After arriving back in Hanoi from Ha Long Bay we got on the night bus to Dong Hoi - a place in the middle of nowhere. The night bus or sleeper bus is comprised of 18 or so beds arranged on 2 levels, and all being so strongly air-conditioned it could feel Arctic compared to how hot it was outside. I thought it was great, the beds were just about the perfect size for someone my height (169cm in-case you were wondering) and I slept like a baby for the 12 hours. Some of the others did not, although I think they just need to shrink a few centimetres, harden-up or both!

From Dong Hoi we got a taxi to phong nha, a place further in the middle of nowhere to what was advertised as a farmstay. In reality it was a nice hotel/hostel located in between lots of farmland. It had only been open for 2 years, run by some friendly aussie blokes and their families. More importantly I had a swimming pool, and after a long journey in the bus, dicking about in the water was enjoyed by all, including a hard-fought game of water polo. That afternoon we had a short walk in the fields, accompanied by 2 of the 3 puppies that lived on the farmstay. We did end up having to carry one puppy who was too scared to go on about halfway through and also sick of the other puppy trying to shag it en route.

After running in to avoid a thunderstorm (which we admired over a beer) we had dinner and an early night, ready for the cycle ride the next day.

After breakfast we had an 8km cycle though the farms and random villages to a car park on the river, where we chartered a small boat to tour the Phong Nha cave. The caves we were visiting were used by the Vietnamese in the war, and discovered by the Americans who lit up the entire area with flares. The American troops then tried to send in rockets to destroy the cave (whilst being fired opon heavily with anti-aircraft guns), which they failed at miserably. The cave was quite deep and at the deepest point we were allowed, we saw engraving on the cave walls from well over 700 years ago, which was quite cool. Compared to the artificial-looking caves at ha long bay, Phong Nha cave was much more impressive, and worth the cycle there. The afternoon was once again spent in the pool with another chilled evening to follow, preparing for a 5am bus the next day to hue.

Overall Phong Nha was a pretty decent place to go and we used it a a bit of a chill-out place after all the travelling we'd done before which was actually quite uncomfortable and tiring. Although we didn't get to have a tour of the national park (it is only run every 2nd day) it was nice to get out into the countryside, especially after being in the mental streets of Hanoi beforehand.

The bus the next morning was an interesting experience. After being assured it is very punctual, we waited from 4.45am, only for the bus to rock up at 6. it was a local bus, not a tourist one, and was really rather uncomfortable. My 'seat' was a pull out seat into the aisle, and was pretty broken, so much so that it bounced like a trampoline over every crack in the road, emitting a high pitched, really irritating squeak each time. It also felt that I would be thrown over my right shoulder at any time. I did however manage3d to sleep some of the journey by essentially invading a Vietnamese man's private space, and almost snuggling up to him. The journey to hue took 5 hours, including a short stop to drop off 6 planks of wood which were under my seat, which i've affectionately named the 'love-seat'. I'm not sure if its because of the springy mattress -like properties, or the long journey took its toll on me, and stockholm syndrome has set in.

Hue was a much more chilled out city and we only had 24 hours there something which I would definitely change if I came back. The main feature was the citadel (Hue served as the old capital) which housed the old imperial city. The afternoon was spent touring the imperial city, where the impressive palace was. Despite the architectural style, the citadel was relatively young, with many parts of it completely destroyed by both wars. They are still reconstructing it now, in a bid to restore it all. Other than a night where Dave lived up to his reputation brilliantly by vomiting all over the outside terrace of a club, our lack of time in Hue has inevitably led to a lack of things to write about. Our next destination is to be Hoi An - the place famous for tailored suits, so until then dear readers, I bid you farewell.