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Our trip to the Vietnamese border was eventful... Firstly the air-con didn't seem to be working (a running theme of our trip through South East Asia) and then we discovered that our door leaked - not great when a monsoon was going on outside! Our tour leader tried to patch up the leak with paper but funnily enough that didn't work! Fortunately it dried up a bit as we walked across the border from Cambodia to Vietnam so hair straighteners etc survived unharmed. Emma did however enter the country illegally when there was a mix up with her passport and the other Emma's in the group. Fortunately Vietnamese officials couldn't tell the difference!
Once in Vietnam we made an overnight stop in Chau Doc and went to a floating restaurant for dinner. The next day we took our bus to Saigon where we took a trip to Cu Chi tunnels that were used in the Vietnam War. From Saigon we took an overnight train to Nha Trang, which gave us plenty time to chill out on the beach and by the pool. Sampled local BBQ where you cook your own food, which would have been lovely if it hadn't already been about 40 degrees when they bring out your own personal grill - sweating does not even begin to cover it!
One of our favourite places in Vietnam was Hoi An. Our hotel had a roof top pool and we enjoyed a bike trip round the local villages and a sunset boat cruise on the river. Next stop was Hue and a motorbike tour around the city but don't worry they wouldn't let us do the driving! We each had a local driver who was able to handle the crazy traffic slightly better than we could have.
Our last stop was in Hanoi which included a day trip to Halong Bay and a boat trip out to the caves and limestone peaks. Amazing place that they are trying to make one of the Natural Wonders of the World. In Hanoi itself we went to a Water Puppet Show, visited the French Quarter and the "Hanoi Hilton". We also tried to view the city from one of the tallest hotels but unfortunately they had a security system in place in the lifts which stopped us from being able to access the upper floors - obviously didn't want the likes of us mingling with the upper classes in Vietnam!
We said goodbye to most of the group on our last night/morning in Vietnam before
the remaining 5 group members left early from Hanoi to start the last leg of our journey in Laos...
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