Ollie&PoppyTravel: So far in Vietnam...

We spent a full day in Hanoi looking round all the markets and shops before booking onto a 2 day 1 night cruise of Halong bay through our hostel. Arriving in Halong after a long and bumpy 4 hour bus ride the weather was a little cloudy and we initially couldn't really see much. After boarding our 'junk' and checking into the rooms we had a nice lunch before heading off for an afternoon looking round a large cave, kayaking and walking up to a hilltop pagoda for great views of the bay. By the afternoon the weather had brightened up quite a bit and the views were sensational! We both enjoyed the trip and were glad to have not booked a longer tour as the weather was a lot colder than expected. Our last day in Hanoi was spent exploring shops and relaxing in the hostel before our 14hr sleeper bus to Hoi An in the evening.

Traffic madness in Hanoi

Enjoying some of the street food

Our 'junk' on Halong bay

Kayaking on Halong bay

Sunset view from the hilltop pagoda

Poppy interviewing for a job as a street vendor

The sleeper bus was surprisingly comfy and we both managed to get a decent few hours sleep. Arriving in Hoi An we checked into our hostel, complete with a pool, and decided to spend a few hours tanning poolside before wandering into town. Hoi An is renowned for its tailors and almost every other shop in the centre was a tailor! Inevitably I couldn't resist having a blazer made for me and after seeing how well it fitted out I ended up getting three shirts made up as well! This all totaled a whopping $125...ludicrously cheap considering the quality.

Packaging my blazer and shirts to be posted home

Other than the tailors Hoi An was a lovely little town on the waterfront and had a range of restaurants along the river. So far dessert seems to have been a course than Asia isn't particularly fond of so we were both excited to find somewhere that served a wide range of desserts. I treated myself to a chocolate brownie with ice cream and Poppy went for a waffle. It definitely hit the spot! In general we both enjoyed the relatively relaxed and peaceful atmosphere compared with the bustle of Hanoi. Our final day here we rented some bicycles and rode over to the beach. We spent a chilled afternoon here, although I didn't venture out into the sun as I'd caught a bit too much the day before and was feeling a bit sore.

The lovely lanterns for sale. We have posted a few home.

Hoi An beach

A short 11hr sleeper bus later we had arrived in Nha Trang. Described as the beach capital of Vietnam this definitely had a 'costa del sol' feel to it with lots of high rise hotels along the beach front. Here we our first day at a nearby hot spring spa where we both had a mud bath and relaxed in the warm water. Feeling refreshed we woke early the next day ready to head over to nearby Vinpearl waterpark. This exceeded expectations as the park also included a mini theme park and an aquarium as well as the waterpark. To top it of we had been advised to wait around for the evening water fountain show which turned out to be our highlight of the day! Our last day was spent relaxing on the beach in the sun both feeling jealous that we had missed one day of sunshine back home in the UK...