Vietnam first port of call.

All in all I have enjoyed our stay in Vietnam. Having its ups and downs was no surprise being the first stop of the trip. We visited most of the major spots which time allowed, these were; Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Ha Long Bay, Sapa and Dien Bien Phu.

The weather started off quite well. Landing in Hanoi up north we had good sun shine with a slight breeze from time to time. We moved right down to the south from here where we traded in the sun shine for grey clouds and rainy spells. Ever since these grey clouds have been hot on our heels.

On arrival and throughout our stay we thought the food and accommodation were expensive. The currency used is the Vietnam Dong. The currency works out to be around 33,000VND to the £1. Looking back it was cheap (compared with Laos), ending the month below budget.

As expected the food was a little crazy. Finding some unusual and unfortunate suspects on the menu including dog, frog and snake. Having a veggie with me and morals forced upon me I was not allowed to order any of these dishes. However I did manage to try some of Luke's dog, which was pretty good strangely enough. Apparently the best way to eat snake is to have it seven different ways. The first is getting the beating heart, dropping it into a short of rice wine and shoting the mix in one. Mental. The best place we came across for consistently good food has to be cafe 43. A small cafe down a narrow street in Hoi An gave us a good insight to Asian food.

Our accommodation varied massively ranging from a super deluxe double which we only spent one night, (our first night after travelling from the uk we want to start our trip in a good bed) to a bamboo hut full of holes, a massive snail (I'm talking 6-7in long, not your average garden snail) and a few cockroaches thrown in for pleasure. Most of our accommodation was bog standard backpackers no frills included ,sporting a tv, hot water (sometimes), towels, cobwebs and a bit of mould. Prices averaged at around $10 or £6.50 per night.

Getting around the country was relatively simple using most modes of transport apart from the train. Our favourite way to move around was on a night bus because we didn't waste a day travelling and also saved money not having to pay for accommodation that evening. The night busses were a whole little adventure in its self. Not knowing what it is going to be like, whether or not it would have a toilet (much needed for a 9+ hour journey), would it break down or would the driver try and see us off. Poor Libby spent 9 hours laying next to a family of cockroaches one night as Luke and I played monopoly for hours. Being gentlemen one of us should have changed positions with her but then we would have been parted and the game of monopoly over. That was never going to happen. Sorry Libby. On another tourney the driver slammed on his breaks bringing us to a grinding holt. He stopped to pick up somebody at the roadside. Once on the move again we heard one horrendous noise. Everybody was looking around at each other knowing something was not right. I looked at Luke and we both thought a rear tire had burst. The driver carried on and then it happened again. We heard a beep from outside, somebody must of been trying to inform the driver we had a problem. Pulling up down the road the driver and his mate got out to investigate the situation after a moped turned up with a big chunk of metal. This turned out to be one third of the break drum from one side. The second third was jammed between the double rear wheels and the final piece was still in place. We thought we were going to be here for a long time, either waiting for parts to turn up or even a new coach. Mel and I grabbed some snacks then myself and Luke wondered off to see the sea. Messing around and taking photographs we heard a faint shout then turned around to see the bus moving. Knowing the bus drivers in Vietnam wait for no man we made haste back to the bus, getting there just in time to leave again. It turns out to get us moving the drivers mate whipped off the outside wheel, removed the debris then isolated one side of the rear breaks. Wheels back on, job done. Good work drivers mate we are back in action.