Wednesday 21st December Up early doors again for the trip to Nha Trang, we take one look out the window and the weather again confirms that it is time to move on. The journey is relatively crammed in at the back of the bus but the scenery on the way down is spectacular once again even though the mist came in and it was raining. The road on the way down was pretty narrow and snaked it's way around the mountains. The road itself was in a pretty terrible condition and at one stage we thought that the bus was going to break in half as it was bouncing around so much. The views quickly changed from beautiful mountain ranges to glorious beaches the nearer we got to Nha Trang.. The sea was very rough and the water a murky brown reflecting the bad weather that Vietnam has been experiencing of late. We saw a few landslides and it is probably only a matter of time before the main North/South road gets cuts off altogether judging by the amount of water seeping through and the lack of any engineering measures to pin back the exposed earth. On our arrival in Nha Trang we dump our stuff in the hotel (12 dorrar a night) and go to the Pasteur Institute. It composed of a nice small museum dedicated to some bloke called Yersin who discovered the microbe causing the black death (which basically saved millions of lives). All quite educational really. We meet Fergus for dinner, stop off at the Crazy Kim cafe for a few and then onto the Sailing club for late night dancing and pool. Now I may be speaking from a position of excellence here (surely you have noted my John Travolta prowess most of you?) but the general standard of dancing in Nha Trang is very poor indeed. Now I don't know whether it has something to do with being a former communist state but these guys generally got no rhythm. So we had a laugh at the locals (and several terrible dancing tourists, think they were German) for once before I got my ass kicked on the pool table. We crawled into bed at some silly late hour. Thursday 22nd December We spend the day sightseeing in Nha Trang, Fergus has (probably) had enough of us by now so he does his own thing for the day. Still we see him at our first stop the hot springs in Nha Trang. This was most relaxing as a spell in the mineral rich mud bath, hot spring water and swimming pool made our skin feel all rejuvenated and soft. Of course, Amy is naturally soft anyway (had to get that one in as it earns the brownie points). The place wasn't really that full so it was all the more relaxing. We decide to go for a massage after as well (Stu can't get enough of it at the moment) and it is Amy's first time. We are separated into two different rooms and after an anxious few minutes wait and change into (it has to be said quite tight fitting) shorts, our bodies are being soothed by some Vietnamese ladies (Stu's one has a short pink skirt on boys!) These ladies take the whole massage thing to new levels firstly by standing on our necks. Then the joints start popping as the arms are nearly pulled out of the sockets and our heads are nearly twisted off. The Cantonese rice for lunch is simply scrumptious. More sightseeing in the afternoon consisting of the Cham Towers (constructed in the 10th Century); the Cathedral (we nearly get mugged by two 8 year olds); and a guided tour of a pagoda by a monk and his two little helpers. The huge seated Buddha on top of the hill was a bit of a highlight but the 'compulsary' purchase of 8 dorrar book of postcards kind of soured the experience a bit. We also visit an excellent gallery full of black and white photos depicting traditional Vietnamese life and are given free tea. Oh yes and there is also the obligatory Stu and Amy walk around town. In the evening we go to Crazy Kims Café to watch some street kids perform Christmas carols. Basically the government has donated a plot of land and a derelict house to this great cause which gives the street kids an education and home with the principal aim to get them off the streets and out of the clutches of Gary Glitter types. Of course the singing is hardly top notch but that is not the point. We agree that we have never seen any kids in the world more happy and enthusiastic to be singing jingle bells and they have a fantastic time. At the end of the night a scholarship is awarded to the most promising child. All very heartwarming. We enter the raffle and win free pizza and beer each. The American teacher shouting the winning tickets and names in our case - Steward Nooorrrmaaann has to be close to one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life. Fergus the 'pool god' is finally beaten off the table by a heavily pregnant Vietnamese woman (with one arm - only kidding about that bit). He should not ever live that one down. Friday December the 23rd. Slightly worse the ware this morning. Since meeting the Irishman we have been out on the piss most nights (surprise, surprise). We book our train tickets for the overnight train to Hoi An which costs about 300 000 dong each. We update the internet and generally laze around town. The beach here is spectacular, unfortunately the overcast weather conditions have seen to it that we are not out soaking up a good tan. Amy wins at scrabble by an embarrassing margin. We cash in our pizzas and then give a donation to the Charidee. We travel to the train station and board the train. We are in a four berth sleeper (Amy in the top bunk) with an Aussie couple. After about an hour doing the getting to know you bit and basically sussing each other out it's bed time. As it's getting near to Christmas it could be said that Stu is starting to worry about where on earth he is going to get his turkey dinner from. Obviously with the bird flu there doesn't seem to be much hope. The thought of this makes me miss home for the first time on the trip. We have also noticed here just how bad the Christmas music is with endless re-mixes of cheese upon cheese playing in most of the cafes round here. Unfortunately the Vietnamese think that it is a pre-requisite to get the worlds punters in and to start to spend money. There are also many little kids wearing the full Santa Clause outfits and you have to ask why? Are they doing it as it's something they should be doing to fit in with the rest of the world or just for a bit of fun? Who knows. You can be sure though that the Vietnamese will stop at nothing to try to make you feel at home with the ultimate goal, taking your money off you. As we travel round we are liking this place more and more and also getting a bit more traveller savvy. We'll keep you posted. Keep the messages coming, have a great time back at work everyone!!!! Stu & Amy.