Last day in Vietnam and I spent it visiting the Army museum and the Temple of Literature. The Army museum was interesting, although I don`t know what all the American tourists make of all the placards about the American war of imperialism and aggression. They didn`t have the pictures of the Hero`s of the revolution with the caption Patriot and American killer I saw in some other museums. The Temple of Literature was calm and relaxing.

Spent the afternoon walking in Lenin park and watching the glorious sunset. Leaving at 7am tomorrow for the long flight back to London.

Had a wonderful three days in Ha long Bay. Drove down on Monday and picked up the boat in Ha long City. Cruised out into the bay while having lunch. Ha long Bay over 1000 islands, all wonderful khast limestone crags jutting out of the clear emerald sea. The night we spent anchored in the middle of the bay before spending most of Tuesday kayaking around the islands and swimming in some of the bays. Stayed the night in a hotel on Cat Ba island in Cat Ba national park before cursing back through the islands today.

Just one day more in Hanoi before I fly back on Friday.

Spent the day wandering around some museums and sitting by the lake. Visited the Hoa Lo prison which was know to the Americans as the Hanoi Hilton as it was where all the shot down pilots ended up. Before that is was used by the French to keep political prisoners is some pretty deplorable conditions. There is also another old Guillotine, captioned as a cutting machine and some gory pictures of the heads of some of the Viet Minh in baskets.

Staying right in the heart of the old quarter. It`s madness outside the door with motorbikes flying around the packed streets and shops of all description. I even passed a whole line of of workers sitting on the pavement making tombstones. Now there`s an idea for a holiday present.

Weather much brighter today after the overcast spell of the last couple of days. Off to Ha long tomorrow so hope it is bright for the kayaking.

Caught the bus up to Hanoi this morning. The bus station was about 7km from the centre of the city so I needed another motorbike lift to get me into town. Had a wander around the main sights today including a look at the outside of Ho Chi Minh`s tomb. Can`t go in and visit as the old boy gets sent to Russia each November for a bit of touching up. Saw the stilt house he used to live in though.

Booked a trip down to Halong Bay for next Monday, staying Monday night in a boat in the middle of the bay. Weather quite miserable up here, 18C and overcast. As long as the typhoons hold while I`m at sea.

Caught the late afternoon train in Hue yesterday and arrived in Ninh Binh early this morning. Train was good even though I was in hard class this time. We even got food supplied which was very tasty. When I got here I hired a bike and did loads of cycling around the limestone hills. The scenery is fantastic, very similar to that of Guilin in China. Took a boat trip through some caves and climbed up to a temple on the top of one of the hills.

Just went for a walk in the city and ended up in the meat market. I`m sure that was a dogs head I saw looking up from one of the stalls.

Worn out so will probably have an early night and head towards Hanoi tomorrow

I knew I talked to soon. Today the rain came with avengence. I thought it may slow down the Motorbike madness but no such luck. Out came the multi coloured plastic capes and it was business as usual, looking like some sort of Batman convention had hit town.

Luckily I spent most of the day in a bus , visiting the former DMZ or Demilitarised Zone, about 50Km north of here. Of course during the American war it was one of the heaviest militarised places in the world. Went to see the former border between North and South Vietnam, and a few old military bases with rusting helicopters.

Tomorrow I catch the overnight train up to Ninh Binh, a fourteen hour journey.

Today hired a bike and cycled out to some of the Tombs in the surrounding countryside. The bike was the oldest most rickety boneshaker you have ever seen, but it matched in well with the others on the road. Had a little bit of difficulty when I got lost somewhere on the banks of the Perfume river. Ended up going down a tiny little track just next to the river. Couldn`t really backtrack as there was a very unfriendly dog the way I had come so had to press on carrying my bike up this tiny Little path and trying not to fall in. Eventually found a steep track going upwards , so I followed that and ended up in the local cemetery, with an absolutely stunning view over the river. So all worked out OK in the end. The tombs were worth seeing as well.

After a quite day yesterday spend cycling round Hoi An and sitting on the beach under a palm tree, caught the bus up to Hue this morning. Was hoping to go over a magnificent mountain pass, as described in all the guide books, however the Vietnamese have blasted a tunnel right through the bottom of the mountain so we went that way.

Hue is a ancient city straddling the Perfume River. It was the capital of Vietnam in the time of the Emperors and is where they had their imperial palace and the location of most of their tombs. Visited the Imperial city today and hope to do the tombs tomorrow. Not sure whether to hire another motorbike, or I might just stick to pedal power. The traffic in this city is horrendous. Saw one crash today which looked pretty nasty.

Weather still deifying the odds and remaining fantastic. This is meant to be the rainy season but haven`t seen a drop for ages. I have left the tropics now and it`s meant to be winter here. Winter and 29C!

After my experience on the back of a Motorbike yesterday, today went the whole hog and hired one of the things for the day. Biked out to Myson, the ancient Charm centre 40Km west of Hoi An. Very scenic ride once I had got of Highway 1 and was heading up into the hills. Only got lost once. First time I`ve driven a motorbike so it took a bit of getting used to. Was great fun, although I don`t think I could do it if I had to wear one of those awful helmets they make you wear in Europe.

Ruins were impressive even if it was a little hot there. And this is winter! Spent a few hours wandering around then biked back.

Hoi An had a typhoon last week and was flooded so I chose the right week to come. Food is fantastic as well.

Arrived this morning in Hoi An an incredibly quaint little town on the banks of the river. Travelled down from Danarg on the back of a motorbike. It was an interesting journey as the driver had my rucksack on his lap and me clinging on for dear life as we weaved in and out of the traffic. Arrived safely and have a fantastic hotel with a lovely swimming pool.

Will probably stay here a couple of nights and see some of the surrounding countryside. Spent today looking at some of the old houses and temples in the town. Hoi An was an old trading port in the 17th and 18th Century`s and was settled by a lot of Chinese traders. The centre is now an UNESCO protected site and traffic is banned from the main streets. It`s a luxury. You still get the ubiquitous motorcycles, but with out the cars they don`t have to weave about so much.

Travelled up on the overnight train. Very comfortable berth, I was in soft class upper berth. Slept very well except when the women below me decided to have a text conversation in the middle of the night. Trip was 13 hours long and arrived 2 minutes late. Not bad.

Did the Museum of Cham sculpture this morning and pottered about by the river this afternoon. Hotel has a lovely pool so had a swim in that as well. Bit more relaxed up here as there are relatively few tourists staying in Danang.

Tomorrow head back south for about 30Km to stay in the old city of Hoi An.>

Arrived yesterday in the Beach capital of Vietnam, Nha Trang. Incredibly hot again especially after the relative cool temperatures of Dalat. Journey took about 5 hours by bus, with some stunning scenery on the way. Weather a bit muggy and overcast, it is the wet season so I can`t really complain. In fact I`ve chosen the only time of year when the turquoise blue waters around the bay turn a muddy brown with all the rain water that`s washed down river. Still amazing views anyhow. Climbed the hill to get a close view of the massive Buddha overlooking the city. Taking a boat trip out to the islands tomorrow and hoping to see some Coral Reefs

Hotels incredibly cheap. This one is costing a massive 120000 Dong per night, or about 3.18. It has a lovely roof terrace as well.

Today Spent the day cruising between some of the islands just of the coast here at Nha Trang. Gorgeous weather. Did some snorkeling for the first time. Didn`t really get the hang of it, just seamed to end up with a gogglefull of salt water. Got a brief glimpse of some wonderful fish though.

Just been for a walk along the promenade. Once you get used to the constant offer of a ride on a motorcycle it`s quite relaxing. Walked past the Hall of the People. And what were the guards outside the town hall of the Peoples Socialist Republic of Vietnam watching on the TV in their sentry box? Who wants to be a millionaire that`s what!

Catching the overnight train up to Dinang tomorrow. Couldn`t face an overnight bus full of backpackers, so will see how Viet Rail compares with China rail.

Travelled up from Ho Chi Minh City by bus. Not the normal Vietnamese buss but the special Open Tour Bus for travellers, so not to taxing. Getting out of the city took ages and the sprawl went on for ever. The population of the country is 80 Million and you can quite believe it. there are people everywhere.

Spent yesterday walking around Dalat. It`s nice to be out of the burning heat of Saigon, but this place makes up for it with hills. It`s an old resort area and full for tourists both Vietnamese ones and foreigners. Some nice scenery but most of the attractions I tried to go to were closed. I guess it`s the off season. The flower gardens are delightful according to The Lonely Planet, but when I got there there was just a lot of earth and some diggers.
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Today spent the day on a tour of the delights of Dalat. Lots of Pagodas, a couple of waterfalls and the Valley of Love, which was full of Cowgirls trying to entice couples into taking horse rides around the lake. Very peaceful spot though away form the noisy streets outside. There were a few unfortunate Monkeys kept in cages about the size of a normal car. Still at least they weren`t on the menu.

Was just sitting enjoying a piece of cake, thank the French for that, and some incredibly milky tea, admiring the lights of Dalat, when they all went out. Nice to have a decent power cut. Quite took me back to the three day week. better finish this before it goes again.

Day in City before moving onto Dalat tomorrow. Very hot. Saigon must be one of the most chaotic city`s I`ve visited. In China it was bicycles coming at you from every angle. Here it`s motorbikes. There are apparently 3 million in the city alone and they all seam to be heading directly for you when you cross the road. Visited a few museums and relaxed in the Botanical Gardens this afternoon. The war remnants museum, which has some horrific pictures of some of the things the Americans did while they were here. Some lovely deformed foetus pickled in jars which were the result of Agent Orange. Also some horrendous pictures of the massacres which took place in some villages, where Women children and even babies were brutally shot down by gung ho GI`s.The museum also contains an old Guillotine, a remembrance of the French rule!

Took a tour out to the CuChi Tunnels, about 50Km northwest of HCMC. Amazing place. It`s where the Viet Cong hid out while the Americans were carpet bombing the surrounding countryside. A series of tiny tunnels dug out of the clay in which the army lived slept and fought. Very claustrophobic even in the short 60m we were allowed in. Thank goodness they are all so slim. Also visited the temple at Tay Ninh, the headquarters of the Cao Dism sect. Very colourful. Trip took about 12 hours of which the last two were spent in a traffic jam attempting to get back into HCMC

Arrived at 7.30 this morning after a 12 hour flight from Paris. Very rapid transit through Customs and immigration. Not surprisingly as we were the only plane there.
Dramatic taxi ride to hotel on the banks of the Saigon river. Millions of motorcycles coming from every direction. How they avoid constant collisions is one of the wonders of the world.
Walked around the city this morning. Incredibly hot, 29C at present. My book says it always rains in the afternoon so I have my brolly handy. Hoping to visit the Reunification Palace, from where the Americans fled in 1975, and the Museum of American War Crimes and atrocities. It`s the city`s biggest attraction apparently. Should be fun.