Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates, but we have been really busy, this traveling lark gets you up well early in the morning and late back just to crash in your bed at night.

The last time we wrote we were in Nha trang by the beach. I registered to teach some children in a one off class. I was petrified, but with the help of another volunteer, we both successfully taught a morning of ‘traffic signals, and directions!’ Most of the kids were OK at English and had brought text books and dictionaries to the sweaty classroom.

From Nha Trang we left the group of friends we had made including the mexican, french chef and two dutch girls and made our way to Hoi An. As you’ll see from the pictures, it’s a mad mix between asian and french architecture. Each place in Vietnam has its own little niche and this is the place you have clothes made. Ben got a suit and a lovely pair of trainers made. I went mental ordering two pairs of work trousers, a dress, some sandals, some trainers and a skirt, thank you MBNA for your kind gifts on credit!

We visited the My Son holy land, which was really nice, if not mega hot, some of the temperatures here have led me to have three showers a day and still end up looking embarrassingly sweaty! Yesterday was 46 degrees Celsius. Also came across the most awesome dish called cao lo, which I will be trying out on as many people as possible to get the recipe perfected.

We left Hoi An for Hue in order to get to Hanoi the capital. The bus trips have been monumentally long topping 14 hours at the most and 5 at the least, I suppose its less about the sleeper bus and more about the kamikaze driving that takes place to get you from A to B. Hue was a complete dive and you began to notice the difference between the north and the south around about here. Hue is in the middle of the country but people appeared more willing to try and scam you and lie about things in order to get that precious dollar! It had no discernable sights either. We were planning to spend two days here and promptly escaped to the capital city of Hanoi.

Hanoi is a more western version of Saigon, less bikes, more cars and a park which somewhat resembles clapham common on a summer morning with people jogging. There is a lot more western advertising, although still only KFC and no Mc Donald’s. People here seem to be much better off, ladies in their nice clothes, but I have had a lot of racism here. Usually from young men teenagers. I leant from a Vietnamese girl who is studying in Texas that the aim of the game here is to be a white and pale as possible. I had asked her why people working on the street (selling food, collecting rubbish etc) always wear face masks and dress from head to toe in clothes even in this heat. A bid like Elizabethan times, the more tanned you are, the more it shows that you are poor because people can see you have to work outside.

In order to escape Hanoi we went on a boat trip to Halong Bay, due to be two days and two nights. If I can ever upload the pictures, you’ll see how amazing it is. Went to visit some more caves and stay at Cat Ba Island. The world I am realising is a very small place. Upon boarding the boat at Haling bay I saw the second person I know from home. Jonny Algeo an intern from Accenture. We spent two days with him and his mates and had a nice time watching the sun set from the boat which we later slept on!

We have travelled 1800km up the country. Pictures so far can be seen on facebook as ever:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97960&id=501027756&l=fed2e4bb86

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=96959&id=501027756&l=0876acd222

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98965&id=501027756&l=74ae333a63

OK well enough from me, flying to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning at 9.30.

Lots of love

Esther and Ben