Adventure Awaits…

The trip to Nusa Penida was very smooth and quite quick compared to other boat journeys we have had in the past! We got a taxi to the harbour and then a ferry across over to Nusa Penida which only took about 2 hours in total! We were luckily picked up by the guy who owned our Homestay we were staying in so we managed to get to our hostel quite quickly.

As soon as we arrived on the island we realised that the main interest was diving from all the padi signs that were about, so we then knew we had come to the right place! On our first evening we rented a bike and drove around to find the restaurants and bars. The restaurants were quite spread out so you literally could not get to them without a bike. We found a cute little beach bar restaurant right on the sea front that sold cheap (for Bali) food and drinks and also live music which was bonus! The restaurant was perfect and we had such a good time, we even ended up getting on the mic for a sing… I’m not sure if the other customers were too happy about this!

The next morning we woke up early and headed straight for Sanctum Dive School. We decided to dive with this school as we saw on google it had really good reviews so we thought we would give it a go. Now unfortunately as we got there we were told we were not able to dive at Manta Point (the main dive site in Nusa Penida) as the current was too strong and so it would be dangerous. We were a little disappointed as this was the reason we had come to Nusa Penida but we were told not to worry as the other sites they were going to take us to were really beautiful.

I was quite nervous before my first dive as it was the first time I had dived since my Open Water Padi and I felt I had forgotten some of the techniques, however as soon as I got into the water I was fine! The water was so clear (visibility of 30m) and we were joined by lots of beautiful fish. The coral was so alive and colourful, it was absolutely beautiful. On our second dive we had to do a drift dive away from the boat as the current was strong. This means you literally let the current take you away from the shore. This was cool to experience (if not a little scary at times) as I never thought we would get to do this! The second dive was even better than the first as I felt so much more comfortable with my equipment and breathing and we were even greeted by 7 friendly turtles! The 2 dives were really good and it felt great to be back diving again.

The following day we had a lie in as were exhausted from the day before and then headed off to explore the island of Nusa Penida. We rented a scooter and firstly headed to the Crystal Bay beach. The drive was 40 minutes from our Homestay which was quite a long way bearing in mind the roads are absolutely awful in Nusa Penida (nearly as bad as Ha Giang!). The beach itself was okay, very touristy and the waves were huge making it hard for us to swim in the sea. But it was nice to sunbathe for a few hours before we headed to the view point.

Kellingking Beach was the beach below the view point however we didn’t go down as it was a long trek. The view from the top of the cliff nonetheless was absolutely phenomenal. I had never seen anything like it. Now we have seen quite a view points on our trip so far but this one didn’t really compare to the ones we had seen before. The ocean went on for miles and miles and miles and the sky was so blue. It was absolutely beautiful and so worth the scary drive there.

That evening we went back to our favourite little beach restaurant, packed our bags and got ready to leave the following day. We absolutely loved the vibes Nusa Penida gave off, it was so chilled and relaxed. We loved the diving and exploring the island on the scooter. Next stop … Canggu!

The journey to Bali from Cambodia took almost a whole day as we had 2 flights one from Cambodia to Kuala Lumper then from Kuala Lumper to Bali. Being in Malaysia was a different experience, we even got to try some Malaysian food whilst in the airport which was really yummy! We arrived in Bali (Densepar) and got a taxi to our hotel which was in Seminyak. We booked something a little more expensive than usual (still £10 a night) and it was absolutely amazing, we had properly found luxury!

On our first night we took a stroll around the streets of Seminyak and found a cute little Italian restaurant (which was one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten) just down the road from our hotel. This was perfect for our first night as we were pretty exhausted from all the travelling so we wanted something quiet and quick. After this we headed back to the hotel and had an early night.

Now we only had 1 full day in Seminyak as we felt this was enough because there wasn’t much to do there other than go to the beach. So on our first day we headed straight for the beach. The walk to the beach from our hotel was really lovely as we passed lots of shops that we could look in (not that I needed to buy anymore clothes) and we also passed all the restaurants and bars too. The beach itself was actually different to what I expected in Bali, the sand wasn’t very white and the waves were absolutely huge but that explains the famous surfing that goes on there. We spent a couple of hours at the beach and also had lunch down there.

We made our way back to the hotel later that afternoon, got ready for dinner and headed straight back to the beach to watch the famous sunset on the Seminyak Beach. We managed to secure an excellent seat for the sunset and had a few beers as we watched the sun go down. The sunset was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The different colours in the sky were amazing and we even managed to get some excellent pictures and a time lapse!

After the beautiful sunset we had dinner on the beach (which wasn’t amazing) and watched some live music with a couple of beers. It was a nice and relaxed evening compared to the crazy few weeks we had just had.

We left Seminyak around midday the following day which gave us enough time to catch our ferry to one of the islands just off Bali. Our first impressions of Bali were definitely extremely different to Vietnam and Cambodia but we definitely loved the chilled vibes the island gave off. We were excited to carry on our adventures in Bali! Next stop … Nusa Penida!!

The bus journey back from Battambang was short but absolutely disgustingly hot as the air con hardly worked in the van so we were all dying! We arrived back in Siem Reap and headed straight to the hotel (which was a massive let down but never mind!)

For our last night in Cambodia we headed to the pub street and then went to our favourite market restaurant. We had our last lok lak, was served by the cute little girl who was only 13 and all got a little emotional as it was our last night together! After dinner we went back to the hotel, had some drinks together and said our goodbyes. We were sad to leave each other as we had travelled 4 weeks together, half of Vietnam and all of Cambodia. We had made such good friends and experienced so many cool things together. We already couldn’t wait to reunite back in the UK!

Our time in Cambodia soon came to an end and we were both actually shocked at how much we had enjoyed the country. We didn’t think anything could actually beat Vietnam, however Cambodia came very very close. We both said that if there was more to do in Cambodia it would be far the best country. Nonetheless we had the most amazing time, we loved learning about the countries culture (including beautiful Angkor Wat), visiting the beautiful islands and experiencing the emotional impact the Cambodian War had on the country.

We were really sad to leave this part of Asia but were excited for what was to come (beautiful beaches and sunsets). We left Siem Reap early as we had two flights to catch that day, the first to Kuala Lumper and the next to our final destination before Australia. Next stop … Bali (Seminyak)!!!

Thankfully the journey to Battambang was only 3 hours (one of the shortest yet)! We arrived around lunchtime and got going straight away. There were 2 main things we wanted to do whilst in Battambang and that was the bamboo train and the bat cave (both were phenomenal).

We arranged for a tuk tuk to take the 6 of us round for the day. Our first stop was the bamboo train which was around a 15 minute drive from our hostel. We approached the tourist attraction and although this is something very popular to do in Battambang it really wasn’t very touristy. All 6 of us managed to hop on the same bamboo train and off we went. We travelled around 30mph down the rickety train track and every time someone came from the opposite direction we had to disassemble the train and put it back together. This was so much fun and so entertaining (definitely very different to your normal train journey!) Once we had arrived at the end of the track we sat and had a drink with the local girls. They also put cute flowers in all of the girls hair (so lovely). The journey back to the start of the train track was hilarious as we had to stop and start a couple of times because people were travelling from the opposite direction. The bamboo train was great fun and I would really recommend doing it in a big group!

After the bamboo train we headed for the bat cave. Now we didn’t actually realise that you could visit the cave called the ‘Killing Cave’ as well so we decided to do this first. It was a long, sweaty walk up to the top of the cave but the historical information we were about to hear definitely made it worth it.

The Killing Cave was used during the Cambodian war. The Khmer Rouge would throw Cambodian people (even children) down into the cave, crushing and killing them. This was absolutely heartbreaking to hear and even to see. What made me even more sad was the young boy giving us the tour parents had died in the cave. This was so sad to hear.

After this emotional tour we trekked even further up the mountain to find the temple at the top. As we approached the top of the hill just before entering the temple we were approached by around 20 monkeys … this made it pretty hard for me to actually then get to the temple as I absolutely hate monkeys and they really didn’t look very friendly! But as you can see from the pictures below I made it and survived the monkey terror! And the view from the top was absolutely incredible!

The walk down from the top of the mountain was very sweaty and we were greeted by even more monkeys! But what was to come was very exciting … we sat and waited (with a beer in our hands) very patiently for the show we were about to see. At around 17:50pm the sun started to go down and you could see in the hole of the cave the amount of bats that were about to make their escape into the darkness. We sat and waited and as it started to get dark one by one millions (30 million) of bats came out the cave and flew in a line away from the cave. This was honestly one of the most fascinating things I had ever seen, it went on for absolutely ages and the pictures don’t even do it justice. It was a super cool experience and I would definitely recommend it!

After the long day we had just had we made our way back to the hostel, had dinner, played a few card games and scrabble and went to bed. We were up early again the next day as we were travelling back to Siem Reap for our final stop in Cambodia! So once again, next stop and the final of Cambodia … Siem Reap!!

We were sad to leave the islands of Cambodia as we had such an amazing time, however we’d knew we couldn’t spend much longer there as our purses would be empty and our trip to Bali would be cut very short!! The journey to Siem Reap was a long 12 hours on another sleeper bus, but this time the bus was extremely different to the ones in Vietnam. The beds were made for 2 people, so that meant me and George sharing basically a single sized bed on a moving bus for 12 hours… We decided in the end (even if it probably wasn’t the safest) to top and tail as that was the comfiest way of getting through this journey. I actually did manage to get some sleep on the bus and we finally made it to Siem Reap with the help from lots of Netflix!

We arrived in Siem Reap extremely early and got a Tuk Tuk to the centre of the city (the pub street). The Pub Street was absolutely dead at 7am (as you could imagine) but we needed somewhere to wait until we could check into our Airbnb at 12. We had booked the Airbnb with 2 of the other couples we had met on our travels for one of the boys birthdays. This was a massive treat and definitely a huge upgrade to anything we had stayed in before!

The Airbnb itself was absolutely perfect, each couple had a whole apartment to themselves. It was so nice to have some space to ourselves for a couple of nights, we could even cook in the kitchen downstairs which made it a little like home! The Airbnb also had a pool which we chilled in during the day. During the evenings we went for dinner in the pub street as we found this cheaper than cooking in the Airbnb and then had parties back in the apartment afterwards. The 2 nights in the Airbnb were so much fun and if anyone is ever travelling in a group to Siem Reap I would definitely recommend as it was still a really good price for what it was!

On our third day in Siem Reap we travelled to Funky Flashpackers Hostel (the biggest party hostel in Siem Reap) which is in the centre of the of the city. Now we did realise it was a party hostel before arriving but I don’t think we had fully thought it through after having 2 nights going really hard in the Airbnb. We arrived at 2pm and the music was playing ridiculously loud (because it was a pool party) and you could even hear it in your bedroom. It was literally like there was a speaker in the room! Now I sound like I am being extremely boring but we were SO hungover and this was not what we needed. We soon decided to hit the Burger King which was around the corner to the hostel and then have a chilled (which thumping music in your ear) evening as the next day we were waking up at 4am for the Angkor Wat sunrise.

We woke up on Sunday morning with only 2 hours sleep (as the music did not go off until 2) but still excited for the amazing sight we were about to see. The 6 of us travelled in a Tuk Tuk (very squished) to get to Angkor Wat and we arrived at the temple around 5am. After buying the ticket (which was $37) we then got dropped off outside Angkor Wat and walked towards the temple. The sun was beginning to rise as we were walking to the temple but we still had time to catch the full sunrise. As we approached Angkor Wat there were lots of people waiting outside across from the temple, we soon realised that this was the place to stand for the sunrise. The sun soon begun to rise and even though it was a tiny bit cloudy it was absolutely stunning. My breath was taken away by the beauty of the sun shining upon the temple; it was simply amazing.

Once the sun had fully risen and we had taken 1 million photos we made our way into the temple which also took my breath away. It was absolutely humongous. The ancient ruins were incredible and the fact that they were still one of the largest part of Cambodia’s society today made it even more fascinating. There were hundreds of people visiting the temple that day which amazed me. Hundreds of people coming to visit the same amazing historical feature of Cambodia; this was truly amazing.

Once we had spent a couple of hours in Angkor Wat we made our way to the other temples. We visited 5 temples in total and Bayon and Ta Prohm were definitely our favourites (see pictures below). We would also 100% recommend getting up early to visit all of these temples as by the time it hits 12pm the heat is unbearable to walk around in and the crowds are also way too heavy!

After the exhausting but absolutely amazing day visiting the Angkor Temples we made our way back to Funky Flashpackers where we spent one more night in the crazy hostel before our trip to Battambang. We were travelling to Battambang for 1 night and then heading back to Siem Reap for another night before our flight.

So I will finish this blog now but fully conclude it on the final post of Cambodia after explaining (in my next blog) about my trip to Battambang. But for now, bye bye Siem Reap and onto the next stop … Battambang!!

What was meant to be a 6 hour journey to Koh Rong Samloem turned out to be 12 hours. The mini van journey was extremely hot and tedious and the ferry was not much better either! We arrived at the island around 5pm and we couldn’t quite believe our eyes … we had found paradise. The water was as clear as anything and the sun was just setting making a beautiful sunset.

We stayed at Mad Monkey Hostel which was actually like a resort on a deserted beach on the island. The hostel had lots of bungalows on the beach, a bar/restaurant in the main area and a pier with a bar at the end. We were shown to our room by one of the reps and it was a bungalow that looked right out onto the sea. It was so peaceful. The bungalow room was small but it was perfect for our 2 nights.

The island itself had no WiFi or internet connection so that meant no phone for 3 days. The rooms also had no electricity so that meant no air con and we could only charge our electronics in the communal area. It was like we had gone back 50 years but we absolutely loved the fact we had to connection to the outside world. It was perfect.

On our first night we had dinner (I had fish and chips which were amazing), played drinking games and partied with the rest of the backpackers at the hostel. This is what we pretty much did every night we were on the island and it was a great way to get to know people.

During the days we relaxed on the beach mostly. On one of the days we went on a fishing boat trip around the island. Firstly we went snorkelling in the sea where we saw lots of fish and lovely coral. We then sailed to a fishing spot where he Cambodian men showed us how to fish. The fishing was lots of fun and many people on the trip (apart from me!) managed to catch fish. The fish we caught we actually put on the BBQ and ate. This was one of the tastiest fish I have ever eaten! The water on the fishing trip was so blue and the sand was so white. It was like something out of a film.

We actually decided to stay an extra night on this island because we were loving it so much. We stayed in a dorm with our friends which was quite cramped and extremely hot but so much fun.

That same day as the boat trip we travelled to the other island (Koh Rong). Even though the two islands are so close together it took us 6 hours to get from one to the other because of the amount of ferry changes and waiting around we had to do! However, the waiting around was 100% worth it because oh my godness the island was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The whitest sand, the greenest palm trees and the bluest sea. It was paradise.

We stayed in tiny little bungalows on the beach which were perfect for the type of environment we were in. There was electricity on this island, however still no air con so it was very hot. We spent our time here mostly relaxing after the crazy few days in Koh Rong Samloem. The beach was so lovely to just lie on and it was nice to have a few early nights (even if we were joined by a huge lizard).

Our time on the islands were one of the best things we have done on our travels so far. We had so much fun meeting so many awesome people, drinking far too many buckets and getting to experience the most beautiful beaches ever. The past few days are definitely something that we will remember. Next stop … Siem Reap!

Our journey to Cambodia was an interesting one. The drive is only about 6/7 hours from Ho Chi Minh but with the stops at the boarder it took around 8 hours. It took us 3 hours to reach the Vietnam/Cambodian Boarder, once arrived we firstly had to cross the Vietnamese boarder. We gave our passports in and had absolutely no control over them nor did we know what was going on. We eventually crossed the boarder and then approached the Cambodian boarder. This was an even weirder experience as we were split up into different groups, our passports were taken off us and we eventually got called forward to cross the boarder. I felt a lot better once my passport was back in my hand and I had crossed both boarders with no issues. The rest of the journey took 4 hours, once arrived we literally got dropped off in the middle of an extremely busy road and then had to walk 30 minutes to get to our hostel. No ideal but that’s Cambodia!

We were staying in Mad Monkey Hostel in Phnom Penh. The hostel was buzzy with lots going on and it also had a pool making it even better! On our first night we met our friends, found a cheap (ish – we soon found Cambodia is SO expensive compared to Vietnam) restaurant and had some drinks to finish the evening off.

On our first day in Phnom Penh we explored the city. We started off the day by buying a SIM card. Now if you are ever in Phnom Penh and need to buy a SIM card make sure you go to the actual CellCard shop as it’s really cheap for a good sim!

We saw many of Phnom Penh’s sights that day like: the National Museum, the Royal Palace and lots of monuments. We also came across a Cambodian market which was really interesting (but a little gross as well – see the picture below!) I loved Phnom Penh as a city as it did not give off that touristy vibe and it was nice to venture out of the main touristy area to see some Cambodians in everyday life.

The following day we headed in a tuk tuk to the Killing Fields. The feelings I experienced on this trip are something that will stick with me for life: utter heartbreak. We approached the Killing Fields and you immediately could feel the sad vibes. We paid for an audio tour (definitely worth the money) and then begun the tour. The whole thing was set out really well for tourists and it explained the war in great detail, even giving accounts of true stories on the way. Their were extremely heartbreaking parts to the tour and the main thing that amazed me so much was how the Cambodian people have put this all behind them and moved on. They are honestly the kindest and most selfless people I have ever met, always going that extra mile. The Killing Fields and the S21 (prison) Museum were both great experiences but so extremely sad. I really would recommend them to anyone wanting more of an insight to the Cambodian War.

That evening we arrived back at the hostel (feeling like we needed a drink after the emotional day we had) and packed up our bags ready to leave the following day. We had a great time in Phnom Penh, even if it was emotionally draining it was so nice to listen and learn about the country we were in. Next stop … the Cambodian Islands!!!

So onto the final stop of Vietnam … Ho Chi Minh. We couldn’t quite believe how quick our trip in Vietnam had gone, we had such an amazing time and got to experience some of the most beautiful places we had ever been to. From Da Lat we got an 8 hour (VIP!) sleeper bus to Ho Chi Minh. The journey was actually okay this time because we paid an extra £1 to travel VIP style (would definitely recommend if you ever get the chance!)

We immediately found Ho Chi Minh very different to Hanoi. It had a lot more motorbikes and people, however you couldn’t feel this busy vibe as much as the streets were a lot wider and bigger compared to the small, narrow streets in Hanoi. We particularly liked the fact there was more space to move about in Saigon and not feel like you are constantly going to get run over by a bike!

Our hostel (which we booked with 2 other couples) was a 1 minute walk from the walking street. Our first impressions of the famous Walking Street was definitely crazy and absolutely bonkers, there was so much going on, lots of bars, restaurants and even 9 year old boys blowing fire out of their mouths! We had dinner down one of the side streets and ended the night with a few drinks at a bar.

On our first day in Ho Chi Minh we got up rather late (as we felt pretty hungover) and headed to the War Museum. This was a 20 minute walk from our hostel so we got to see some of the city on the way. The price of the ticket to get into the museum was 40,000 dong (£1.30). This was 100% worth it as it is definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was extremely moving and quite breathtaking actually. There were many different levels to visit in the museum explaining the history of the war and the effects the war had on Vietnam as a country. The war museum was an extremely heartbreaking and emotional experience but we both found it so interesting so learn about a crucial part of Vietnam’s history.

After the war museum we walked to the independence palace and the Notre Dame. Both were beautiful landmarks of Saigon. For the rest of the day we spent our time walking about the sitting, looking in some of the markets and getting a feel for the city we were in.

The next day we took an early trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This journey was around 3 hours out of the city. When we arrived at the tunnels we were taken on a tour around the area and our tour guide explained the complex to us. It was so intriguing to see the different tunnels made by the Vietnamese during the war. We actually got to go into one of the smallest tunnels made. This was quite a weird feeling as there was not a lot of space and it was extremely dark! At the end of the tour we got to experience one of the tunnels which ran for 100m, there were exits at every 20m so you could get out if you wanted to. The tunnels were extremely hot and sweaty and it was very claustrophobic down there. I actually felt really panicky when going through the tunnel as there were lots of people in front of me and behind me making it feel like there was no way out. However, knowing there were exits at every 20m really helped! It really helped to put into perspective what the Vietnamese men and women went through during the war to survive.

That evening we headed back into the city and packed up our bags ready to head onto our next destination the following day. Ho Chi Minh was a great place to end our travels in Vietnam as it was buzzy and there was lots to do. We absolutely loved learning about the Vietnam war against America and getting to visit some of the famous landmarks left from the war.

Vietnam for both of us is one of our favourite countries in the world. The country as a whole has so much to offer, from vibrant cities, to sandy beaches, to awesome caves, to beautiful waterfalls and obviously lots of amazing food! We couldn’t have asked for a better trip in Vietnam. The highlights of our time in Vietnam were definitely:

1. Ha Giang Loop

2. Phong Nha Dark Cave

3. The Beautiful City of Hoi An

We can’t wait to come back and visit one day with hopefully a little bit more money and more luxury places to stay!! But for now, thank you for the memories Vietnam and onto the next! Next stop … Cambodia (Phnom Penh)!!!

The journey from Hoi An was a long 13 hour sleeper bus, however we got through it with a little bit of sleep and lots of Netflix! We arrived in Da Lat around 7am and it was very cold compared to the heat we had been experiencing! We headed straight for our hostel and luckily they let us straight into our room so we could have a nap before the day of exploring.

On our first day in Da Lat we explored the city, it’s culture and history. We walked around the beautiful Xuan Huong lake, had lunch in one of the famous coffee houses and also visited the ‘Crazy House’. The Crazy House was really interesting and cool to see, we enjoyed climbing up the narrow staircases and getting to look out over Da Lat city. That evening we found a nice, little restaurant which sold amazing Vietnamese food. We also had some drinks with friends at the hostel and then headed for bed!

On day 2 we decided to rent a motorbike with some friends and head to the waterfall. The waterfall was around 20 minutes out of town and the drive there was pretty crazy as we were trying to get out of the busy city during rush hour! When we arrived at the waterfall we discovered that you could get a a toboggan ride down to the waterfall (costing 150,000 dong). This was such a fun experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the waterfall even if it a little on the expensive side! The waterfall itself wasn’t actually that impressive if I am honest (I think partly because the waterfall we saw in Luang Prabang was breathtaking), however the ride down made the whole thing worth it!

For the rest of that day we explored Da Lat more and saw a beautiful lake. We were also going to trek to the viewpoint however the rain soon started to come down so we decided this wasn’t the best idea! Instead we headed back to the hostel and had the family cooked dinner that evening and then had some drinks whilst playing lots of pool!

On our final day in Da Lat we headed to the elephant waterfall. It was about an hours drive out of town (again quite stressful as we were driving through rush hour and nearly got stopped by a policeman) but the roads were really nice to drive on and we saw some amazing views. When we arrived at the falls we trekked down towards the waterfall. On our way down we discovered a cave below the waterfall which was really noisy as the waterfall came crashing into it. The waterfall itself was huge which I did not expect and it was definitely not a disappointment. Even though the water wasn’t clear, the waterfall itself was beautiful.

After the waterfall we stopped for lunch in a small town, the lunch was very strange and the woman spoke no English so I’m not actually sure what we were eating was what we ordered! The drive back into town was eventful as the rain started to come down extremely heavy making it very hard to see anything. However we made it back into the city in one piece and finished the day off by visiting the maze bar and having dinner.

Our time in Da Lat soon came to an end and we were again making our way back onto another bus! We enjoyed Da Lat as we didn’t find it too touristy and their were lots of locals buzzing about constantly. Although it rained a lot we enjoyed the colder weather (18 degrees) compared to the hot 35 degrees weather we had been having! We found it quite hard to find the city centre in Da Lat where all the bars and restaurants were but we soon realised they were scattered all over the city. We enjoyed spending time with the friends we had made and making arrangements to do some further travelling with them. Next stop and the last of Vietnam … Ho Chi Minh!

Before we left Hue we decided to rent a motorbike and drive to Hoi An ourselves instead of getting another bus. This route is known as the Ha Van Pass and it was such a great experience! The journey was a total of 4 hours but it took us 8 as we made lots of stops and maybe got a little lost.. We saw beautiful views on the way and it was very different to the Ha Giang Loop as we were driving on the coast the whole time which was really pretty. We passed through Da Nang (a city on the coast) on the way which was nice to see and also had some lunch there. The weather was good up until about 2 hours from Hoi An where it started to rain really heavily. Luckily we were able to buy some ponchos from a shop but by the time we had arrived in Hoi An we were still absolutely soaked.

We had booked a total of 5 nights in Hoi An, 2 of these nights were in Tribee Khn Hostel which I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a party and a good social atmosphere! The other 3 nights we booked at a beach villa (Life Beach Villa) which was on the beach. The villa was absolutely amazing, had a beautiful pool and was a 2 minute walk to the beach. It was perfect for relaxing and winding down after lots of busy weeks travelling in Vietnam. We even decided to book an extra night as we were loving it so much!

For Hoi An itself I have to be honest we did not do as more exploring as had in the other cities of Vietnam. We spent a lot of our time relaxing by the pool or at the beach. Hoi An was a lovely place to rent bicycles so I did this twice during my stay, once to the rice fields and the other to the beach. During the evenings each night we headed into the ancient town. The ancient town was full of lots of little, cute streets with restaurants, markets and suit tailoring shop. George actually got a suit tailored which was an interesting experience and I got a dress made too. The ancient town was a beautiful place and even though it was full of lots of tourists it didn’t give me the same touristy vibe as other places on our travels so far. The entire town in the evening was lit up entirely by lanterns which made it even more special.

Hoi An was such an amazing place to visit, it was so different to any other part of Vietnam we had visited so far. An Bang beach (the main beach in Hoi An) is not one of the nicest beaches I have been to, however the Hidden Beach is beautiful and a lot less touristy so I would definitely recommend this.

So this was a very short blog (even though it was one of our favourite places so far) and I am currently writing this whilst on a 16 hour sleeper bus … oh the joy of travelling! If we could we would have definitely stayed longer in Hoi An as we loved it so much. Next stop Da Lat!! (Where we are looking forward to the cold weather!)