Enduring another cramped and bouncy bus journey with a young man's appendage perched neatly on my shoulder for much of the duration, we arrived at Phong Nha. Phong Nha is a National Park north of Central Vietnam and lures tourists due to its three impressive caves: Phong Nha, Thien Duong and Hang Toi. We had come for the (reportedly spectacular Thien Duong (Paradise Cave). We also had the pleasure of being accompanied by three fine gents; an Englishman, a Chin...

Da Nang is pretty boring if the truth is to be told. The streets aren't clean and construction hangs around the streets in half finished piles. The third largest city in Vietnam, Da Nang has surprisingly little to offer in terms of sight seeing and with the Marble Mountains already viewed we decided to move on swiftly to Hue. The train journey to Hue was a four hour one that offered fantastic views as it hugged the coastline for many of its miles. Dense palm tre...

There's no getting around it, Hoi An has too many tailors. The city is drowning in them. It is estimated that there are between three and five hundred tailors here thanks to the voracity of tourists. Of course, myself and Chelsea were seduced by the idea of having something personable made, just as we were in India, and made swift work of studying tripadvisor for the best shops. Chelsea opted for pair of light cotton trousers; she had a very specific idea in min...

Our bus driver had a voice that told he had smoked since the age of three, he croaked loudly like an old tree in the wind at other road users - clearly unhappy with their driving abilities. He also had the terribly affinity of leaning on his horn for apparently absolutely no reason whatsoever, I am quite sure that I once saw he beeping at a cloud. Being ushered off of our bus (yellow one) in the shadow of the Marble Mountains was slightly ominous. It loomed high...

Hoi An's chief attraction is its architecture and long and murky history. Gaining Unesco World Heritage statues marked the world's appreciation of its resurrected Old Town. It's narrow and winding street offer a gloriously car-free labyrinth. The Thu Bon river running through it is draped in fantastic eateries and fresh markets which are laid out in intricate sections of sea food, vegetables and meat. The thronging market place on occasion was quite choked up an...