1 - 4 March Hoi'an was our first glimpse of the sea and the first proper relaxation time we had had in so long. We stayed in a hotel called the Grasslands Hotel for 15 dollars a night. We had a lovely room with a balcony and a swimming pool. We spent our days reading and pottering around town. It was a small fishing village with mediterrean charm on the mouth of river which headed out to the sea. It was glorious, a beautiful town with beautiful beaches and som...

26 - 28 February We arrived in Hue at 9am and neither of us had had much sleep. We booked into the first hotel we saw and spent the day looking around the South Bank of the town. It was much smaller and quieter than busy Hanoi. It was full of nice restaurants and bars, but I need to lay off the beer it doesn't seem to mix so well with my malaria medication, Doxycycline. At least I could have the odd drink though ulike when I was on Malarone, I was ill instantly....

23 -25 February We had an early wake up call for our trip out to Halong Bay. At 7.30am we boarded the bus and headed to Halong City where we were due to get our boat. Our boat was wooden with three floors. The first floor consisted of half a dozen bedrooms complete with ensuite, the second floor was a restaurant and the third was the viewing deck, where we spent most of our time. The boat was fairly small enough to fit 15 tourists on board. We had one full day...

20 - 22 February Vietnam was mild and damp when we arrived, which was totally different to what we had experienced in China. As soon as we crossed the border you could see the difference between the two cultures and their people. They were far friendlier and they didn't stare as much. We arrived at our guesthouse but they didn't have any room, so they just put us in a different hotel. We spent the evening just getting to grips with the city. Our first full da...

16 - 19 February Nanning was exactly how we had imagined, it was just a big city. A point we had to stay if we wanted to get to Vietnam. Our hostel, Lotusland Hostel, was really nice and clean and had trees painted up the sides of the walls. It had a huge widescreen TV and a WII with dozens of games to pick from to keep bored travellers entertained. There isn't much I can say about this place. We spent our first anniversary there and much to my dismay had to e...