Good Morning Vietnam

Vietnam was a lesson in how not to execute a trip to a strange country. We planned to start in Saigon and travel the length of the country to Hanoi, but that was about all we planned.

There were two things we realised when we arrived. First of all, it was winter! If we had done some prior research, we might have known this, but alas. This meant that we were always cold and had to invest in some serious rainwear, not cool.

Secondly, we arrived during the Vietnamese New Year period and during this time everyone travels home to see their family. This meant that all transport had doubled in price and was also all sold out, while we had 1000 kilometres to cover!

Anyway our first stop was Saigon, and I read somewhere that there are four million motorcycles in the city, which is the same amount as there are people in the Republic of Ireland! Crossing the road was seemingly impossible, until some locals demonstrated that you just have to step out and watch the traffic screech to a halt, or else you will never get across.

We ate lots of Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and visited some old Vietcong tunnels, but the best things we did by far was visit the local waterpark! Safety laws are slightly more relaxed in 'Nam, so all the slides were lots of fun with some added peril thrown in. We also made lots of friends, including one family who invited us over to join their picnic!

After a night heading north on the night train we arrived in Nha Trang, where we did a three day scuba diving course. The first day was spent testing out the gear in the pool and watching instructional videos which made us absolutely terrified of getting the bends and our lungs exploding. The next couple of days were spent out on the boat for real and the weather was absolutely terrible! The water was freezing and you couldn't see much, but we managed to pass the course and make it out alive.

Taxis also are a lot more fun in Vietnam. There aren't too many cars about so you just have to jump on the back of some guy's bike and he will take you anywhere you want to go!

3 men + 1 small bike = no problem!