Nha Trang to Saigon

Ok, so it's not quite been a week since my last post but boy does it feel it!

Since my outpouring of love for Hoi An a few days ago we have clocked up over 1000km's through Vietnam and spent 23 hours crashing through towns on the Viet 'roads'.

My last post was full of fear at the prospect of a 12 hour night bus journey from the beautiful town of Hoi An down to it's bigger and noisier neighbor Nah Trang.

Although far preferable to the night train in the; 'how sodden my clothes were from sweat' category, the list of wins for the bus ends there.

The jerks and bumps of Vietnam's, at times, unimaginably bad roads did not lend itself to a sound nights sleep. Nor did the frequent stops at toll booths. I can only imagine the money each car forks out to risk their lives on these roads is spent on the booths themselves as they are far superior to any tarmac our bus drove on.

But don't think I'm feeling sorry for myself, we were the lucky ones. Nobody knows quite what happened to the American couple left at a service station midway through. Perhaps they decided it was less of a risk sleeping in the street than on the bus? Either way if you go to the lost and found in Nha trang claiming you left two backpacks on a bus, chances are you'll be in luck.

Despite my rant, the bus was both cheap and on time arriving in Nha Trang at 6 in the morning as promised.

This was a good opportunity to see Viet life as it really is. The whole town was alive.

The sun was up, people were of on a morning run along the coastlines. Streets packed and every shop open for business. It was like midday in a UK city.

Despite that burst of culture, Nha Trang could be anywhere in the world. A beautiful beach? Yes. Wall to wall sunshine? Yes. More tourists than locals? Sadly, yes.

For this reason, Nha Trang was relegated to the humiliation of being a 'stopover'. One night in a reasonably priced hostel and then it was off again. To Mui Ne.

We were both incredibly excited about Mui Ne. The travel books boasted of the 'best beach in Vietnam' and a 'hidden treasure'.

Unfortunately it wasn't the case.

That isn't to say Mui Ne isn't nice.

A golden beach stretches along the coastline for as long as 10 km's. Resorts and hotels pepper the beach while locals and tourists motor along the coastal road in the sunshine. It really is lovely place to be.

Add to that a good day out at the local sand dunes, where you can sled down the hills whilst feeling you were in the desert, Mui Ne is a winner.

The problem is the hype. After reading such good things only the best of the best would have met our expectations. Mui Ne was lovely, but not the best.

Finally, we find ourselves in Da Lat, following a 'life in your own hands' journey up the mountains of Central Vietnam.

Da Lat is as far removed from the rest of Vietnam as possible.

The town is surrounded by mountains draped in mist. A regular as clock work thunderstorm barges it's way over the hills everyday at around 3 o'clock, making the 20 degree heat, even cooler.

Vicky and I have even considered wearing trousers...

I know!

It has been a lovely place though and a nice change of pace to the rest of Vietnam.

Straight back in though, as tomorrow we have a 7 hour coach journey to the melting pot that is Saigon, before our flight to Phu Quoc island in the week.

To help pass the time on our bus trilogy, I took the liberty of writing down a few of the stand out musical moments during our journey.They will be this weeks 'I've been listening to'.

Thanks for reading. Until the next time....

Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
Coldplay - Fix You
Stereophonics - Have a Nice Day
Jacqui Wilson - Sweetest Feeling