Well the sleeper train had air conditioned rooms with 4 bunks. We were in the posh cabins in the last 2 carriages of a very long train. The station in Hanoi was quite chaotic, thank goodness we had our guide as we crossed railway tracks, dodged mopeds then clambered up into the carriage. We didn't get much sleep, as although the bunks were comfortable enough the train rattled and jolted, stopped and started until at 6 am we reached Lao Cai, half an hour late due...

Doing our bit for Culcher. Hanoi has a quite different flavour to Hoi An, in spite of being an anagram. The city is as busy as Ho Chi Minh City, with as many scooters and mopeds, but is grubby and unkempt off the main roads. Last night we ventured as far as the nearest ATM, to withdraw the maximum 2 million Dong ( roughly £56) but the roads were so difficult to cross, it was drizzling, dark and smelly so we scuttled back to the hotel and ate in their restaurant...

A long drive at around 25mph as we dodged potholes, oncoming lorries and mopeds. We wound up into the mountains with a spectacular view of Hoi An bay, a deep water port used by the US Navy, and Lang Co beach. At the narrow Hai Van pass we stopped for strong coffee and were assailed again by the street vendors. The pass was used by the French before the US Army, and pill boxes and bunkers of the hillsides can be explored, either side of the narrow road and opposi...

A 9am start to drive to the World Heritage Centre of My Son, to see the Hindu temple ruins left by the Champa people when they were pushed south by the invading Buddhist Vietnamese people in the 13 th century. Building here went on continuously from the 4th century and there were 70 temples discovered and mapped by French archaeologists in the late 19th century. All but 20 of them were destroyed by American bombs, jettisoned prior to landing at Da Nang. Eventuall...

Up early to fly north to Da Nang. The airport was built by the Americans and some of their hangars are still in use. It was 39C at 10am but there is a breeze and the humidity level is lower than in the Mekong, where it was about 100%. We stopped to see the Cham sculpture museum, where the pieces excavated by the French at My Son temple complex are displayed. We'll be going there later. After a brief stop to paddle at the beach, we climbed the Marble Mountain to s...