So guys, its been a while since i last updated my blog hey! Well there is a simple explanation for that. I was so disappointed and unimpressed by northern Vietnam I have spent my entire time since i last blogged, travelling south trying to find somewhere where the local people are friendly and i felt comfortable.

Now I am as far south as Dallat and the people seem more welcoming but its not somewhere you imagine you would end up when you think of an exotic trip like mine. I am in the central highlands of Vietnam and the city is as attractive as you would think Peckham is, without actually going there.

I am typing this blog as i have the Korean GP in the background. I was bitterly disappointed as some local rookie seemingly stole the previous (English speaking) commentators position and now i understand nothing as the raced has been delayed. I only hope this channel continues to cover the race as i have sacrificed a day out on a scooter with four other buddies of mine, to watch it!

I also felt like a rest today after all my travelling, and i thought you might well be wondering whether i was alive still!?

It has been 18 days since my last blog and a lot has happened, so if i am not to waste my entire day writing a detailed description, of which would bore you all, I am going to have to get straight to the point and cut a lot of stuff out, most of which i have forgotten already anyways ;-)

So, I left you updated until the day before we left for Halong bay. We had a nice meal at an Indian restaurant and raced back to an agreed location taking different means of transport to see who was fastest. It turns out the Swiss couple on scooters won and we all had a laugh as we (the other team) admitted we didn't even bother running for the finish as we saw them overtake us (in a taxi) early on in the race.

The following day we left for Halong bay, something i had been looking forward to as i had heard so many good reports. When we booked our tour we visited a number of travel agencies and went for the middle of the range, thinking this would be a wise thing to do. Only after three miserable days on one of the worst trips of my life, did we take the time to read the Lonely planet guide notice that warned people against booking such trips from notorious travel agencies in Hanoi. We had to laugh, and take positivity from the fact we only spent $40 on three days. I could write an entire blog about our trip, but sufficed to say, Halong bay doesn't look half as impressive in reality in comparison to those beautiful shots of blue water and bright sun you find in the travel agencies, and neither did the boat, that we hardly spent any time on!

The experience we had with the tour operators was what put me off people from the north. They treated us like animals, or cash machines that should give out money to them when ever they demanded. We were left waiting around for boats and buses for most of the time and could only take comfort in the fact we were a nice group of people who tried to make the most of the situation.

It was a shame then, that our second tour to Sa Pa was organised through the same people. With one day in between the two tours, I spent the day catching up with some tasks and watched the Japanese GP in Hanoi before leaving on the night of the 1000 year anniversary of the capital.

We caught a sleeper bus to SaPa after being taken to the train station four hours before we needed to be there. "Oh no", we thought, "its starting already"! However we were pleasantly surprised on arrival into Loi Cai that we were being rushed onto the bus set for Sa Pa. Sa Pa was a nice place, full of tribal people who seemed more like movie extras than locals as they managed to con me out of 350,000 vnd ($18). This just made me even more cynical towards Vietnamese people but didn't stop me from enjoying a trek the next day that took us through all the local villages where we witnessed happy people in low levels of living standards.

Our guide was funny, and very knowledgeable and we met an English man who set up shop there to help the locals develop their lifestyles.

As we arrived into Hanoi the next morning the last thing i wanted to do was have to spend a day wondering around town trying to organise bus tickets to take me south with a 20kg backpack on my back. It was by luck then, that i met seemingly the only honest Vietnamese man who sold me a train ticket to Hue for less than the tickets value that left within 15 minutes of my arrival. I felt sure i had been conned again but as the ticket officer let me on the train and i met an Irish man in the same cubical as me who had paid more for the same trip, i was happy to have had a positive experience with a local from the north.

When we arrived into Hue we made our way to the best hostel (one of few in Vietnam) in Vietnam and were instantly greeted by friendly staff and westerners who needed help finishing some drinks they had ordered too many of during happy hour.

I had the first good night out on my trip with likeminded people who were only out for a good time and not to get wasted. We shared good stories and slow pool games, and a hangover the following morning that we nursed throughout the following day on a tour of the demilitarised zone and the tunnels near the coast by Vinh. Another useless trip that cost too much and at the end of the day i vowed never to take another tour in Vietnam.

Another good night shared with people from the tour and whilst caught in a moment of excitement, i booked myself onto a "Top Gear Challenge" for the next day, not appreciating how early a 7:30 start would be after two late nights.