Took overnight train from Saigon to Nha Trang. We were upgraded to 1st class and yet still saw a cockroach on top of the nice sheets and plasma screens!
Nha Trang- spent the first day on Diamond Beach where I ate the most amazing seafood. We ate freshly caught clams which were barbequed with chilli salt and pepper sauce. We just popped them in our mouths one at a time whilst swigging our drinks by the sea- yum!
There was an abundance of food, drink and beach. The waves were MASSIVE though and they took my sunglasses- not a problem though I just had to buy a new pair for $1 from one of the hundreds of vendors that run to me on the street.
Nha Trang has been put on the map in recent years. Last year it was home to perhaps the most morally dubious competition on earth- Miss Universe- but hey they're proud of it! Perhpas the fact that no other country would a) like to be associated with such an event and b) like to have jerry springer (presenter) within a 50mile radious of their country, left Nha Trang as hosts by default! Pictures of Misss Venezuela (she won for those of you that dont know!?!?) are everywhere showing a bit of leg and welcoming us to Nha Trang.
It managed to rain- as usual- on the beach and we headed back early evevning to clean ourselves up and relax before our next train journey the next day.
Hoi An
We took an overnight train again- this time we werent so fortunate to be upgraded and let me tell you, the difference was noticeable! Not such a nice journey. This time we were sharing our bunks with cockroaches AND RATS! Well i didnt but the boys did- DISGUSTING!
I fell ill with flu the first few days due to erratic schedules and extreme weather changes (rain, sun, rain,sun) and so spent most of the journey nursing my cold and sneezing/coughing.
We arrived at 4am into HOI AN and checked into (well...not straight away- we dumped our bags, slept poolside till 7 when rooms were ready) and AMAZING hotel. It was perfect respite from ill health and fatigue. We undertook a morning walk- by which time the city was already buzzing- and saw street carts and vendors setting up their fruit and veg stalls for the day. Ferry boats could be seen bringing in people on their mopeds from neigbouring towns. We ate breakfast at a beautiful cafe called CARGO and ate fresh pastries and drank bloody good coffee. THe food looked good and so we came back for dinner- but more of that later.
Back to HOi An itself- it's world famous for its tailors who claim to be able to make just about anything overnight. I got a beautiful winter caot made- im very very happy. I'll be sure to catwalk for you when i getback! I just wasnt looking forward to carrying it around with me in my backpack for the next feww months- heavy!
Day 1 in Hoi An consisted of walking around the city, attending fittings at the tailors and chilling poolside with my flu getting progressively worse! That night I ate a gorgeous Mushroom risotto at Cargo but sadly retired early due to my inability to think/see straight as my sinuses became more and more blocked. I popped a lot of pills that night, drank some lemsip and slept well into the next day- the 14th Oct.
I decided to spend day 14 doing absolutely nothing and just to concentrate on getting 100% better. I slept in and mustered up the courage to be up and about after lunch to further explore the city.
Dinner was at Ganesh an indian restaurant- by this time I was craving home-esque food! It was very good and i would highly recommend it to anybody heading that way.
