'Good Morning, Vietnam!' goes the saying, usually with a smile and maybe a punch in the air entusiastically; and I'm sure we would have felt the same had we not arrived at night after a fairly eerie bus journey through a storm, having had a tyre burst somewhere in Cambodia adding an extra hour on to the already 7 hour trip; arrivng at the Cambodian/ Vietnam boarder surrounded by dark, vast spaces of land, most probably infested with land mines, the lightening flashing us glimpes of barbed wire seperating the countries. We also almost expected either Khmer Rouge or Viet Cong soldiers to be rifling through our passports!

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it is still frequently referred to as. First impressions: a miniture Khao San Road, although the travel bible, The Lonely Planet, does describe it as being just that, so it could well have been set in our minds. First stop, the War Remnants Museum. Harrowing photos and original war machinery was on display; one particular tank was able to create explosions that were 30 metres deep and 20m circumferance (the Americans had 33 of the killing machines- how did they lose...?!) A large section of the museum was on the journalism that seemed strangely popular during this war. Photographers from all over the world risked their lives to snap away at the most controversial pictures; witnessing their subjects' last seconds of life in many cases. The museum made us question the points of war and made us feel angered by the situation. Three million people were killed in the war; two million of which were ordinary civilians. The south Vietnamese would find themselves changing rapidly between being anti-communist and communist to save their lives depending on whom they were talking to. Whereas the Khmer Rouge regime made us intensly sorrowful and the madness of Pol Pot was at question, the Vietnam War seemed to be at question, particularly as the strict Communist ruling seems to have faded dramtically over the last 10-15 years. What was the point?! As soon as American troops retreated out of Vietnam and Saigon was claimed by the Viet Cong, Vietam invaded Cambodia to try and regain much needed order there. Indochina was in uproar during these years, with Laos being bombed for no apparent reason, northern Vietnam wanting communist control over southern Vietnam, and the country that really needed help was Cambodia and it didn't bloody get any until it was pretty much too late! Anyhoo, ranting over!

We also visited the Cu Chi tunnels, which were fascinating. Miles of underground homes used in both the French/ Vietnam war and the communist war (with a gap n the middle whereby it opened up for tourists!) We were able to crawl in to the tunnels, which were sufforcatingly small and pitch black. The heat was stifling.

After Saigon, we travelled up the coast to Mui Ne, a small beach town, known for its kite-surfing. Hols had a very unlucky incident whilst getting off a moped (the only way to get around in Vietam), and burned her leg quite severly. With Roy, our travelling buddy from Cambodia, still in tow, the three of us decided to do a spot of sandboarding. As we arrived at the dunes, children of all ages swarmed around us with their boards demanding us to pick one of them to be our boarding companion. When was was picked (Roy went for a cute 3-year old; Hols and I opting for wiser 15-year olds), the others let out a chorus of moans, and I felt a pang of guilt, wondering whether I had contributed to a future attack of, 'What's wrong with me?' complex. Got over it and trudged up the dunes to the peak. Kay, my new found friend who insisted on carrying my flip-flops, board and pulled me up when I got out of breath, turned out to be a fantastic photographer as well and I lay my trust in her with my camera as we whizzed down the sand. Hols apparently weighs nothing as she managed to pick up such a speed that at one certain flight down, she went flying off the board, sprawling through the air with a wave of sand behind, and landed spectacularly in a heap! I was average and picked up a fairly good speed, and Roy weighed too much and set off eagerly but got stuck half way down. Nevertheless, it was good fun and the combination of colours; the orange sand, sea and stunningly blue sky, was unforgettable. However, one of the children felt he hadn't been paid enough and repeatedly shouted 'slimy foreigners' at us. He had tagged along with us and hadn't actually been 'picked', but with Roy's 3-year old who could barely talk, let alone push us down the sand, we thought it was probably a good idea.

Further up the coast in a lovely beach town called Nha Trang, we bumped in to Hayley and Tom from Cambodia, and the five of us planned a day of luxury at the mud baths. It was great fun, milling about in the mud and pretending to be mud monsters from the swamps etc, followed by sunbathing to dry the mud, a shower to wash it off, 5 strict minutes of high pressured water jets to 'tone the body', and a nice relaxing hot tub for 45 minutes; only the water was far too hot in the outdoor heat and we lasted for 10! We said our farewells to Hayley, Roy and Tom as they left for Hoi An, and Hols and I spent a couple of days admiring the local artwork and sunbathing.

The overnight bus to Hoi An was eventful; durng the 30 minute break at midnight, I got attacked by RED FIRE ANTS, creating a painful burning and intense itching on my right foot. The morning after in Hoi An was spent googling 'red fire ants' and 'how to treat burns' as Hols' burn was slightly disturbing now! My foot had swollen drastically and it said that the swelling should go down within 1-2 hours after being bitten. We realised a trip to the local hospital was probably in order, so off we limped; Hols with a pussing circle on her leg, and me with my elephant foot. Turns out I had an allergic reaction to the ants and it had also got infected (I'm on antihistamine and two types of antibiotocs), and Hols had a burn bath (she's officially the bravest person I know) and had also gotten it infected (she's also on antibiotics!) The weather in Hoi An was ridiculously hot that day with temps reaching 46 degrees, so we saved the exploring until the next day.

Hoi An should be the new Paris/ London/ New York all in one. It is chic, trendy, beautifully French and above all, cheap! Hoi An could turn the ultimate tom-boy in to a silk-clad, bag and shoe obsessive, and the sruffiest, dread-locked bloke into a suarve, elegant gentleman. The shops, to put it bluntly, are amazing! Everywhere you look, embroidered bags, shoes, ties are popping up and the best thing is, you can have anything you want made exactely the way you want it! One dress shop we entered, we got lumbered with numerous catalogues and women telling me to 'pick anything and we make it'. Once you have picked a design, you get presented with an array of fabrics and colours and they take your measurements and it's done by the next day. Hols and I now have fabulous silk dresses that fit perfectly for 7 quid! As you can probably tell, we did most of our shopping there!

We're now in Hue, but we arrived late last night, and it's rainy and cold today, which isn't perfect weater for exploring. We leave Vietnam tomorrow for Laos; our longest bus journey yet- 24 hours...