Hue and Hanoi

Today is the last day of the trip - as tomorrow I fly back to Bangkok. Hanoi is a city thats like no other ive ever been to. Its so busy here - apparently this city is the second most crowded in Asia - the streets are incredibly busy with market stalls and motos rushing around everywhere. This morning we visited the mausaleum of Ho Chi Minh. With a massive queue we entered the concrete building that contains the embalmed body of the man himself. Rather strange but it was so strict there - no whispering, walking in double-file and a few of us were told of by guards for having hands in pockets! Afterwards myself and the three Scottish guys went to see Ho Loa prison - aka the Hanoi Hilton Hotel. Very interesting place with a grim past when the French were in charge. We saw pictures of former US pilots who were inmates there during the war. The most notable of which was one John McCain. We also saw the relics of a B-52 shot down over Hanoi in 1972 at another war-related museum. Tonight I say goodbye to the rest of the guys on tour - a few will continue onto Laos.


Hue was an interesting visit - we spent less than two full days there. The first day included a moto tour of the surrounding countryside which included stopping off to see a pagoda, a rice museum and an arena where the emperor of Vietnam would watch an elephant fighting a lion - as you do. The second was spent seeing the royal tombs which were quite ornate.

Got to dash to see a bit more of Hanoi!

Hoi An & Nha Trang

Have just spent a very pleasurable (if somewhat expensive) two days in Hoi An. Its the town where there are about 4 or 5 tailoring shops on every street - and thats no exaggeration. I joined the Scottish lads in ordering a suit yesterday morning. By 4 PM it was ready for fitting, and with a few tweaks and minor adjustments I picked it up today. A dark grey silk-lined cashmere suit for a fraction of the price to be paid back home. As you've gathered i'm pretty pleased with the purchase! The only snag now is carrying it around for 2 months in the backpack.

Hoi An is a charming town thats very popular with visiting westerners. There is a Mediterranean look to the place, and its very laid back with lots of cafes and resteraunts. Today the four of us went to the My Son ancient ruins in the jungle 50km from the town. It was great - ruins of a complex of Cham temples dating back from around 1000 AD. Unfortunately the Americans were responsible for inflicting alot of damage to the buildings during the war - as craters left behind from B-52 bombings were clear to see all around.

The middle part of the week was spent in the seaside town of Nha Trang. This place is the No.1 seaside destination for Vietnamese families and was very busy day and night. The coastal scenery there is pretty amazing - rugged forested mountains perched on the edge of the seashore for miles around. Unfortunately the place is at risk of being massively over-developed. There were numerous multi-storey concrete hotels going up all over town - which is a shame to see. We somehow ended up on a boat tour on thursday with some crazy Vietnamese guys - not much culture was absorbed for the few days spent there. We took the night train on Thursday night and tomorrow morning we take the coastal road to Hue which featured in the infamous Top Gear episode. This has been referred to continuously since being in Vietnam - though we have not come across any damage left behind by Clarkson and co.

Ta for now

Vietnam

Here we are in Vietnam - right in the heart of Saigon. Its a big city - very busy, crossing the road is a rather dangerous subject. Went to Cu Chi tunnels today - very interesting insight into the Vietnam war. Our guide was a veteran and was very informative. Actually went throgh a section of tunnel without too much claustrophobia kicking in! Afterwards some of us visited the war museum which was rather grim but again very educational.

Crossed border on Monday and stayed overnight in Chau Doc. Was feeling ill that day and was literally sick right on the border. Feel lots better now thankfully. Missed out on a motorbike trip but needed time to recover.

Heading off shortly on the sleeper train to Nha Trang so I hope to get some sleep whilst on the move.

Facebook is unfortunately banned here so will have to wait a while to put the photos up.

Andy

Sihanoukville

At the seaside! Beaches around this place are stunning - I just can't get used to being in warm seawater. We arrived last night and found ourselves in Cambodias' party central. There are lots of westerners here and its clear to see why - Lots of peach bars and restaurants in the town and all along the seafront. Today about seven of us took a boat trip to do some snorkelling and to visit some beautiful beaches on some deserted islands. We were provided with BBQd Barracuda for lunch which was delicious. Add in a breakfast and all this for 15 bucks was a bargain. Still find the currency strange here. Dollars (US) used mostly but change is given in Riel (with 4000 Riel to one dollar) so takes a lot of converting. Last night we all headed out for meal and drinks down on the beach. The only downside was that we were moithered non-stop by drunken US Marines (or at least the girls were anyway).

We have a long bus ride to the Vietnamese border in the morning so I will be more than bleary eyed after watching the England match at 1AM!

Adios

Phnom Penh

Well its been a very busy day in the capital. We arrived here around six last night amidst yet another huge thunderstorm. At 8Am today we set off on a coach with tour guide to see S2! or Teol Sleung detention centre. It was pretty horrific to say the least. For it was here that some 30 000 prisoners were deatined and interrogated before facing certain death. Many who denied being educated middle class were tortured with unimaginable brutality. The pictures were awful. We thern headed off down the road to the killing field where all who were kept at S21 were killed before being buried in mass graves.

A much needed break for lunch was needed after a very moving morning. We then visited the Royal palace - very ornate indeed. After that we visited an orphanage that is funded by a not for profit restaurant that we went to the night before. The kids we well educated and i even played football with a couple of lads there.

The city is bustling and not as big as I thought but the culture is very different to Thailand. We leave tomorrow morning. Im off to get a cold shower as its pretty hot here as always!

Cambodian trail

So here we are in Cambodia. Saw the trio of famous ancient temples today - those of Angkor Wat, Prasat Bayon and Ta Phrom (the one off Tomb raider). Was pretty spectacular, particularly Angkor Wat - the worlds largest religous building that covers 1500 metres square. Pretty epic. Started to lash down with rain (as it has most evenings so far) at the last one. Theres fifteen of us in the tour group and its a friendly bunch - mostly Brits. Went out in Siem Reap last night and had a fish foot massage which was pretty weird. It took 8 hours of bus travel to get here yesterday. Border town of Poipet was very rough and the marked contrast between here and Thailand was clear to see, particularly in rural areas. People seem very friendly but you are moithered constantly by street kids trying to sell you stuff. Khmer food is very nice. I might try some of the local delicacies sometime ( I wont mention what they are on here!).
Off to Phnom Penh tomorrow which Im sure will be a lot different still.

Bye for now

Bangkok

Well Im here in Bangkok, which is possibly the busiest place ive ever been to. Staying in a hotel right in the middle of town next to the main train station. Last night was my introduction to the legendery Khao San road. Met up with a group of lads from Glasgow who i met at the airport. They seemed to know their way around so was good to get the lowdown on staying in Bangkok. Think il remember to watch out for the chang beer - its pretty strong stuff!

We went to a club there that put old moltos to shame. After that i got a tuk-tuk home at slept it off today. Its very muggy at the moment and have had thunderstorms at night. In fact our plane flew through one on the way into Bangkok which was a bit scary.

The food is good, massive variety available any time of night and day off the street stalls. It takes a while to work out what to order - but il be wise to leave the shellfish alone from what ive heard.

Heading off ont the tour to Cambodia tomorrow, looking forwatrd to that. Will meet up with the group later on.

Signing off for now

Not long till the off!

Hey there, just a quick note pre-departure. Leaving on thursday night; 10pm from heathrow. Will arrive in Bangkok late friday. One day to get over a bit of jet lag then off to Cambodia and Vietnam! Hopefully will post a few things by the weekend. Watch this space.

Bye for now - see ya'll back in September!

Andy