Hello, this is my final blog from Vietnam for tomorrow we journey onwards. We shall be sad to leave Vietnam it has been an amazing and beautiful place and I am sure that we will return before too long. We have had another amazing day today and every day there are so many tales to tell and memories to catch in print so I can't forget a moment. I also just want to take a little moment, to thank all you wonderful lot for all the amazing wedding presents which made this unbeatable trip possible. Such a gushing thank you should probably be reserved for my final blog, but on our last night in Vietnam I'm feeling a little sentimental!

Last night after finally managing to upload our tales (and on re-reading I noted the many spelling mistakes and promise to edit after this!) we headed out into the muggy, bustling night-time to eat. We asked our amazing hotel owner, who is so very kind for a recommendation close to the hotel, for it had been a long day on our feet. He sent us to a very Vietnamese place not far from here, notably different from the travellers' fare so freely available. Everyone there was local and little English was spoken. Thankfully they found us a menu in English, and we were very grateful as there were many very scary delicacies on offer! Some of the dishes included shark fin soup, fish bladder stew and a particularly delightful hotpot consisting of bull's penis, cow marrow, bulls' testicles and pigs' brains...yum! I dallied with the idea of fish but in the menu they were priced by size and I spied a number of tanks frothing with the very critters at the back of the restaurant and I couldn't face being asked to toll the death bell for any of them. Instead I had a delicious seafood Thai fried rice which was delicious, accompanied by a zesty, salty very spicy chilli dip which was exquisite! Lee had Indian curry and declared it to be as good as the first night (success!) and we left full bellied and happy we had not let the menu scare us away (also on offer was chicken feet broth and fried frog!)

Heads full of what we had seen that day and still debating the war and its history we whiled away a few hours over a couple of beers in a local bar. Deep in conversation we chuckled as the live music started and began with eternal flame, Tom from halong's particular poison! We had a chat with the very same group of American boys who had been on the boat in Halong with us as they stumbled across us in the bar and we shared tales of what we had been up to (tis a very small world really, we saw the aussie girls we met at the cooking class in Hoi An in a coffee shop earlier that morning!)

It was fascinating to sit across from the park where groups of young people gather to play the coolest game. They have a type of big shuttlecock which they pass between a group of four of them (2 against 2 like in badminton) These flexible young things used everybody part to propel their playing piece between them, head, shoulder, foot, knee chest. I was particularly enthralled by the cocky young man who combined a return successfully with a snazzy body popping dance move across the floor!

When we got back to the hotel and looked through the pictures of the day which we do most nights chatting through what we had seen and done. That night we were in stitches after coming across a surprise video Lee had taken accidentally. You see he was trying to take a picture of a giraffe who kept popping his head down at the last moment. All the 20 second video consists of is an empty pen and Lee declaring emphatically 'aww you b******' with such feeling and vigour not realising he was filming. It doesn't sound as funny written down, but we enjoyed ourselves watching it repeatedly. It's obviously a family trait as when we were watching Lee's Mum & Dad's footage of Canada we were highly amused by Nigel's commentary as he panned the scenery and then said 'Oh sh*t a bear!', Lee's taking after his dad with his video skills!

This morning we woke early for our trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, which were instrumental in the Vietcong's fighting strategy. We had planned to go with Andrew and Rhiannon which led to some complicated discussions to ensure we ended up on the same trip. The guy at our hotel was fantabulous, ensuring that the guy who picked us up knew about this and we were instantly planted on the right bus. As we went around the streets, I was getting a little anxious that the bus was getting fuller and fuller and I wondered how on earth we would fit Andrew and Rhiannon on. Sure, enough they were the last on, taking seats in prime position next to the driver at the very front of the bus. Rhiannon said the view was fantastic from there as we wound through the countryside, but a little too detailed in how close they travel to other vehicles. Our guide was a hilarious fellow who told us his Vietnamese name Tuan Vane (totally spelt wrong I am sure) but said us westerners always forget it so took it upon himself to christen himself John Wayne. He cracked jokes the whole trip (it's a 2 hr bus ride to the tunnels) and made us all laugh by asking to keep our stickers on so he knew who was on his trip as we all look the same to him and a few other jokes which were so un-pc (blinding bit of casual racism for you Mr Tate!) He also offered us the option of an alternative return, paying an extra $10 dollars each would mean that we could return by speedboat along the Saigon river. Some interesting sign language ensued between us and Andrew and Rhiannon at the front of the bus, but we came to the conclusion that we should jump at the chance! The journey was as fascinating as ever and the most noticeable aspect was the contrast in housing. Fine fancy and colourful houses with manicured gardens snuggled in with ramshackle and dilapidated tin huts with raggedy palm leaf roofage with little definition between each.

We arrived at the tunnels and John Wayne began to show us around, he was a really funny guy punctuating the commentary with phrases like 'lubbly jubbly' and 'diamond geezer' before telling us that his night job was a lady boy and giving us a little shimmy! He showed us the teeny tiny rat hole where the Vietcong would dive when enemy fire began. People got opportunity to go down, but I declined as the skinniest hipped boy had to shimmy to fit in and the only way to stand and sit was with arms raised high as the hole was too small for shoulders to go through. John showed us all the vicious and evilly genius booby traps which the Vietcong set for enemy troops, often creating these from pillaging bombsites and the like for scrap metal from enemy shells. We the arrived at the shooting range where for about 10 pounds we got the opportunity to try the weapons, with live ammo! Well I have never ever shot a gun, so I had to have me a piece of that - Kombat Kat was born. Lee and I decided to share 10 bullets which ruled out the machine gun (it's hard to stop one of them after 5!) and I was worried about the AK47s and the rifles because I have heard the recoil can be difficult, even dislocating shoulders if you mess it up - which I was sure I would do. So, Lee gallantly agreed to the ancient looking handgun which the guy got out for us and took down to the range. He loaded it with the live ammo (after dropping them on the floor a few times which led to Rhiannon and I edging backwards a little.) He set the gun up in the stand and showed me the proper position - one hand holding the wrist of the gun hand. I put on the ear protectors and squeezed the trigger and.......B-A-N-G!

Firing a gun is so so so so so so loud and the kick from the gun powerful. But so much fun (I got nowhere near the targets, bullets merely making a poof of sand as they rooted in the sandbanks!) But it was fun! I reeled off 3 more, joking with Lee, Rhiannon and Andrew that I was going to do a CSI move and shoot with the gun horizontally (obviously we weren't allowed!) Then my last bullet kept failing and failing and pulling the trigger just kept the barrel rolling fruitlessly around and around! I was pretty impressed that I managed to keep up my record breaking pretty much everything I touched. The guy helping us merely chuckled and reloaded several times before urging me to continue. On the last go it revolved about 5 times before firing the last bullet which made me jump so much as I wasn't expecting it and I think I may have yelped like a big girl! Lee flew through his and I videoed him (it sounds way to quiet on the video) Only the shooter gets ear protectors, so I admit that the video is a bit wobbly as I had a finger in my ear!

We then moved onto the tunnels, there are 3 levels to the tunnels, and each gets smaller. You go down deep and in the first walk bent double into the darkness before popping up about 20m away at the other end - easy peasy! The second level was a little more tough-it was a hand an knees jobby and the roof skimmed your crawling back as you descended through the pitch black, dank and sweaty wormhole. T'was slightly discerning when we hit a few downward slopes (hard to do when crawling on hands and knees with no light!) The third level literally is a belly wiggle with arms by the side, so they do not let you even try that one. I must admit I wouldn't even if it had been an option, it was dark and claustrophobic enough at level 2! We then watched an ancient video chuckling at the very biased portrayal when the narrator called the Americans the 'crazy American devils'. It was so interesting at the tunnels and not as harrowing as the remnants museum, We also got to try the tapioca root that the Vietcong survived on during the war as the root grows down so when the lands were bombed and set on fire it didn't burn (very bland and a bit weird!)

The tunnels over we headed towards our speedboat home, it was a tiny speedboat and Andrew played a blinder heading to the long back seat. Rhiannon and I spotted a tiny little deck at the back and were first to baggsy it for the four of us for the journey home as the rest of the boat was covered! We screamed like the girls we are though when just before we set off a large silver fish leapt out of the water and planted itself on my foot! Everyone looked back for the source of our screams (and then uncontrollable giggles) and we shamefacedly admitted it was just a fish. The next 1hr and 45 minutes as we jetted home were beyond idyllic. The four of us squeezed on the deck watching the wide, lily filled river disappear behind us as we vroomed along. The cool wind took away the searing heat of the sun and the cool spray splashed our feet and legs cooling us down (and conveniently washing lee's dirty trainers for him!) As if that couldn't get any more perfect John Wayne stuck his head through the hatch to our little haven and passed around the beers! He then joined us on the tiny deck squatting on the little handrail as the boat bobbed along. When we told him he was very brave he grinned knowingly and said 'ah...been on bike from very young age' before jumping up and clambering up to the roof of the boat where he stood Jack Sparrowesque on top of the boat as we sped down the river. We saw people who use the river for home and work spying the prows of the traditional fishing boats which are painted at the front (bow? prow?) with bright colours and mysterious eyes so they look like creatures of the deep passing through. On board people carried everything from billions of bananas, cement and building materials to their whole living abode with racks of clothes neatly on hangers, a hammock and chair under a bamboo roof!

As we neared town Lee and Rhiannon retreated inside the boat as John told us we were passing a police station and they are really only allowed 2 on deck! We watched as the riverside turned from rural to urban with high-rises and hotels replacing rickety fishing boats and trees. When we jumped off the boat, we bade a fond farewell to Andrew and Rhiannon as they head home tomorrow and we venture on. It's been fab meeting up and spending this time together and we'll definitely keep in touch through the wonder of Facebook and Hotmail.

After a quick trip to the market, tonight we pack, somewhat sadly but excited for the sights that await us in Cambodia. It has been amazing in Vietnam and we shall definitely return sometime soon we hope.

So, we shall speak again from Siem Reap where we are planning to visit the immense Angkor Wat. I'll continue my ramblings from there so until then it is goodnight Vietnam! (that doesn't have the same ring to it as good morning Vietnam does it!)

Love you all loads and big hugs! 'Speak soon!'

Love Kombat Kat and Lethal Lee xx