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Considering we have only spent a small amount of time in three places after leaving Dalat on our way up to Hanoi i think its easier to group them together so her go's.
Nha Trang- after another fun bus journey this one again of 6 hours and to keep us company not only music but a Vietnamese stand up comedy dvd played at full volume we were ready for a nice chill out in the tourist haven Nha Trang. with the fact that we had a ticket booked on an overnight bus for the next night we decided to do as much as possible in our first day there.
We went for a mud bath and had fun in the hot springs at the Thap Ba spa's just a short taxi ride from where we were staying. Half way through our fun it started to tip it down and the feeling of boiling hot water on your body but rain on your face was somewhat surreal. the next day we went to the beach and then decided to splash out on eating a lobster for dinner, something me and sam had nether tried before. we actually really enjoyed it and money permitting will have another some day. I hope everyone is subtably impressed with all the foods we have been trying!
That night we got on the bus to Hoi an which took around 12 hours and decided to get a flat tyre after only a couple of hours of the journey! we stopped at a small garage and the driver decided to repair the tyre as oppose to just changing the bloody thing which took for ever, there were no toilets there so everyone went down a dark back alley or so they thought until the lights came on to reveal a line of horrified backpackers releaving themselves.
We arrived the next morning in Hoi an which we were told is the place to go in Viet Nam for shopping therefore being backpackers on a budget we didnt expect to stay long as we didnt feel we could very well justify uying anything but then again we got talking to some irish girls who had bought a ton of stuff and said how easy it was to post back home so we thought why the hell not. two full days (reserved for shoppong only) later and i had a coat, jacket and a shirt and sam had 8 items!! all tailor made and neither of us spent over 50 quid. we just have to hold the extra weight until we get to australlia where the post is cheaper! the next day we toured around the old town which is filled with French colonial architechture and is preserved as a UNESCO world heritage site, we saw inside some of the old houses and were very impressed with the artifacts on display (can all be viewed in photos hopefully if the computer works).
After our penultimate bus journey to Hue which was a lot shorter than others we decided to only spend one night again as we are now getting pressed for time with a flight to Bangkok booked for the 12th. We opted to do another motorbike tour of the local sights and were not dissappointed.
We saw the Pagoda temple which was the residence of the famous monk who burned himself alive many years ago in protest i believe against the communist regime (stupidly ive forgot his name). we got to see the car he was sat next to in the famous picture. then we moved onto see some of the bunkers in the mountains where the yanks had took base and pretty much bombed the crap out of the Viet Cong, further in the background was a cemetary with all the fallen Vietnamese burried in it. We saw some incese sticks being made and bought a couple, I really like the smell but Sams not so keen.
Later we moved onto the tombs of the late emporer Tu Duc and his family who's dyansty reigned in the 18th century if i remember correctly. the tombs were set in a beautifull scenic area of the country and the ruins were actually still in a surprisingly good condition. later we went to a local buddah temple and saw monks in their daily prayer routine which computer permitting we should have a video of on the site shortly. and then we moved on to the Citadel the ancient city in which the emporer resided which was huge and at the end of a long day not that much fun to walk around.
after that we went back for a meal and an early night, the next day not doing a great deal as we prepared for our final overnight bus jorney in Nam. This journey was much better than the prevoious one as the bus against the odds remained in tact and didnt need 2hour repairs as before. On the bus to Hanoi and over the last couple of days we have met a nice couple of girls from Leeds and we have booked a trip on arriving in Hanoi with them and 4 other brits to the beautifull islands of halong bay, departing tommorow morning for 3 days, with snorkaling and Kayaking included in the ticket which we are very much exited about.
well my hands are tired now so im gonna go, no i didnt wear a neck brace sam but if you check out the video it looks pretty spectacular, a big hello to anyone and happy birthday to my dad. Keep in touch
Adam and Sam x
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