Hello from Hoi An!!

I think it's about time I (Paul) got my act together and wrote one of these blogs, so here's the update on our last day in Saigon, Nha Trang and Hoi An.

My final day in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) was spent doing what Mette did on her first day, exploring the Cu Chi tunnels just outside of the city. Seeing the living conditions, scale of the tunnels and the Vietnamese view on the war was certainly eye opening. Upon arriving at the tunnels we were introduced by one of the most bias videos I have ever seen, telling us stories of Vietnamese men and women being given the official title of "American Killing Hero". This was followed by a tour of the tunnels, including an extremely tiring 100m crawl through a section of the tunnels. At about 1 metre high and 60cm wide, it was a struggle at times. When we were told how there is over 200km of these tunnels, and soldiers used to eat, drink, sleep and carry all of their weapons around for hours at a time I could hardly believe it. Next we headed to the shooting range where I fired my first AK47 bullets, which was a very loud and unaccurate experience...
The next stop was to the War Memorial Museum, a place that Mette visited earlier in the day. An array of US tanks and planes was on show, along with a selection of often disturbing paintings, photos and stories about American operations in the war and the horrific effects of the Agent Orange chemicals used.

At 7:30pm a very farily priced 40p taxi journey took us on our 15 minute taxi journey to Saigon Train Station, where the tranquil beaches and islands seemed a million miles away from the remnants of the war.
Arriving at 5:30am (way too early for my liking...) we checked into our rooms and headed down for a less than satisfying breakfast. However the boat trip that followed to the nearby islands was fantastic, with great scenery, a ride in a bamboo boat (effectively a 1.5m diameter wooden bowl, which leaks) and brilliant seafood. An afternoon relaxing on the beach and a good meal in the evening finished off the day well.
The next day provided what Mette and I had been waiting to do for a long time, Scuba Dive. Nha Trang has rightfully been recognised as a good place to dive, with a massive range of coral and sealife, including squid, cuttlefish, trumpet fish and clown fish (from Finding Nemo). We then spent the rest of the day relaxing in preparation for our overnight train to Hoi An.

Hoi An is now one of the busiest ports in Vietnam, since the opening of trade a few years ago with the US (now their main importer and exporter). Unfortunately it is also a place I am yet to see, as I have been hit with food poisoning for the past two days. I'm on the mend now though, and should be back on my feet tomorrow evening at the latest. Also on a positive note it's given me a chance to upload some photos from Thailand and Cambodia which I hope have come out OK!
From what Mette has told me there isn't loads to see here (although she could be lying to make me feel better...). There are however some great bargains to be had - I hear Mette has had a fantastic dress hand made for her!
Tomorrow we have a free day so I'm hoping to see the town then, before we head off to Hue.

I'd like to sign off by saying a massive thank you to Mette (and the rest of the group) for being extremely patient, understanding and considerate over the past few days while I've been ill. You've been nothing short of fantastic and I really appreciate all the help you and the gang have given me.

Hope everyone is well back home!!!
All the best,

Paul and Mette xxx