Hoi An, Vietnam

Prepare to be charmed...

This town has tradition in the bucket loads. As we cycled along the bumpy tracks weaving through the rice paddies men and women in conical hats (non la) could be seen tending to the fields, ploughing land and hearding ducks. Back in town motorbikes past by with pigs and chickens loaded on the back for market. At night the streets really come to life, with beautiful silk laterns, which Hoi An is renowned for making, lighting up every surface. We liked eating on the river bank where you can be served cao lau (noodles, pork, bean sprouts and mint) for 60 pence and then strolling around the night market across the river. Our favourite place in Vietnam so far.

Southern Vietnam

The roads in Ho Chi Minh lived upto all the stories we've heard. Chatting to some students who wanted to practice their English with us. We mentioned the busy roads and one said quote "dont't try to avoid them, just walk and let themavoid you, what will be will be". So as you can imagine that put our minds at ease. From Ho Chi Minh we took a day trip to the Mekong Delta where we tasted freshly made coconut candy, had a ride down the narrow canals in a traditional canoe and met some lively Filipinos along the way. Had a fun day heading out in a jeep to the great sanddunes at Muine, what a rush hurtling down the them on sandboards, less fun walking back upcovered in sand. Using coaches and sleeper buses to travel up the coast we stopped at Dalat and Nha Trang where i spent my birthday on the beach with pinocoladas.

Cambodia-towns

Eating noodles from a street vendor in Siem Reap, surviving a ride on the bamboo train in Battenbang and sharing the beaches with food sellers in Sihanoukville...lots of local flavors and experiences to be had around Cambodia.

Street stalls have been our restaurant of choice these past two weeks, cheap, tasty and always cooked fresh in front of you whilst you wait on the pavement, you'll be eating within a couple of minutes. The bamboo train was quite an experience, originally built by the French  70 years ago to transport people and food between Battenbang and the capital Phnom Penh, the single track rail is now overgrown and used only between local villages. Scarier then the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, we endured a bumpy and noisy 14km journey having to disassemble our train (norry) when we met another oncoming train. Kicked back on the beach on the south coast for a few days before crossing the border into Vietnam.

Cambodia-Temples

Of course a trip to Cambodia is not complete until you visit the temples at Angkor. A 5am start to the day, we traveled in the dark in our tuk tuk (motorbike taxi) to see the glory of Angkor Wat as dawn broke behind it. It was truly magical as the temple became bathed in pink hues. From there we spent the rest of the day temple hopping, seeing The Bayon, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raider was filmed), although at one point we though we might be left there as our tuk tuk had deserted us and we had to flag down another.