Hello. We’ve been taking it quite easy since we arrived in Vietnam at the start of the month. After Ho Chi Minh we headed to Dalat which was a little chilly, but a really nice place with a (the) Crazy House which was a lot of fun to explore. Then it was onto Nha Trang for a couple of days where we promised we wouldn’t even enquire about diving. December is a notoriously bad month in Nha Trang with daily rain and high winds. When we arrived it was clear skies and blazing hot so we promptly went diving for the day. And what a day! The water was very good, if a little cold and we had 2 incredible dives. I guess some things are meant to be.

On the bus trip down from Dalat to Nha Trang, the landscape was incredible. We started off driving through pine and forest. The bus climbed up the twisting road towards mountains with dramatic rock faces and sheer drops. At one point we were driving through clouds before we reached the other side of a mountain and the view just fell away from us through a valley out to open plains. The whole journey was stunning and the photos we managed to take probably won’t do it justice. On one hair pin bend, I looked up the steep hill to see 6 or 7 workers standing on the near vertical hillside working to clear the vegetation. After a needless half-hour stop, the bus was on the way again, though the road here was far from finished. I looked out the window as we drove past a river and saw a single yellow flower amidst the grass bank. Just as I thought, ‘bit weird their’s only one’ it exploded into a dozen yellow butterflies then fluttered up and away on a breeze. I was listening to Elbow at the time and feeling all poetic…

So now we’re in Hoi An, just waiting for the bus up to Hue. We’ve been here for 3 days and we love it. There are a lot of tourists here as it’s quite a tourist hot spot. But the Old Town, which is what people come to see, is amazingly picturesque. We’ve done little else but wander the streets and enjoy the food. It’s been tough. Hoi An is also famous for it’s huge number of tailors and we’d planned on getting my suit here for the wedding. So I have my first tailor made suit and, even if i say so myself, I look amazing. I got a 2 piece, a shirt and a pair of shoes all made to measure and in about 24 hours for 120 quid. The quality of the stitching and fabric is high and I’m quite chuffed. Vic also got herself a really nice silk dress and a trendy new jacket. So we’re feeling quite spoilt

It has been raining here though – it rained all night the other day and most of the morning, but the town is still a joy to walk around. We took a tour of some of the older, renovated buildings yesterday and managed to get 2 sites for free. Though they weren’t actually that exciting… What else? I gladly killed a cockroach after he ran over my foot. We met a lovely couple from Chester – James and Rihannon.

We’re still planning our party for September 4th and we have some great ideas to keep everyone amused. So far, we’ve nearly secured a venue and have the invitations planned. One step at a time.

I know you must all be busy getting ready for Christmas and what not. I’ll just say that we’re glad we’re skipping it this year. Still, it’s always good to hear from our nearest and dearest…

posted: Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 05:59
under: travels.
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