Hello Everyone...thought it was about time i wrote another wee story. This time you will all be amused because we are no longer basking in the sun! We are in central Vietnam in monsoon season. We did not read this in any bloody guide book! When Anne says "Aisling i think you should take that raincoat sure it will not take up much room" You should listen to her! Anyway we bought raincoats which made stephen look like sherlock holmes - we had a very funny daysight seeing in them.

First things First though - Halong Bay! What a few days we had. It was my best experience to date. We arrived at our boat on monday just intime for lunch. Gary was delighted we were eating on a boat thinking that fish couldnt go "wrong". How wrong he was! Stephen and I ate like Kings and Queens. It was lovely fresh fish, vegetables and rice (i enjoyed it once i got over the fact they serve you the fish with head, eyes and all looking at you)! We had enough food for 10 people sat down infront of us breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stephen was in Heaven. The boat was amazing. It was like the pirate boats you see in movies only with sun loungers and lovely cabins. You might get the gist from some of the photos we put up! We visited some caves, went kayaking, enjoyed the amazing scenery and ate! The boat anchored for an hour and the lads got to jump off the top deck of the boat and in for a swim! We fell in with some english and australians that were on our boat, had a few beers and a good nights craic. The next night we stayed on an island in Halong bay. The lads again went treking, they left me on the bus to sleep off the illness i had (it was not caused by the beers the night before)! I got looked after though buy a lovely south african couple who are travelling in vietnam for a month. As it happens we have seen them in every town in vietnam that we have been to since. Anyway apart from the treking we done very little else but enjoy the scenery and the food!

An overnight train from Hanoi to Hue was the plan of action for Wednesday. Thursday! It was like being in a mini hotel, the beds were so comfy and the 13 hours flew in. What didnt please me so much was the rain on the window as we were aproaching Hue, our next stop! It lashed down for 2 days solidly. We were happy enough the first day to lie about and the lads even managed a good rip that night. They met a few irish lads in a bar and the rest is history. the following day gary wasnt feeling the best but stephen and I ventured out into the wettest city i have ever seen. It never stops. We bought raincoats and walked 10mins, they were no more than plastic bags - we decided it was time for an upgrade! Another 5 mins later we were in a Vietnamese market haggling our way into buying the two most ridiculous looking raincoats you will ever see! We laughed as we put them on, as we walked and as we took photos in them. It was well worth it though when we got to the Citidel in Hue, Two rows of tanks and army machines capured by the Viet Cong from the Americans in 1975. The photos will follow but stephen is the one resembling sherlock holmes and im looking like barney in my purple!

We got sick of the rain and decided a move on was needed. So here we are in Hoi An and you will never guess what ....yes its monsoon season here too! Although here the rain stops every few hours for a minute or two so that you have time to run from one place to the next. This place is famous for its tailors. 2 hours after we arrive we find ourselves in a tailors being fitted for dresses and suits! The lads came out winners with 2 lovely suits that fit perfectly. I cam e out with a dress that i hate - it also needed some adjustments so i left with out paying and have decided not to go back. My bad but it was god awful! I have now my pinned hopes on another lovely tailor....i'll let you all know how my fitting goes tomorrow!!

We move on tomorrow night for another overnight, 13 hour journey. This time our choosen mode of transport is a bus - my guess is that there will be some grumpy heads in Nha Trang Wednesday Morning............................unless the sun is shinning. haha