Hello again, the Ghost Writer here!

We left the hotel at Nha Trang at an unearthly hour and got the train at 05.38. It was about 20 minutes late but that aside we were kitted up with some provisions from the night before and sleep can come very easily on the train on an eight hour stint (usually). Our destination today was North to Da Nang and officially into Central Vietnam, before instantly leaving Da Nang and heading to the historic trading town of Hoi An standing on the Thu Bon River.

As we left Nha Trang we were soon in the rice fields of Vietnam once again, all sorts of animals passed by; buffalo, storks, chickens, ducks, dogs, cattle as well as the many humans working the fields. It was an idyllic scene and the motion of the train was soon calling us to slumber. Again we were sitting in the middle of the train and I was afforded the luxury of an empty seat next to me, things were looking up. Without warning the two TVs sparked into life and loud Vietnamese singing sprang forth from the goggle box. Mere mortals like us passengers cannot turn this off, down or over, so we were stuck with the cacophony. The singing halted and the TV started showing Terminator 4, which wasn't as screechy and could be ignored far more easily. We arrived at a small town and the noise levels climbed to new heights as several youngsters boarded, my sanctuary spare seat was now occupied and sleep seemed totally out the question. The motion of the train pulled me nearer to sleep and I was at least faring better than Sue who had an excited toddler in the seat behind her who probably wasn't likely to sleep at al. Dan, as always remained Mr Calm and munched on his Oreos.

A couple of hours later through barely open eyes, I was suddenly asked how old I was, together with the standard questions that always seem to follow; Are you married? Why not? Do you have children? How long have you been in Vietnam? What job do you do? I was being crossed examined by a small army of mainly female student teachers and as the questions, giggling and general mirth increased I knew I was in trouble! Some people crave attention, I really don't, so it was time for some deflective action. Sue and Dan have an infinitely more interesting story than I do so it was welcome relief to switch the attention to them and their story. So after a thorough examination of English bank notes, more questions and token invitations to join the throng in Vinh City and requests to visit us in England, and additional candidates for a "plus one" at future Weddings, the train fell silent for a few hours. We arrived at Da Nang in mid afternoon and travelled to Hoi An in a reasonably priced mini bus. We reached the very green Green Field Hotel (with swimming pool) an hour later and headed out to explore.

Hoi An is famous for its tailoring where bespoke suits and garments can be made for a third of the price of a mass produced equivalent in the UK. Whilst it was tempting to get measured up it was still incredibly hot and therefore the tailors didn't see our custom. Instead as it began to turn dark, thoughts turned to dinner and the party's quest to sample spring rolls in every restaurant and hotel in Vietnam!! After yet another excellent meal, which, with two rounds of beer and wine cost us less than £7 total, we wandered along the river. It was an unusually busy evening with hundreds of tourists heading towards the lights of the Old Town. We had arrived in Hoi An on the evening of the Full Moon and as custom dictates that many candle lit paper lanterns are set into the river,we were happy to add to the throng of nautical lanterns with varying success. Sue's red lantern floated away gracefully and Dan produced a long pole to launch his yellow vessel in quite the professional manner. My green version ran aground very shortly into its maiden voyage. We sat at the waters edge to watch the evening unfold in spectacular fashion, the whole experience being most illuminating.

It was now time to head on an evening "tat" offensive as many inviting stalls presented themselves over the bridge. I hadn't exactly been boxing clever in terms of haggling, but in Sue we had a total pro, a Marvellous Marvin Hagler if you like. Watching Sue secure some rather fetching red lanterns was like watching a master class in acquisition, firm but polite, Sue always secures the optimum price. If you require the skills of a haggling supremo for anything Sue is your lady, with her excellence known especially throughout the tyre community of the UK. The first evening in Hoi An descended into a night of alcohol fuelled japes. The wine, beer, Bacardi, Tom Collins and Long Island Ice Tea flowed into the early hours. I joined the travelling criminal community as we didn't pay a bar bill in one bar (S&D are old hands at this having ducked payment in Hong Kong too apparently, the rotters). Even in my drunken state I could sense the bad karma from such an act! Conversations covered such high brow subjects as; place settings for the Wedding, lime urinal cakes and whether Manchester City can be considered underdogs in games against Manchester United. As we meandered back to the hotel a visit to the beach via hired bicycle was mooted for the morning and again all felt good in the World.

The weather Buddha was clearly ill at ease with our bill dodging as we were greeted with heavy rain the next morning, bad karma had hit early. Feeling deflated the bike idea was ditched and we began a tat offensive in earnest. Items purchased included; conical hat decorations, place mats, a t shirt, a hat and some oil on canvas paintings. Today was also the 100th day of S&D's global tour so we celebrated by having no alcohol at all and a relatively early night. Up until this point we had booked, transport, hotels and trips a few days ahead but we secured most of the rest of the time in Vietnam via the helpful and friendly staff at the Greenfield Hotel. This clearly meant a large Dong display and we parted with over 24.5 million Dong the next morning. Dan and I stood in reception whilst our large Dong stack was examined and re-examined many times over. During this time an amusing incident took place where a French tourist came to reception to express his disgust over a 12 hour tapping or dripping, not sure which, that had interrupted his sleep. The staff were apologetic and kind and offered to refund his nights stay but he didn't want any recompense, just the ability to make his point and moan about it in great detail. Why did he wait for 12 hours putting up with the great intrusion before saying anything? Strange breed the French!!

The third and final day in idyllic and still rainy Hoi An was spent on an excursion to the Cham Dynasty Temples at My Son Holyland. These 3rd to 10th Century temples originally numbered over 70 but have reduced to just 20 now as a legacy of the War with the US. Sadly the casualties of War aren't just human ones. The area was beautiful with surrounding mountains and lush forest and our enthusiastic guide showed us around the 8 different temple sites giving us great detail. Highlights included; some amusing photos behind a headless statue, rubbing a very male statue for good luck, the amazing flora and fauna, and being relatively on our own as the rain had obviously put off less hardy explorers than ourselves.

Our final night was spent enjoying a rather tasty and expensive meal at a restaurant called Cargo whilst looking out across the river from a lofty balcony perch. Hoi An had been wonderful and had left a rather lasting impression on us. Still tomorrow promised more and as our journey continued North to Hue we would be crossing the dramatic Hoi Van mountain pass.

Less than a week into my mini adventure and over 100 days in S&D's global odyssey it is safe to say that if you want to travel to a place where your mind, senses and perspective on life are opened wide Vietnam has it all. That aside joining S&D for a small amount of time has been amazing and if you have the yearn to experience some time away on a global adventure I would strongly suggest you meet up with them before they return to the UK later this year, they are great people to spend some time with.

Love to all

The Ghost Writer x