Having never seen two people sleep so much, its fair to say that dengue fever took its toll on the other two. After hating most of our stops for the last few weeks Ho Chi Minh City quickly reversed the trend, and they were able to celebrate a full recovery as well as arriving in Vietnam. All it took was a few incredible mango shakes,delicious Com Ga, 30p beers and we were pretty much in love. On top of that, the city offers weird Asian food markets selling god knows what, cheap massages and wide open parks where you can watch Vietnamese men pass around a shuttlecock with their feet (Jianzi), whilst chatting to ambitious young Vietnamese wanting to practice their English.
Oh and did I mention the massages. Now connoisseurs of said past time Thorps and myself discovered two ladies with a talent for trapezing the spine with a feline touch, then with a flick of their big toe could crack all the bones in your back to derive endless pleasure. With this discovery convincing Rhys to part with $5 was slightly easier than usual. Unfortunately for the poor man, there either weren't enough masseuses for the 3 of us, or (more likely) the sight of his hairy back sent any women left in the building sprinting for the exit. Whatever the reason a big strong bloke (with no affliction to back hair) was dispatched to deal with him. Hilariously, he lay face down perfectly relaxed, oblivious to his impending doom. The next hour was spent in a state of confusion as the calloused hands and grunts brought a dawning realisation to the reality of the situation. Despite their best attempts to conceal his identity, which included sending the masseuse out of the room when it came time to turn over, Clouseau cracked the puzzle and was forced to spend an uncomfortable hour squirming every time a hand ventured too far above the knee.
Our love affair with the country continued as we traveled up the coast to our next stop Nha Trang. Having become accustomed to cramped Cambodian buses, which take pleasure in blaring out the latest local ballad, the fully reclining bed you get on every bus in Vietnam felt like it was sent from heaven. A short 12 hour overnight bus and we woke to see the sun rising over the South China sea. We probably haven't had quite had enough sun, sea, sand over the last 4 months...but it was nice to spend some more time chilling; me diving,Rhys tanning, and Will burning.
The geography of Vietnam has meant that we've constantly bumped into friendly faces whilst journeying up coast. This brought us together with Becs and Jess, who had plenty of advice on how to negotiate with the locals, control elephants and not leave your camera on a bus. On the other hand, by the time we reached Hoi An it meant that we were now getting followed by a pesky pair of Italian mafia dons that we had dormed with in Koh Phangan. Despite their slightly gangster influences Franki and Marco now rate among our top travelling companions.
Hoi An town is by far one of the most beautiful we've visited. Situated on a small river, the first night we arrived locals gathered to fill the slow moving water with glowing lanterns. With the street lights cut, a soft glow from the river and an electrical storm far off in the distance lit up the scene and made for a pretty spectacular sight. In addition, the beach isn't far away,and this seemed to be the appropriated way to spend my 22nd birthday. The 5 of us embarked on the short cycle out of town, through lush green rice paddies, past a few buffalo and spent the day attempting to body surf whilst sampling all Vietnam's cheapest beers. It had the 3 of us so glad to have escaped the exam hell of this time last year (to anyone distracted enough to be reading this, good luck).
Shaan
Oh and did I mention the massages. Now connoisseurs of said past time Thorps and myself discovered two ladies with a talent for trapezing the spine with a feline touch, then with a flick of their big toe could crack all the bones in your back to derive endless pleasure. With this discovery convincing Rhys to part with $5 was slightly easier than usual. Unfortunately for the poor man, there either weren't enough masseuses for the 3 of us, or (more likely) the sight of his hairy back sent any women left in the building sprinting for the exit. Whatever the reason a big strong bloke (with no affliction to back hair) was dispatched to deal with him. Hilariously, he lay face down perfectly relaxed, oblivious to his impending doom. The next hour was spent in a state of confusion as the calloused hands and grunts brought a dawning realisation to the reality of the situation. Despite their best attempts to conceal his identity, which included sending the masseuse out of the room when it came time to turn over, Clouseau cracked the puzzle and was forced to spend an uncomfortable hour squirming every time a hand ventured too far above the knee.
Our love affair with the country continued as we traveled up the coast to our next stop Nha Trang. Having become accustomed to cramped Cambodian buses, which take pleasure in blaring out the latest local ballad, the fully reclining bed you get on every bus in Vietnam felt like it was sent from heaven. A short 12 hour overnight bus and we woke to see the sun rising over the South China sea. We probably haven't had quite had enough sun, sea, sand over the last 4 months...but it was nice to spend some more time chilling; me diving,Rhys tanning, and Will burning.
The geography of Vietnam has meant that we've constantly bumped into friendly faces whilst journeying up coast. This brought us together with Becs and Jess, who had plenty of advice on how to negotiate with the locals, control elephants and not leave your camera on a bus. On the other hand, by the time we reached Hoi An it meant that we were now getting followed by a pesky pair of Italian mafia dons that we had dormed with in Koh Phangan. Despite their slightly gangster influences Franki and Marco now rate among our top travelling companions.
Hoi An town is by far one of the most beautiful we've visited. Situated on a small river, the first night we arrived locals gathered to fill the slow moving water with glowing lanterns. With the street lights cut, a soft glow from the river and an electrical storm far off in the distance lit up the scene and made for a pretty spectacular sight. In addition, the beach isn't far away,and this seemed to be the appropriated way to spend my 22nd birthday. The 5 of us embarked on the short cycle out of town, through lush green rice paddies, past a few buffalo and spent the day attempting to body surf whilst sampling all Vietnam's cheapest beers. It had the 3 of us so glad to have escaped the exam hell of this time last year (to anyone distracted enough to be reading this, good luck).
Shaan
