Man, I can’t believe that I’ve been here just like a tad under 10 months and this is the 6th cold I’ve caught. I feel so utterly crap. I think living in Saigon, a city so densely populated makes it a heck of a lot easier to catch those nasties.

Yesterday I headed out to pick up some medicine from the local pharmacy. I just needed something to make me feel a little less crap. I even picked up some bun bao (pork buns) for lunch as well.

Anyways, I’ll leave you with some photos from around my area, Binh Thanh district. For those who are wondering, Binh Thanh’s about 10-15 minutes ride from the city center in district 1 by xe om (motorcycle taxi).

Now Nha Trang is a place that I’d call paradise. Beautiful beaches, crystal clear waters, great food and friendly people. We all had an amazing time soaking up the sunshine (and getting fairly sunburnt in the process) and cruising around the islands on a hired boat. We even did a bit of snorkelling around a secluded part of one of the islands with some spectacular underwater views of tropical fish and other marine life.

Here’s a tip for anyone wanting to visit Ha Long Bay: Only do a day trip! Taking the boat cruise to the islands and caves was amazing but that’s pretty much it. Apart from that there isn’t a lot to do here. All the restaurants and hotels are pretty much empty after 5pm. We were walking around trying to find a nightspot without much luck. We headed into this club which from the outside looked like it was rocking. We got in we were the only customers! So we just had our drink and headed off to a cafe we walked past earlier for a drink. Then we decided to call it a night and headed back to our hotel. But all in all it was still a great experience. The islands and caves are definitely worth a visit. The views are truly breathtaking.

On the 24th of March we made our way up north the take in the sights and sounds of the Hanoi. It was a bit gloomy and humid when we got there which was a stark contrast to the bright colours and hustle and bustle of what we were used to in Saigon. Nevertheless we had a fun time walking the streets looking for a decent place to eat (man, there is really a shortage of places to eat in this city) and doing some street market shopping which was fun.