Vietnam

We arrived by bus to Ho Chi Minh City by the darkness of night, to be welcomed by rain and a cooler climate.  We found a hotel and booked our trip for the following day to the Cu Chi tunnels.  We decided on the half day tour and set off the following day.  The tunnels consist of a network of underground passages covering 200km in distance, all dug out by hand, using only a shovel and basket.  The deeper they went the smaller they got, some only big enough for a small person to crawl through, and that is what they did to escape the enemy and the constant bombing.  They were also used to transport food and supplies needed.  How these people survived down here for long periods of time is credit worthy, I struggled with a few minutes and was glad to see the light of day again as it is pitch black and there is no room to even turn round.

After the tunnels we looked at some examples of traps that were used against the Americans in the war.  How they think up these things I have no idea, but they are all pretty gruesome and designed to cause the most pain and damage as possible to another human being!

We then got the opportunity to fire some weapons used in the war, I chose an M16, but also posed with an AK47, the sound was deafening, much better after finding the earmuffs!!!

It was raining heavily most of the time we were here, and just as we were leaving it stopped, typical!  We arrived back in town and Nicola and I chose to do a tour on a cyclo, which is a bike with a chair on the front, I think only 1 person is supposed to sit in it, but our driver was happy to take both of us, me sitting between Nicola's legs, not the most comfortable tour but we managed, despite the stares we were getting from people who thought it was hilarious!  Our driver was telling us how he was shot in the head and hands and showed us his scars from the war, then he took us around Ho Chi Minh City and told us a few things about it, I could not really hear him at the front, but just enjoyed the scenery.  Just another city really!  Much more interesting at night sitting on a pavement cafe and people watching, which is what we spent the remainder of the evening doing before heading to the station to catch the sleeper train to Na Trang!

The train is very comfortable and a great way to travel here if you have time and want to save money on flights.  The following morning we arrived at Na Trang.  The weather here was horrendous!  Rain, rain and more rain, for most of the 2 days we were there, which was a shame as there is nothing there but the beach!!  Which I am sure is lovely when it is not raining!!!  However we made the best of it and I enjoyed a massage, sauna and steam bath one day and a trip to the mud baths the following day.  My skin has never felt so clean :)

I was fed up by now of rain, and ready to leave, we caught our flight to Hanoi, where we would travel to Halong bay for an overnight cruise.  It was much cooler here up north, but it was dry :)  As we were searching for a hotel, who should we bump into but our friend Dave from our China tour, who we are meeting up with in Thailand!!!  Of all the people in all the…….you know how it goes….it is indeed a small world!!!  So random!!!

We checked into our hotel and booked our boat tour around Halong Bay for the next morning.  I explored the city alone and found a good local restaurant and had the best seafood noodles yet! I am struggling so much right now on these malaria tablets, and am finding it hard to be around the others, I am not feeling sociable at all, just depressed, like there is a black cloud hanging over me and the slightest thing will bring me to tears…I have stopped taking them and am just waiting for the effects to wear off.  In the meantime I just have to ride it out I guess!!  Can not believe a tablet can make you feel this bad!

The next morning we left for Halong Bay, I thought maybe the trip would make me feel better, but now the time has come I feel 10 times worse and wish I stayed behind in Hanoi by myself.  I feel so sad and don't want people to see me like this while they are all trying to have fun and enjoy themselves, I just feel I can't even talk right now for fear of breaking down in floods of tears!  Everything here is so beautiful and I don't even want to look at it, so I will cut this blog short until I feel better.  However Halong Bay was lovely and I would recommend it to anyone!  Whilst there we visited some caves, did some kayaking and spent the evening playing uno on board our boat and also trying to fish for squid, although we did not see any! Met some fun people who shared their travelling experiences with us and will maybe see them in Thailand for xmas/new years!!  I hope to be back on form by then!!!