Had a lovely meal on our last night in Ho Chi Minh City. It was a top floor, open roofed, barbeque restaurant (called 3T) where the centre of your table doubled as a barbeque and we cooked beef, venison and fish all marinaded in wonderful sauces and spices and eaten with rice and salads. We followed this with an ice cream from the famous Fanny's ice cream parlour which was also delicious.

The next day we caught the train to Nha Trang - and what an experience that was! We had pre-booked soft seats in an air conditioned carriage which were actually quite comfortable but the train itself was battered and filthy. You could hardly see out of the windows because they were so dirty and also covered by wire mesh. We managed to get one of our bags up into the overhead rack but the other one was too big. The carriage was laid out so that half the seats faced one way and the other half the other. We had the best seats in the carriage as we were sat in the middle with a small table in between us and the seats facing the other way and a bit of space where we could put a case. We were doubly delighted that there was nobody in the seat opposite Roger so he was able to put the case down and create his own version of a Parker Knoll recliner. Unfortunately this state of affairs was short lived as about an hour into the journey we stopped at a station and hundreds of people got on all carrying their luggage in cardboard boxes and the bloke with the biggest box sat in the seat opposite Roger and so he had to fold up his recliner and sit with his legs around the case like a pole dancer with a very thick pole for the remaining 6.5 hours of the journey. Facing me was a Vietnamese girl who had got there first and had her case under the table and sat with her legs across it and onto my bag, limiting my leg room no end. Annoyingly she looked really comfortable and managed to sleep for most of the journey sporting a polka dot surgical mask even though cardboard box man took off his shoes and put his feet across her and onto the table! The other passengers were 90% local and spent the journey shouting at each other and into phones really loudly. We could not understand any of the announcements and felt very vulnerable. Rog tried out the loos at either end of the carriage and told me that I had the choice of a hole in the floor or a western style toilet and of the two he recommended the hole in the floor!! I was so anxious not to have to use the toilet that I did not drink a drop for the whole journey and managed to last. All the time the attendants were wheeling the most unappetising food trolleys up and down selling meals to passengers. It was total chaos the whole way. We have decided to fly to our next stop Hoi An!!

Nha Trang is a seaside resort and we have really enjoyed just chilling on the beach with a book. After our recent spells in cities it is great to get away from all the hustle and bustle and better still there is a constant breeze so it never gets too hot. Rog tried to brave the sea on a couple of occasions but there was a huge swell and very strong rip currents so he spent more time being knocked over and picking himself back up than actually swimming or enjoying the water. I wisely decided to stay on my sunbed under the umbrella with my book!

We have been informed that this is the petty crime capital of Vietnam and are also aware that Becky and Steph were robbed here when travelling, Roger is thus like a coiled spring ready to foil any pickpocket attempts and I risk a karate chop or kung fu kick if I tap him on the shoulder.

Food here is great and we have really enjoyed eating Vietnamese cuisine very cheaply. We have had another DIY barbeque as well as dishes served in pineapples and coconuts - what's not to like!