update!

can't believe how quickly time is passing! quick summary of what we've been up to since my camera got stolen.

bus to da lat was horrendous, wsa meant to take 6 hours and ended up taking 10! we found a great hotel with a spa on the roof which we treated ourselves too. Da Lat was lovely, a really family feel with Vietnemese enjoying wholesome socialist activities like sail boats and kite flying. Also we went on a cable car which was fun and met up with our friends Dave and Stuart who are biking the length of Vietnam.

We left there and got a very downhill bus (but by no means quick) to Nha Trang which is like the Costa del Sol. Lots of high hotels and not much culture. G and I had an amazing lobster and scallop dinner for 400,000 dong, about 15 quid! Bargain. We also took the chance to get everyone together, so Gary, Dave, Stuart, Zoe, Luke and I went on a boat trip which was exactly what you would expect from a six buck boat trip. Low brow and culture free, but we still had a lovely day all being together.

Nha Trang (and really Vietnam in general) is full of hawking and people in your face all the time so we wanted to get away from it, and we certainly did! We went to Jungle Beach Resort, which is about 7km from nowhere, where for $22 per day you get bed, breakfast, lunch, dinner, a 20 second walk to the beach, great chat and lots of people to meet! We had a lovely couple of days there just relaxing and reading, and swimming and it was much needed.

In order to leave there we had to get a mototaxi to the night bus..... what an experience, for the first time on a bike in the dark in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, the driver did go a bit fast but I managed not to fall off......... hahaha..... and then after getting ripped off at the service station for water we got the cramped night bus to Hoi An. We arrived here this morning and it's really different to anywhere else we've been. The buildings are old and low and it's quite French in atmosphere. Got some clothes measured up so going back tomorrow to try them on! It's all rather exciting.

xxxx