Ola from a wet Vietnam,

Despite the main aim of travelling being to avoid rain for 6 months the wet stuff has caught up with us!!! We are thus on day three of rain which is likely to continue for the rest of our time in Vietnam. Despite this we've done loads of fun things since our last blog.

On our second day in Nha Trang we decided not to mess with a well worked formula and went for a late breakfast of peanut butter and baguette (unfortunately without jam which is definitely my favourite breakfast of travelling). After this we went back to the hotel to pack up and headed to the beach. The sea on the Nha Trang bay is particularly vicious when getting in and out. On the first day on seeing the sea I whipped of my clothes and attempted to bound in. While I gave the first wave a damn good thrashing the second one got the better of me and pulled me under with the result that I got tossed around like a salad. As those who go on holiday with me know being beaten up by waves is one of my favourite activities. However it fell me in true Baywatch style to help the ladies get in and out of the water in one piece. On the first day I managed to snatch victory frm the jaws of disaster only by grabbing Rach from the jaws of a mini-tsunami and dragging her up onto the beach. However the next day I was not quite so successful, leaving Amy bedraggled with her bikini top pretty much off while I fished her out of the sea. My failure was only compounded by the stares of a group of fellow travellers. Next time I'm leaving it to the Hoff. We were however forced off the beach by the inescapable shade of the palm trees which by about 4.30 had made it quite chilly for a chap with his nipples out. We thus set off for a cheap drink, which turned into a tasty tea of Pizza, salad and beer. At 6.30 it was off to the night bus for the 12 hour voyage to Hoi An.

As there were four of us we booked the back row of the sleeper bus, where we were joined by Wendy from Holland, who had the pleasure of sleeping next me. The sleeper bus was at times very bumpy and they turned the lights off after about an hour. However all this kind of passed me by as I was awake for about 20 mins of the 12 hour journey. Apparantly the squid boats with there bright lights to attract the squid were an eerie sight. Maybe I'll stay awake to see them next time (no chance). We arrived on time in Hoi An and checked into a lovely hotel. After a tasty breakfast (peanut butter and baguette) we walked around the lovely old streets. Hoi An was really pretty with loads of old architecture and small quaint streets. A bit like the Vietnamise equivalent of York. As Amy and Justin wanted tailored suits and a coat we spent the morning strolling from shop to shop trying to thrash out a good deal. In the afternoon we left them to it and Rach and I went and visited some of the beautiful old buildings around Hoi An. We latter met up for tea and beer and then headed home with our increasingly obligatory night cap of a pack of Orio biscuits.

The next morning the rain had started!! However putting our best British foot forward we headed to My Som, a beautiful set of temples set in the middle of thick Vietnamese jungle. On our return we put the rest of our pictures on the internet and went for a beer. Beer here on draught was as cheap as 10p a glass. However somethings in life are destined to be too good to be true and the flat, watery, beer for 10p was heart breakingly one of them. Sticking with the 30p bottles we had a tasty tea of Beef Pho (the staple beef noodle soup) and headed down to the river for some more tasty beers. The only interuption to our fun was when the owner of the bar put her pajamas on, a truely international sign it's time to leave.

The next day it was back on the bus for another beautiful ride through rice paddies and jungle covered mountains to Hue. On arrival we dumped our bags and headed to the huge Citadel and stoll around the city. After a tasty tea of cabbage, beef and rice (see mum I am eating) it was to bed.

Happy Birthday Pops!! Put a couple of beers on our credit card. You deserve it.

Loads of Love

Joe and Rach x x