If we'd known better, we would have skipped Hue and spent the extra day in Hoi An. But the only way you get to know better is by making the mistake and going to Hue in the first place. Hoi An is another town in the French colonial style, but this time it's absolutely beautiful. It looks, as Dan's friend Eoin described it, like a fairy tale. Films should be set there. They probably are. I haven't seen that many films.... Read More

Many months ago, for reasons that now elude us, we planned one night in Hue. It's on the mid-Vietnam coastal tourist trail so that was probably a factor. But we in no way considered anything to do with timing and ended up spending roughly 2 hours seeing Hue.... Read More

Phong Nha is a region of Vietnam known for its large caves. Unfortunately it's also known as the area that has the most amount of leftover explosive ammunition from the war. It's not hugely dangerous, we were told. Not landmines. Mostly unexploded bombs. If they didn't explode on impact they're not likely to by stumbling across them in a field.... Read More

No one in Vietnam calls it Ho Chi Minh. All the written signs still say Saigon. Saigon is a much nicer name anyway. Saigon can best be summed up by Dan's thoughts at the end of our first day: "How do you cross the fucking road?" There are no apparent road rules and an endless stream of traffic, mostly scooters that come in both directions.... Read More