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We are currently situated in the heart of Phnom Penh, staying in a lovely hotel near the River. A very different climate to the last three weeks in Vietnam, which started off cool and got hotter as we travelled down the coast (It's now much hotter - about 35 degrees)!!!
Through Vietnam we have visited Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Mui Ne and of course Saigon. We flew into Hanoi on the 3rd Feb in a propeller plane arriving in the afternoon. Travelling into the city centre the streets were busy and we ended up in a jostling street full of bars and restaurants. (We didn't think the drivers could get much worse but the Vietnamese take it to a higher level)! So there we spent two days and did a one day trip to Halong Bay which was spectacular. Hanoi was wonderful but we found it quite claustraphobic and very full on so we were happy to be moving on after our stay there!
Next stop Hue... only one day here as there wasn't much to see, but we did use the quieter environment to try exploring on bycicles! This was great fun and helped us to get to see the emporers palace. Suddenly tuk tuk's had disappeared after Laos...not really sure why but this was the theme throughout Vietnam and proper taxis came into play! Moving on from Hue the next day we arrived in probably the most beautiful town you could ever imagine - Hoi An! It was a little fishing village with a maze of small streets with French architecture and at night the whole place was lit up by lanterns and lights. It looked spectacular. We stayed here for three nights and had our first taste of beaches since leaving the UK!
We found that generally as with most of our trip so far we weren't finding ourselves in too many sticky situations and the people were extremely friendly and inviting. When we arrived in Nha Trang after Hoi An we found a terrific little guest house run by a family who were very welcoming. A cable car runs from Nha Trang to a small island called Vinpearl which is a big resort with water park, beach and amusments. The only mistake we made was visiting on a Sunday also coinsiding with the last day of Tet (Vietnemese New Year) on the 15th Feb! - It was busy!
Next we headed for Mui Ne which was a bizzare little surfers town that consisted of one sweeping 12km road along the beach front with restaurants, bars, hotels and guest houses linning it. Again we found a nice place and the weather was getting hotter. Except for relaxing and getting caught up in the laid back surfing vibes we didn't do a great deal here. We spent one day visiting the sand dunes which were pretty cool - we hired plastic matts for $1 that we used to slide down the hills! Covered with sand after that! This was probably my favourite place in Vietnam - I loved the laid back vibe! I think Kirsty may have prefered Hoi An but this was for sure an easy place to get on with! Kirsty had some fresh fish from one of the street stalls caught that day and displayed in huge tanks out the front - pick your fish and they cook it!!!
Slightly aprehensive about how hectic our next stop had the potential to be, we set off to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)!!! Expecting it to be as overwhelming as Hanoi I think we were pleasantly suprised and although the drivers hadn't calmed their antics, it certainly seemed less claustraphobic! Here we visited the war museum, which was horrific but a real eye opener and had some really interesting remnants displayed. Not wanting to spend too long in another big city, we left for Phnom Penh the next day and here we are now!!
We will be doing another blog on Cambodia soon - sorry this one has taken so long! Hope everybody is well, love to you all. Sam & Kirsty x
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