Vietnam

Firstly I'll start by explaining our journey from Laos to Vietnam, as it is quite important.....
Before we got to Loas, we had already decided that we were going to get a coach from Vientianne to the north of Vietnam, where we planned to meet two of our friends from back home, (Carly and Natalie) that were coming out on a 2 week holiday....

But after speaking to many travelers in Laos we learned that this particular coach journey, was not only 30 hours long but it was also deemed the 'Death Bus'!!! Obviously after hearing this we were not to sure about using this method of transport... However after hearing many stories, I do not believe the deemed name of the 'death bus' derives from anyone actually dying on this journey- it is actually the coaches their selves that 'die' as they break down all the time; which only adds to the already very long journey time. In addition we heard how the seats were really uncomfortable and didn't even recline, and sometimes the buses are so packed that many people had to do with the aisle floor; which was sometimes occupied by live cargo- like chickens!!! Therefore as you can imagine after hearing many of these stories we decided to fly to Hanoi instead....
However after looking into the cost of this flight we decided that it was too expensive for us money conscious travelers- the flight was about 100 pounds as opposed to the coach ticket of 25 pounds.... Therefore we decided to take a chance with the 'Death Bus'.....

Obviously I am writing this blog, so we survived this 'treacherous' journey.... And in all honesty it was not that bad at all, we each got 2 seats to ourselves so could spread out as the bus was not full. The seats did recline and were quite comfortable and thankfully there was no live cargo on board and more importantly our bus did not brake down once.... However I do think it was just a case of pure luck for us, after hearing all the traveller stories, plus we did see many other broken down coaches on our way.... The only bad point I would say was the Vietnam border crossing which took ages; but then in our experience all the border crossings in Asia tend to be a tad too long...

Hanoi

Once in Vietnam we headed straight to Hanoi; as soon as we arrived in this city we were overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of it; cars, motorbikes and people everywhere. This was such a contrast to the small simple town of Vang Veng where we had just spent an amazing 2 weeks.

We stayed in Hanoi for 6 days before our friends arrived; we didn't really do much in these 6 days, mainly down to the fact that we were recovering from all the alcohol we drunk whilst at tubing in Laos. Also the temperature in Hanoi was much colder then we had been used to for the past 2 and a half months, this change in climate took us a few days to get used to- so as you can imagine we were kind of miserable and had a touch of the 'holiday blues' or in our case 'tubing blues'.......

When we got to Hanoi, we made our way to the Hanoi backpackers hostel, as we heard some great reviews about it from fellow travellers; However as we had not booked beforehand, when we got there it was full... This kind of done us a favor though as Hanoi backpackers is quite costly- about $7 per person per night to share a 6 bed dorm. We soon found a hotel around the corner- Hanoi Civility. This cost us $5 a night each for a room, with bathroom, fridge, air con and TV- Bargin!!!

During these 6 days we decided that when the girls arrived we would make our way down south the following day... Originally we were planning to visit Halong Bay which is near Hanoi and is meant to be a great trip, but due to the time of year and cold weather, we opted to go south straight away where the weather was warmer as we didnt think the girls would appreciate the cold weather after leaving a cold wet miserable England....

When the girls arrived it was so good to see them, we chatted until the early hours, they- filled us in on the news from back home, and Bobbie, Toni and I filled them in on all our travelling adventures... The girls agreed with our decision to move south as they didn't want to spend there any of their 2 week holiday in the cold. The following evening we got a sleeper bus ticket which would take us from the north of Vietnam to the south, with a few stops along the way- all for $40 dollars each- I do love my Bargins....

Hoi Ann

We arrived in Hoi Ann after a very bumpy coach ride, it actually felt like we were on a roll-a-coaster at times... As soon as we got off of the coach (after 13 hours), we were very pleased to notice that the temperature was much warmer- the holiday blues were banished!!!

Hoi Ann is a quaint town, a total contrast to the manic and busy city of Hanoi. We stayed in Hoi Ann for four days in total, two would have been enough, but we all had clothes made so we had to wait around for those... You can get just about anything made in Hoi Ann, and it is so cheap! And you know how much I love my bargins, especially when it comes down to clothes and shoes... Between the 5 of us we had several dresses, shorts, and shoes made...
The night life here is not vast and the bars are quite spread out; there's a bar called 'Why Not' which is ok for a drink and some pool. But I recommend 'Before and Now' which is busy and full of backpackers and does good food. There is also a free mini bus service that takes you from this bar to a beach bar/club which goes on till the early hours.. as you can imagine we had a few drunken nights here- well Carly and Nats were on their holiday, we had to show them a good time......

Nha Trang

Our second stop was this tourist haven, and I can see why many people like to holiday here; not only has Nha trang got a long beautiful sandy beach, but the nightlife is buzzing, with plenty of restaurants, bars and clubs. We wre in Nha Trang for 3 days and whilst we were here we went to the Sailing club bar and another 'Why Not' bar. It was Carly's 21st Birthday on our second day in Nha Trang; during the day we all went to a health Spa in the mountains where we had a mud bath and soaked in a mineral pool. It was a beautiful place and I highly recommend a visit to this spa. Not only will you leave with baby soft skin and silky soft hair but you will also feel very relaxed, and to top it off the whole day only costs around 10pounds each and that's including transport- BARGIN!

To Continue Carly's birthday celebrations we all got dressed up and went for a nice meal; now I don't normally plug restaurants in my blog, but I am now going to make an exception. The restaurant we ate in was next to the 'Why Not' bar and was called Lemon Grass' or something along those lines. The food was not only delish , but the staff were lovely and the ambiance and decor was beautiful yet simple and relaxed. The floor manager was also a lovely women who kept singing and talking to us to learn her English, and she gave us several free cocktails. Toni had asked the manager for a surprise birthday cake for Carly, and in the short time allowed they produced a gorgeous, delicious cake that was way beyond our expectations. The whole bill only came to 10pounds each... this is why I recommend this restaurant, and if you fancy being treated like a star, then say its your birthday.......

Whilst in Nha Trang we also went on a boat trip and had a very funny day.. The crew were hilarious and very entertaining. On this trip we visited several different islands and also an aquarium, and on one of the islands we all done paragliding which was an extreme high that we thoroughly enjoyed.

When you are on the beach in Nha Trang you can see in the distance another island which has a sign in its mountains 'VINEPEARL'- very much the same as the famous Hollywood sign in L.A. At first we thought this island was private; but later we found out that you could visit the island via the massive cable car that connects Nha Trang to Vinepearl over the sea- one of tallest cable car in the world as a matter of fact... The cable car in itself was a unique experience, but when we actually stepped foot on Vinepearl we were amazed... This Island consists of an amusement park, indoor arcade centre, 4D cinema, waterpark, private beach, aquarium, shops and restaurants.... and to top it off there were hardly any people on the island when we visited so there were no ques for anything.... we were like big kids all day.... and the best thing about this whole experience was that the day only cost us around 10 pound each, that was including the cable car ride to and from the island; everything on the island was completely free even the arcade games we were in kiddie heaven... If you are young at heart and don't visit Vinepearl whilst in Nha Trang- you are completely MAD!

Ho Chi Minn

To sum it up, huge, busy, manic, overcrowded bustling city. This is the capital of Vietnam and is so much bigger than the former capital Hanoi where we started our Vietnam journey 2 weeks ago. We were only in Ho Chi Minn for 3 days before we had to all fly out and go our separate ways, with Toni and I flying to Australia and the other 3 girls flying home to England. Whilst in Ho Chi Minn we visited the Vietnam War Museum, it was sad but very educational... We also visited a few other places on a city trip that we signed up to, it was only 5pound each for the whole day, but to be honest we actually cut the trip short and left the group as we were so bored... I recommend a visit to the Vietnam war museum as a must though....

It was so sad saying bye to the girls when they left the night before them, it was nice seeing them and spending the last 2 weeks with them. It was also especially sad saying bye to Bobbie the next day at the airport when she had to board her plane to England. Toni and I had spent the last 3 months with this amazing, fun, young hearted yet mature beautiful girls and we were sad to be seeing her go.... We had all become like the 3 amigo's and we could not have asked for a better partner in crime... I know we will have regular contact with her though, you never know she may just turn up in Australia in a few months.... Australia here we come.....