo! It was really strange, but Lee and I said it didn't make us feel uncomfortable as after all, we are strangers in their country. If anything we felt like mini celebrities for a while! One of the most memorable places we stopped off at on the first day was a place called Lak Lake and Jun Village. An ethnic group called the Mnong People inhabit this area and live in stilted longhouses. The houses and the people live a life not unlike how it would have been when they first settled there - no one is exactly sure when they settled, but it is thought that it may have been over a hundred years ago. We wondered down to the large lake perimetre to take a look at the villagers farming the land, totally awed by the old machinery and methods they were using. A few of the men were trying to drive a tractor type of machine with fully laden cart on the back, out of the water and up the wet muddy hill into the village, but the tractor was really struggling against the slippery mud, so Lee, bless him, ran over and tried to help give them a push up the hill. It took another 3 men to join him giving it all their strength, but they finally got it over the ridge and it was able to continue on its way. We also got taken to another small house and adjoining outbuildings along our way in the highlands, to a place where the residents produce rice wine, or 'happy water' as the locals like to call it. We saw how the rice is steamed and fermented and then boiled and filtered in the various stages, and then Lan our guide decided it would be a good idea to buy a bag, yes bag, of the stuff so we could have some with our dinner later that night. He also explained that this stuff can be brewed to different alcoholic contents, mainly at 30%, but also 40% and sometimes 65% proof - luckily for Lee and I, he bought some of the 30% stuff!

Later that afternoon, just as the sun was getting ready to set, we finally arrived at our first nights destination, the very Communistic town of Buon Ma Thuot. We all checked into the hotel that Son and Lan had arranged for us, and then showered and changed ready for a special dinner they had ready for us. We felt like special guests as they asked us to join them on the special lantern lit outside table and chairs. We were also joined by the hotel Manager and Security Guard, who although they didn't speak English, were very warm and friendly. Lan set about filling our shot size glasses with the rice wine whilst we each had our bowls filled with some of the special traditional Vietnamese foods they had ordered for us all. As the brown lumps of meat were being lowered into our bowls, Lee asked Son what the meat was. I was satisfied with the answer of 'beef' but Lee probed a bit further and asked what part of the cow the meat was from. Son said he wasn't quite sure what the English word for it was, but he gestured with his finger and thumb pressed together on the inside of his wrist, making a tugging motion. We took this to mean that it was a dish of beef tendons - yummy! We both took the plunge not wanting to appear rude, and I have to say that it wasn't too bad, a bit chewy as you might expect, but on the whole it had a nice flavour. Lee struggled somewhat with his, not able to detract from the fact that it was like eating a bit of beef flavoured chewing gum. Soon our bowls were being filled with the next prepared dish, another meat dish with more unspecified lumps of meat. Unfortunately for Lee, he received about 5 great big lumps of what can only be described as fat, no meat, just pure fat. I fortunately had some chunks of prime beef in my bowl so I wasn't in so much of a predicament. Other dishes were brought to the table, but luckily they were all palatable and so weren't a problem and thankfully they had laid out a tray with about 10 plain baguettes for Lee and I to accompany what we were eating - this meant Lee could still eat til he was full without having to force down the food put into his bowl. Lan kept filling all of our glasses up every 5 minutes or so with the happy water, which whenever the command was called, we all had to raise our glass and repeat the Vietnamese version of 'cheers and good health' to and then sink in 1 mouthful. Sometime a bit later when we were all more than a bit tipsy, Lee decided that it would be a great idea to change the drink to vodka, and see how the boys coped with drinking the Russian happy water. Needless to say that when they called it a night 4 hours later, we all staggered to bed a bit worse for wear. We very much enjoyed the meal overall as it was more about the experience than the food we were eating. I don't remember much about getting back to the hotel room, but Lee said he almost convinced me to go to a dodgy nightclub that was next door to us. Whilst we stood in the bathroom debating whether to go to it or not, Lee started playing with his hair which had been (not very well) cut the night before. The guy who 'cut' Lee's hair must have been a bit scissor shy as he took a bit of length off the top, but pretty much left the sides untouched, so this resulted in Lee looking a little bit like he had a flat top. I had assured Lee the night after he got out of the hairdressers that I would have a go at trying to even out the sides, as this was something I had had to do when we were in Malaysia after another unfortunate uncut. What wasn't such a good idea was trying to perform this task when we were both completely drunk in a hotel room. I don't know what possessed either of us to think it would be a good idea, but as I'm sure you can guess, it was a completely shambolic idea. I ended up accidently cutting 3 great big chunks out of 1 side of Lee's head, and as he has since put it, he now looks like a dog with mange! I offered to do the same to the other side to make sure that it was at least even, but even Lee in his drunken state realised that that would be the worst thing I could do at that point. He then decided to take matters into his own hands and tried to tidy it himself but it was too late - the damage had been done. I awoke early the next morning and nearly had a fit when I saw all the hair on the floor and suddenly panicked as I had vague flashbacks from the night before. I was worried that Lee would see the hair on the floor and the bald patches on his head and hate me, but thankfully he does see the funny side of it!

I should mention as well, that the second night we stopped at another guest house in a remote town further south in the highlands, and once again Son and Lan said that they wanted to treat us to some 'special' Vietnamese dishes that we would always remember. We were both a bit jittery at this stage as we'd experienced a few fat and gristle meals since the first encounter but again didn't want to appear rude, especially as they had ordered us in this dish especially. As we sat at the table nervously looking towards the clay pot that was being brought over to us and then placed on a hot plate, Son removed the lid and announced that it was a steaming bowl of pigs brains. My stomach did a quick flip and a I stole a glance at Lee who looked like he was ready to pass out. I gave him a quick re-assuring pat on the leg and reminded him that we should at least try a mouthful as they had gone to the effort of ordering it for us especially. Lee suggested that I still taste it first and depending on my re-action, would follow or not follow suit. I put a rather generous desert spoonful sized portion on my plate and stuck my fork into it ready to take the plunge. It shouldn't really have come as so much of a suprise, but I was quite taken aback by how easily my fork went into it. I then couldn't help but think about the squidgy lump of white goo that I was about to put into my mouth. I was suprised that it actually had no flavour at all, and I was strong enough to convince myself it was just like eating a bit of tofu - infact that is exactly how I would describe it, both in texture and taste (or lack of). Lee, brave soldier he is, did indeed follow suit and I was extremely proud of him as he isn't such an adventurous eater as me. That will be why he will be coming home no bigger than when he left, whereas I am nearly twice the size.

The next day we headed back out into the countryside to see more ethnic minority villages and see people going about their daily business. Every time we passed any children on the whole of the bike tour, they all smile and wave frantically at us, and it is just so heart warming. These people have such little materialistically and come from poor homes and villages, yet their smiles are as warm and genuine as you are ever likely to see. They all have the faces' of innocence yet they all seem so grown up for their ages. Every time Son and Lan stopped the bikes and Lee and I got off, all the local people stared at us, maybe not sure what to make of us, or maybe because they just don't see foreign people in their villages very often at all. We always wave and say hello and this seems to put most of them at ease. A lot of the people wave back or smile at the very least and its because of this that Lee and I have been so bowled over by Vietnam. We have loved the history, temples, caves and beaches but more than anything, we love the people. They are so genuine and friendly and Lee and I felt that Son and Lan in particular had become more than just our tour guides. In the evenings when the day's touring was over, they became our friends.

Vietnam is a country of great contradictions. We have witnessed the traditional way of farming life with so many people in their bambo hats all hudled over, working long labourious days in the fields and we have seen ladies, some really old, walking the streets with heavy shoulder poles that carry their street kitchen food, cooker and seating on either ends. At the opposite end of the scale, the cities are bustling with expensive sports cars, the latest mobile phones being sold in the shops, and the construction of some huge internationally branded hotels and golf complexes etc. We've seen lovley old people whose faces are seem to tell a thousand stories to the energetic youngsters who are so eager to want to learn English and grab life by the horns.

We haven't finished our tour of Vietnam yet, but Lee and I both have a love of this country that we never imagined we would and are already talking about the other places we would go to that we missed on our way down if we come back.

We meet Christi tomorrow and are looking forwards to spending 3 days checking out HCMC and surrounds before Lee and I do a quick trip down to the Mekong Delta and then head over to Cambodia. The weeks are falling away now, but we hope to get another 2 blogs done before our year's travels are over. Til then..... Oh yes, please check out our 2 photo albums uploaded today from our travels in Vietnam so far.