S-S-S-SAIGON

Yeah, we know it's called Ho Chi Minh City now but the locals still call it Saigon, so 'when in Vietnam'...  As soon as we got to our hotel we saw Kevin (a great friend from Emily's Casio days who came out for a week to Asia and spent 3 days with us) at the end of the street waving at us! We headed straight to Go 2 Bar and caught up on the past 7 months over several 'Saigon' beers and a few games of pool. Later that night, after dinner, we stumbled across an art shop full of very good copies of all the well-known artists, including 'Banksy'... except the 'Banksy' painting at the front of the shop was actually a '2SickBastards'. To add insult to injury, it was selling for $5!

The next day we all wandered through the streets & markets, had a fantastic lunch at a fresh food court (although Ben wasn't so keen on the chicken feet, despite Kevin's recommendation), then we went to the War Remnants Museum. Despite having already seen much of the extensive media coverage of the Vietnam or American War (depending on which side you were on), not to mention several movies, none of us were really prepared for the often upsetting photos and stories (made more real by actually being in Vietnam of course). Yes, the museum was definitely anti-American but with good reason we felt. That evening we found a 'Guns n Roses' themed bar, which was perfect escapism after a very real afternoon.

On our last day in Saigon, we took a trip out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a huge network of tunnels & underground bunkers used by the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) and integral to their survival during the 'American War'. It was certainly impressive and all the more fascinating to be guided by a Southern Vietnamese war veteran. Our return journey to Saigon was by boat along the Cu Chi River and a good chance to catch up on sleep lost from the previous 2 nights out. The final night was an epic - fine food (including more delicious spring rolls), many beers, bumping into Mandy & James again, an ear-splitting couple of hours of karaoke, and finishing with our good friend Jack Daniels at the Guns n Roses Bar!

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MELLOW YELLOW

We said our sad goodbye to Kyle and the girls in Hoi An, and the 3 of us headed down the coast to Mui Ne. We booked ourselves into a bungalow at Mellow Guest House and spent the next 2 days taking it easy. The beach was lovely and the seafood BBQs were to die for. We took a jeep to the nearby dunes to do some sand-sledging and see the sunset, but before long the rain came down so we headed back to Mellow and chilled. Lots of relaxation before the mayhem of Saigon...

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HOI AN: MADE TO MEASURE

As we got off the bus in Hoi An, we bumped straight into 2 of our friends from Xi'an, China, Mandy and James...but they were getting on our bus down to Nha Trang further south so we arranged to meet up in a couple of days. It was pouring with rain so we checked straight into the hotel that we were dropped off at (complete with swimming pool!) and headed out for some incredibly tasty noodles and spring rolls (Vietnam does the best spring rolls in the world) at a local restaurant. Followed up by a great night out, just the 4 of us, at the Here and Now bar - Ross got the t-shirt (the last one, small and tight)!

Hoi An is a picturesque, old French colonial town, on the river, with lots of little streets and is THE place to go for very inexpensive, good quality, tailor-made clothes - whatever design you want, they can make it! So, having decided that we didn't need any more clothes, the next day we got measured up and ordered some more - 3 dresses, one top and 2 shirts for Emily, 3 shirts and one pair of shorts for Ben - all for £60 between us! We then hired some bikes and cycled to the huge, wild beach and chilled out with the cheeky beach-sellers. That night was a big one! Another lush meal in a local rooftop restaurant overlooking the river and then straight to Salsa bar for the Happy Hour of free rum/cokes and there we stayed for the rest of the night. Ritchie and Mick, our 2 friends from Hanoi were there, and also Elissa, Megan and Leanne, friends of Kyle's....a great crowd and an unforgettable night.

More beach-time the next day and, after picking up our new clothes, we got another night bus down to Mui Ne.

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5hrs in Hue

The worst thing about our overnight bus journey from Hanoi to Hoi An was the tiny 'beds' - Emily couldn't even stretch her legs out straight, so imagine what it was like for Ben....but the best thing was that we met Ross, from Ipswich. We ended up travelling with Ross for the next week or so, all the way to Saigon and then for a final night out in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. And the added bonus was that we also met Kyle, from Austin, Texas, who we spent some time with in Hoi An.

Before we could get to Hoi An, we had a 5hr stop-over in Hue. We arrived at 8am, so the 4 of us went for a decidedly dodgy breakfast (Ross chose the restaurant) and then took a 2 hr boat trip up the Perfume River to the Perfume Pagoda and monastery. A great way to kill the time and get to know our 2 new travelling companions...

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