Vietnam

We arrived in Hoi An this morning at 6:30 am after a 12 hour bus ride - with an hour or two of really uncomfortable sleep. Our transfers did not turn up again so we had to catch a taxi to our hotel. The hotel is nice and is pretty close to everything. We rested for a while before heading out to explore Hoi An.

We had breakfast at a local cafe before exploring the many tailors of Hoi An - deciding where to put our orders in. We found one and i ordered a pair of jeans. We went back to the hotel then headed out for a late lunch at the same cafe where we had breakfast.

We hired bicycles and explored Hoi An further for a few hours before heading to another tailors where i ordered suits and shirts. We headed off on the bikes to a restaurant for dinner before heading off to try on our jeans - they are so shockingly funny, basically they are denim business pants ew!

It was then back on the bikes for a little longer exploring all the architecture and lovely little streets before stopping for ice-cream. We returned the bikes and headed back to the hotel. We then had some well earned sleep.

We got up this morning and got ready to go to the beach. It was really overcast so we decided to go to the waterpark first. Unfortunately for us it is only open three days a week and you guessed it today wasn't one of them. We headed to the beach instead and hired chairs to relax on.

We were the only ones on the beach so we were constantly swarmed with people trying to sell us stuff - we gave in far too often. I read at first but i eventually gave in and agreed to let them 'wax' my legs with string. One of the most unusual experiences in my life however it did work.

We went off to have lunch - i ordered fries but ended up with spring rolls that made me sick We went back to the beach and had manicures and pedicures. I started to feel really sick and headed back to the hotelfor a lie down. After a sleep i felt better and at 6pm we headed over to La Lousianne for dinner - cold chicken burger. We rushed it down because the bus was meant to pick us up at 6:30 -it didn't arrived til after 7pm. We got on board the bus and departed for our next destination, Hoi An, a short 12 hour drive away.

After a 10 hour bus ride we finally arrived at Nha Trang. We stopped or were dropped off at a hotel but it was not ours and our transfers were not there. We had to call and wait for a taxi to take us to our hotel. We finally got there and our hotel is right on the beach. We checked in before heading up to our room on the 4th floor. We rested for a while before getting changed - it was still early around 8am.

We went out for a walk before phoning home to let them know about changing flight times. We stopped and had breakfast before catching a cyclo to a local supermarket and back before resting for a little longer.

We then headed to Thap Bo Hot Mineral spring. We booked in for a mud bath and a dip in the warm mineral springs. The mud smelt disgusting but felt really refreshing and the mineral springs were really hot - but my skin now feels really smooth.

We caught a taxi back to the hotel. We had to meet our photographer at 6:30 then we headed out for dinner. We ate at Nha Trang Beach Club. We walked back to our hotel but on the way back we rode the beach ferris wheel for a nighttime view of Nha Trang. It wasn't very safe but it was fun. We then headed back to the hotel and watched a movie before heading to bed for the night.

This morning we got up at 8:00 but didn't leave the house til after 10:00. We went to a local internet cafe for like an hour and a half - too many emails to reply to. We then headed off to visit temples and palaces. However when we got there they were all closed for the day - just our luck - and we went to Diamond Plaza shopping centre. We met Brenda for lunch before heading home. We had two mintue noodles for tea and had a quick rest.

We caught a taxi back into saigon so we could get on our bus to Nha Trang. We got on the bus at 8:45. Our driver was so disgusting and rude - he wouldn't let sick people sit up the front or anything like that plus he smoked and spat all the time. I read a book before trying to sleep. I managed to drift off for a little bit but the traffic is so loud even late at night.

We had a quick stop for a toilet break. We went one at a time and when i was waiting we saw locals spying over the back wall at people using the toiled. We yelled at them and managed to scare them away but it was still quite frightening. By the end of the night we were still driving with another six hours of driving ahead of us

We got up early this morning and caught a taxi to our travel agents. From there it was on a bus to start the tour. It took us 2 and a half hours to get to our first stop - Cao Dai Temple - home of cadosim. It was impressive and we were lucky enough to see a prayer and chanting session.

It was then back on the bus for about 10 minutes til we stopped for lunch - i had the best mushrooms ever. After lunch it was back on the bus for another hour til we arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels. When we got there we watched a movie - very onesided, and you can guess which side, before heading into the tunnels. I was one of the group who could fit into the original hole so i was pretty proud of myself. We explored the tunnel system - i went down to the second level - it felt like a cardio workout - i dont know how they did it, plus it is pitch black - nothing like a bit of claustrophobia to make you move through the tunnels quicker.

Our guide then showed us some of the booby traps they used - it was so gruesome. We then headed off to the shooting range - i shot an AK47 - it really hurts your shoulders - i think it will be the only time in my life when i ever fire a gun.

We caught the bus back to Saigon then caught a taxi home. Went to bed without dinner because i was exhausted.