Phu Quy 2 Nha Trang

... my usually patient bonhomme fume. So this little piglet took down the name of the company and the license plate and will make a formal complaint to the VN tourism bureau.

Of course, i prayed to the Lord Buddha and to my grandmother for half the night and now that we're safe and sound in Nha Trang, we're extending our stay here by another night just to rest from the trip from hell. Next time, it's the train, the best idea is always the ...

... one day break for a hangover!) and I went out on the boat as well today and had a quick refresher course and then a couple of dives. I was really pleased that it has all come back to me so easily and managed to see some pretty cool fish, including a flying gurnard...piccy to follow.

We have decided to skip Cambodia, we really ...

... brown hot water. No bother i thought, the women who ushered me in hours before seemed cool, I'm sure she would consider the grievances of a weary traveler. Hmmm, if the insult '**** You' had a human face, it would be hers. Right then.

I had been told that Nha Trang is a good place to chill out, so that's exactly what i intended to do. Although, as with many beach resorts I've visited I always seem to run into a few problems ...

... when we got to the airport we couldn't wake him up for at least 10 minutes which was absolutely hilarious!! I felt so sorry for the driver, esp when we realised Colm had accidentally stolen his CD's!
So we got in the airport and Colm had 7 espresso's to try and wake up... it worked... and by the time we got him to check-in he looked alive again.... however they wouldn't let him on the plane as he had no shoes... so the woman at check-in went out the back to find a pair of spare flip ...

... stop Luc from starting a rumble that we really would have been outnumbered in) There were maybe 8 other non Vietnamese people there.... and anytime you saw one... they had the same look on there face, a mix of fear and amusement. Funny. So that was Saigon. We hopped on a bus headed for the coast... more to come!

Also.... have included a few tardy photos that I just downloaded that don't go with this entry... but I am sure you can follow along!

... on every other vehicle.

Vietnam and Cambodia both beautiful, and people very friendly (except for the odd over aggressive market vendor). Interesting to see the Vietnamese perspective on the war, think the truth lies somewhere between that and the American view.
Vietnam has many similarities to China in it's temples and historic monuments, but they have a more realistic feel to them, as they havn't been restored or kept to such a high standard. Cambodia too ...

... for a fraction of the cost! We then shipped all of our clothes home as one doesn't require suits and such for backpacking. After Hoi An we took a bus north to Hue where there was a great old Citadel (walled city). We only spent a day looking around Hue and decided to venture further north to Ninh Binh. We found a hotel directly in front of Tom Coc (a series of caves running along the river). We took a boat tour up the river and through the ...

... coral which was all really good fun. Went for a curry with a ferw of the guys in my dorm. Really good guys. Went out after to the sailing club again which was really good fun again. Drinking bucketts of vodka redubull on the beach you can't go wrong really.

Went to the waterpark with the guys i was out with the previous night. It'd clouded over that day so figured we may as well. Was a good laugh. They had a rollercoaster and loads of water slides.

... browsing through catalogue after catalogue (all of the shops have the latest edition of the Next catalogue, allowing you to simply recreate anything you want!) She never badgered us into buying more and she was meticulous in taking our measurements. Callum opted for some new work gear and got a ride on the back of T's moped to the fabric market to see more options for shirt material while I had an idea for a suit which I drew for her. The very next day, all our ...

... to say goodbye.

The rain had cleared, and turned into blazing sunshine by mid-afternoon, so it turned into another lovely day after a dodgy start.



Katie went into a book-swap shop to swap two really good factual books on Vietnam & Cambodia for a Bill Bryson book ...