1^st -4^th Dec Arrived in Hoi An, very quaint World Heritage Town with lots of ancient houses and temples etc. A great variety of restaurants and lots of shops selling everything from local art to silk lanterns, and their speciality, made to measure clothing. Needless to say, Sarah and Ellen went and got measured up for a range of clothes, including very funky pyjamas for Ellen, and a second pair for Cassy, her cuddly toy. The first evening we were there was full moon, and traditionally you buy paper lanterns lit with candles to float down the river, very pretty sight. Sarah and Els also did a cookery course. They can now make exquisite rice pancake spring rolls, also cabbage/pork parcel soup, bbq pork skewers and stuffed tomatoes. I arrived at the restaurant just in time to partake, excellent. With that, and the scrummy pastry shop that we found, Hoi An was quite a treat. It was lovely and warm but not sunny enough to check out the nearby beach, so after a few days we made our way south to Mui Ne beach on the overnight sleeper bus.

4^th -10th Dec.  After 19 hours on the bus we arrived and found a hotel with a beachside bungalow that was to be our home for the next week, cost $35, not bad!  It was really windy when we arrived, but it turned out that every afternoon the wind comes up for a few hours, which is actually quite refreshing , and this is when the hundred or so kite-surfers take to the skies. A very exciting sport, Sarah fancies giving it a go if we go back there. The sun was strong, the weather hot, the sea was like taking a warm bath, and the beach was very long and fairly empty, a swimming pool, and a multitude of local restaurant. I started doing a daily regime of walking half the length of the beach, then running back, followed by a few lengths of the pool and a massage on our verandah for £2, couldn’t say no. Ladies selling fruit parade by so we laze around through the day, swimming in the sea and eating fruit. The waves are great fun though in the afternoon they just relentlessly knock you over resulting in loads of Ellen laughter. A stroll for lunch, and another to choose a restaurant for dinner and one day a bike ride was as far as we ventured for a week. Lovely to stay still in one place for a while. Ellen still has people stopping her in the road saying how pretty she is, and during a game of crazy golf a load of Chinese came from local restaurant just to watch her, together with the staff who followed us around, she had quite a support group.

11-13^th Dec. Sarah decided to treat us to an early Xmas present, and checked us into an exclusive resort for our last 2 days in Mui Ne.  We jumped into a large taxi, necessary for all our stuff, which included Ellen’s inflatable pool chair and boogie boards. Checked in, lovely rooms, our own pool, great bath in semi outside bathroom, butler, and as they said a perfect place to unwind and relax! Once the pool cleaner had finally left we swam in our private pool, then went to the infinity pool for cocktails at the pool bar. In the afternoon we had a succession of gardeners, maintenance, butler with afternoon tea, maids to turn down the beds, all popping in unannounced, seems the norm here. Finally we were left in peace to enjoy our “Two Villas” one for us, and one for Ellen. She had a great evening watching videos, tv and getting room service. As for us? Next day breakfast was sumptuous, and, accompanied by a piano! Lovely luxurious 2 days. Lunchtime departure next day for Ho Ch Min City (HCMC/Saigon). Busy city, very full of life, similar to Hanoi, but less manic but with the usual multitude of motor bikes which form a constant background noise. Next evening went to pick up Darren from the airport who will be with us for a month. Great to see his smiling face coming through customs, and undaunted by his 20hr journey, we all went out for a few beers till the wee hours. (reckon my alcohol intake might go up over the next few weeks). Vietnam had just beat Singapore at football and in celebration, it seemed that everybody in HCMC had come onto the streets, mostly on m/bikes, also on top of buses, cars and lorries. The noise was deafening, everyone had a red Vietnam flag, waving them hooting, and beating anything that made a noise, it was great fun and quite a welcome for Darren. Had a great BBQ dinner, though a bit shocked when the prawns tried to jump off the grill!  Sarah’s friends Andrea and John were now in Cambodia, and we had all planned to join them, but the long journey there was a bit much for Dar after his trip from Uk, so we decided that Sarah and Els would go, and we would take another day in HCMC before heading to our Xmas location, Phu Quoc island. They went off early and Dar and I went to see the Chi Chi tunnels. During the war the Vietcong built around 250km of tunnels from which to fight the Americans. Despite all the American efforts they only found and destroyed 7kms of these tunnels. The Vietnamese guide pulled no punches as to how they felt about the US army and their troops.

17-20^th Dec. 4.00 am start for the plane to Phu Quoc. Our hotel for the next 3 days, was Thousand Stars Resort, which as they say in the guide books looked “a bit tired” however a great location on a 20km long beach with bars, restaurants and massage ladies. The water! no waves, so warm it’s hard to believe and perfectly clear. Settled in till 20^th when we go to a more fancy resort for Xmas, where Sarah and Ellen will join us. This island is really a little tropical paradise, friendly people, good food and sublime weather and really looking forward to spending Xmas here thinking of you all.

Merry Xmas from Ad. Sarah, Ellen & Darren.