So, it turns out I have not done a single blog since we left China! I shall partly blame this on the fact that beer was so cheap in Vietnam that I have spent more time drinking Saigon beers and not had the time. Another reason might be that we have been to 4 countries in 4 weeks so time has flown and I have not updated the blog! Well time has absolutely flown by, and we are already getting upset at the fact that in just over 3 months we will be touching down in London, hopefully ready to plan the next adventure (already considering India in the winter, and the World Cup in Brazil!)

So where to start! Well I go back to crossing the border into Vietnam! Which seems like a lifetime ago. The train itself was fine, although we have established the importance of keeping passports safe does not apply in Asia, for example on the border all passports where collected stamped and then handing back to us through the process of shouting out names in broken English. All good though and we were back on our way to Hanoi. What we had already learnt was that the gauge of the train tracks in China and Vietnam vary, so if you ever happen to do this trip expect to get dropped of at a station 10k from Hanoi at 5am.

With not being able to get Dong (still my favourite named currency in the world) outside of Vietnam and reading all the taxi scams it was relatively pain free getting a taxi for 100yuan, and the useful tip to screen grab nearby landmarks on the I phone worked perfectly.

Walking around the lake at 5am was wondrous, and seeing all the keep fit classes and the joggers whilst drinking Vieatnamese Coffee (mind blowing stuff, imagine whitying off a coffee!) was a perfect first morning, and we didn't hear a single person spit which was a welcome relief from China.

The first drawback we had was the inability to change Chinese money into dong, apparently this is only available in the black market gold shops, and after an hour of searching and a nod and a wink we became millionaires!

My plan for Nam was 3 fold: eat a dog, eat a snake, and learn about the war. The first two were much easier than the later. Dog was achieved on night one, with a nosh box of delights for 50p, which was delicious, and even Claire got involved. The other thing that was instantly noticeable was how friendly the people in Vietnam were, but also after seeing a handful of westerners in our travels, Vietnam was heaving with Australians and Americans, whose idea of Vietnam was sadly getting battered and generally being obnoxious a*******s. It was for this reason we chose not to do Halong Bay, maybe on another trip. We did venture to the water puppet show though, which was fantastic, despite all the songs being in foreign, and the seats not quite being big enough for a rather larged frame westerner.

The snake eating was a bit more of a challenge, involving a 15km walk through the side streets and tackling the Long Bien bridge over the Red River. This was an experience in itself walking 2km over a rust ridden bridge, with large gaps in between concrete slabs, with motos speeding pass on one side, and trains snaking across the middle. The three of us (Nicki had joined us for this leg of the journey) ventured on to track down the snake, and we were met by shady characters whispering in our ears 'you wanna eat snake?' as though we were trying to score crack. Finally we made it, and it was worth the trip, even if it was 1 million dong and the most expensive meal on our trip.

As standard we had done our research, and when we were greeted with a man holding 2 pretty angry looking snakes (water and viper) we opted for the first as we had read a review in the Guardian that said the water snake was the tastier option, and also cheaper. The killing of the snake was particularly amateurish and we doubted if the two guys wrestling with our dinner had ever killed a snake before. Jake the Snakes they were not.

Being the only male of the group it was my responsibility to dispose of the still beating heart in the snake wine, before being presented with 7 snake orientated dishes, from spring rolls to snake skin prawn crackers, which were all rather delicious!

Now onto the war, which was much more difficult to get a true grasp on, which proved a common theme throughout Vietnam. In Hanoi we visited the Airforce Museum, the Hanoi Hilton, the History and War museums. In fairness to Vietnam it has undoubtedly being an epic struggle, but all the museums were propaganda machines that even Josef Goebbels would have been proud of.

In Saigon we visited the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace and left feeling even more confused for the following reasons:

1 the Vietnam War apparently had nothing to do with the north fighting the south. The whole of Vietnam was fighting against America

2 the Vietnamese did shoot down planes, but looked after the Americans so well in POW camps that the Americans did not want to leave

3 Uncle Ho never hurt a fly

4 Agent Orange is responsible for every deformity, case of asthma and eczema is Vietnam ever

Now I am not disputing the horror, but a little less lies, and a few more truths would go a long way. What was interesting was our tour guide who explained his hatred of communism and Uncle Ho, I am sure this is a view shared by a fair few Vietnamese, but sadly this was the only time we heard this.

Back to the trip and our next venture was upto the mountains of Sapa and our first trip on an overnight train in Vietnam. Again Seat 61 website was our saviour, and through using this no one should ever have to book a train ticket through an agent ever again. Just look at the ticket, change the details to cater for the trip you want to make, and without a single word of Vietnamese or English being exchanged the tickets are in your hand at the station, and booking fees are spared!

For the first trip we though we would treat ourselves to 1st class to avoid a third bunk ceiling licker scenario, in fairness this is a waste of money. The trains in Vietnam are much nicer, of a lot slower and bumpier than China. Although the first trip was annoying when the train stopped 2 minutes away from the station to pick up back handers who proceeded to lay all over the train corridors, sleep in front of toilet doors, and generally rabble in true Chinese fashion (we soon figured from the spitting we had been infested by Chinese on their way to the border, the train back was fine!)

We had heard amazing stories about Sapa, so we were somewhat disappointed when we arrived to see the beautiful rice paddies covered in a fog that reduced visibility to about 5 feet, and to add to this it was freezing cold, and we instantly regretted leaving our big bags full of warm clothes in Hanoi.

Second day in Sapa was the opposite end of the spectrum and we got to see the most amazing rice terraces and even get back on the overnight train with our first sunburn of the trip!

Now here I have a bone of contention with the Lonely Planet guide who talk about the wonders of the ethnic minority hill tribes and fair trade cafes. Our experience in Sapa was that the hill tribe people had more aggressive sales pitches than Tuk Tuk drivers, and the fair trade ethnic cafe was run by an English guy who I can describe as nothing other than a bully. A real shame.

Back to Hanoi in 2nd class before another overnight train to Hoi An. Hanoi backpackers was an awesome hostel, mainly as a refuge for free breakfast, free bread and an endless amount of 3 in 1 Nescafé sachets, which kept us enriched in caffeine for the rest of Vietnam.

Hoi An was a much needed change of pace from Hanoi, and for the first time we booked an organised tour, and we were not disappointed in our most excellent motorbike tour booked through 'On Thoo Wheels'. Temples galore but the biggest thrill was just sitting on the back of a bike through the countryside, despite my driver doing the best to get lost, and that my helmet was so small it would have probably cut a perfect circle into my skull rather than save my life.

The biggest disappointment of our time in Vietnam was that we simply did not have enough time to do everything, so after one night of watching the Spurs cs Bolton match and it's near tragic circumstances and an uneasy nights sleep it was all aboard hotel night train onwards to Nha Trang for some beach loving!

Nha Trang beach was much more impressive than I imagined, and after a sunburnt day on the beach we bought another of our Vietnamese favourites (£1.50 bottle of vodka) before heading out for iced Bellini Cocktails (when in Rome...) before booking or next trip, a bus to Dalat.

We had heard good things about Sin Cafe, but our bus trip to Dalat was another 'experience'. First turning up 90 minutes late. Second telling us that there was enough space for 7 in a 7 seater mini van with 7 rucksacks (our big bus had broken down apparently) and finally for providing us with a driver who seemed to be on a 'Fisher Price first mountain drive'.

Baring the 'Big Pink Hostel' let down (I won't divulge, read the HW review) Dalat was a pretty decent little place. We took a ride on an ancient railway to the most impressive Pagoda in Asia, saw a complex called the Crazy House (imagine Vietnam does Gaudi) and rode a white swan on a lake (this seemed much harder than when I was 4!).

After a couple of nights in the cool it was time for the final leg of Vietnam with a flight to Saigon.

Now, before I came away I was quit the fan of flying, now I am petrified of it! Flights like this do not help. Firstly I do not understand how a plane with propellers can fly. The sight of the plane made my stomach turn, made worse by the seatbelt light coming back on within seconds of turning off and a nice turbulent ride later we were in Saigon.

Saigon is a crazy place, the traffic is an art form in itself, but once we arrived at our hostel I instantly fell in live with it. Whether it was the tiny blue seated beer hois with a litre of ice cold Saigon for 30p, the super nice people, or the most amazing bakery in the world (ABC) it seemed like an amazing city. One thing I have not learnt though is to not hear whole chillies without testing the water first, 2 hours of hiccups, mouth infernos and a bucket of sweat later will probably be a lesson that I will never learn.

Saigon was also a personal first in going to a tailors for some trousers for Jemma and Bens wedding, a steal at 20 dollars. These would have probably been cheaper, but as many people have reminded me on our tour, I am a little too fat for Asian ergonomics.

Now, you cannot go to Vietnam without a trip to the Mekong Delta, and our trip was probably the highlight of my time away (see Claire's entry for more info). And another hair raising trip back to Saigon via Vietnam highways for Elfs last night (tequilas, cocktails and sore heads) and the token last night trip to Pizza hut and our whirlwind trip through Vietnam was over as we boarded our plane to Bangkok.

Vietnam tips:

If you are not happy with a trip, make sure you complain! (free taxi to the airport, and a years worth of coffee later we were chuffed!)

Walk everywhere, so much to see

Take their museums with a pinch of salt

Do not be afraid to eat ANYTHING

Say hello and smile to every child you see

Don't haggle over small change, but don't overpay for goods! American tourists take note, by overpaying you spoil it for the rest of us!)

As with everything, do not be a dick, and in general you will have no problems at all. Get pissed, act like a knob, and wave you hand bag around next to a road the problems are of your own creation!