We caught a night bus to Hoi An and I wasn't in the best of moods when we arrived! We tried to find the hostel that Dan was staying in but it took us ages to walk around trying to locate it but in the end we had no luck. We ended up staying in another hostel which was close by though.

We managed to coincide our visit with Merle, Cat, Sarah and Andrea who we'd met in Thailand and Laos. They were travelling southwards down Vietnam and we were going northwards so it was good to meet them in the middle! Our first day there we spent just getting to know the city, which mainly consists of Tailors! They are literally everywhere and you can get absolutely anything made!! I ended up getting 2 dresses made, but that was tame compared to what some of the other girls had made! Beth even bought a couple of dresses too!

Our first evening we went out for the most manic meal! It was amazing food, but down this little alleyway where the waitresses serve a set menu. They wrap the food up for you, cramming as much ingredients in as possible and then dip it in some sauce and shove it in your mouth! It is so hilarious to watch! They just keep bringing food out to you and keep shoving it in your mouth! We went to a bar after this where some of the girls were drinking jaegerbombs! I stayed clear away from them!! After about midnight, all of the bars in the town shut and those people who wish to carry on partying are shipped in a mini bus to the nearest beach! The mini bus had about 10 seats but they managed to cram about 30 of us in the back! Beth had the best seat in the house - she was standing, bent over with her head skimming the roof! She ended up like this on the way there and the way back too! Poor thing!

When we got there the bar was pretty empty but the party was soon in full swing! Merle made sure of that by previewing her dance which she calls 'Futurism'! It is the funniest thing you have ever seen! She says it comes from within and is an amalgamation of dance moves from the 1920's to today! She says this with a straight face but when she gets going it is so hilarious! I'll have to put a video up but I don't think you could ever appreciate the full affect of the dance!!

The following day we spent on the beach, it was so nice to relax in Hoi An and not have to worry about where our next destination was going to be. We met a Chilean guy who was doing some kite surfing so we sat and watched him for a few hours. I think he spent 2 days practising on the sand but never actually got to have a go in the sea.

Beth, Merle, Cat, Andrea and me met up with a guy called Mr Phong on our third day. He is recommended in the Lonely Planet. He picked us up from our hostel and took us to his house in a little village on the outskirts of Hoi An. He taught us a bit about the history of Vietnam and the war, which at first was hard t understand because of his accent but it was really interesting to listen to. After all of the bias that is in most of the museums around here it was good to hear about it from a real person! He showed us around his village and we met some of the local people. His wife then cooked us a fantastic lunch with about 5 courses! It was such a great experience. It's not the sort of thing you get to see every day, actually immersing yourself inthe local culture.

We spent 3 days in Hoi An and decided to get to Hue, our next destination, in a different way to the bus! The other girls had come from Hue to Hoi An riding mopeds so we decided to have a similar experience. We chickened out of riding them ourselves, but we found a company called 'Easy Riders' who have motorbikes and the took us on the back of them (sorry mum!) to Hue! It was amazing! We got to see so much of the countryside and neither Beth nor me could stop smiling! They took us to Marble Mountain and Elephant Springs on the way too which were amazing to see. We got to swim in the springs and had some really lovely food there too. Our guides tried to get us to eat chicken head but we declined! One of them also insisted on calling me Mickey (I think partly because it was easier for him to say) because he thought I looked like Mickey Mouse!!!! They also have a fascination with white skin and they all seem to want to have it. They even sell all of their moisturisers with a whitening agent in!! Strange!

Hue was pretty boring to be honest! It used to be the capital of Vietnam, but there wasn't really a lot to do there. We had a city tour and sampled the local food, which consisted of a 9 course meal of Hue specialties! It was delicious and very different to some of the food we have eaten so far. We spent our second day there on the beach, but it was absolutely freezing and there were only 4 western people there so we were a real target for the street sellers! They really got on our nerves in the end!

We've also had 3 scams in the north of Vietnam, one from the motorcyclists, one from the people working on the entrance to one of the tombs and another from a taxi driver! It really makes you suspicious of people and not trust anybody! Luckily they haven't been big scams and we managed to get out of the one with the taxi driver but it really puts you on edge! I had thought the Vietnamese were friendly until we got to Hue!!