We packed up in plenty of time to have a relaxed breakfast in our hotel before leaving on our tour to Hoi An. We had booked this in a tourist office just round the corner. The enterprising Vietnamese make it very easy to travel in their country – there are small tourist offices around every corner to provide you with information and advice and to sell you extremely reasonably priced tours.

We were in a comfortable air conditioned mini bus with a small group of other tourists, including some Americans and Germans. Our guide was a young Vietnamese man. Who told us he used to be an ‘easy rider’. These tour guides take tourists around on the back of their motorbikes to see various sites as well as to tackle more adventurous mountain routes. He said that his Mum didn’t want him travelling on a motorbike any longer because of the risks, which is how he came to be doing his current tour guide job. I can’t say I blame her. Although motorbike tours are very popular in Vietnam I am reluctant to either hire them or hire an ‘easy rider’ to drive me. As I get older I am more aware of the risks entailed in these sort of activities.

Our first stop was a small village with an ancient bridge. We passed through lush rice fields on the way there. Our guide told us that Hue has recently been taken over by the central government. This will provide more money for development. The Hue, Danang and Hoi An area will become a massive tourism zone, all centrally controlled. The side of the city where the imperial palace is sited cannot be built on as it is a protected UNESCO site. All development will therefore occur on the side of the city we were driving through – namely the peaceful, emerald paddy fields. The town has come a long way since the time Tim visited thirty or so years ago, when it produced all its own food. Our guide told us that the local people are pleased about the development as it will give more opportunity for jobs and businesses.

At the small village we stopped to look at the bridge which the older local people use to sit and chat on – a kind of self organised Vietnamese day centre! We also visited the local market. This was novel for some of our fellow tourists but similar to many that TIm and I have already visited in Thailand and Laos. We enjoyed wandering around and looking at the fresh products. I couldn’t help wondering how the development will impact the peaceful village – the city limits will likely spread out as far as here at some point.

After that we headed up into the mountains where we stopped at a big lake where fishing boats were moored. I was reminded of our past trip to China when we spotted an artificial tree that is strategically placed by the side of the lake for photos! It felt strange when the beauty of the surroundings was enough in itself. But Chinese and Vietnamese tourists alike seem to enjoy these sorts of photo opportunities as well as any chance to dress up (in terms of the dressing up bit I guess they have much in common with the inhabitants of Hastings). I made a local trader very happy by buying a couple of (probably massively overpriced) bracelets from her. Here she is by the artificial tree:

The weather was overcast and by the time we headed up to the mountain pass it had started raining. We stopped where there should have been a great view, but all we could see was swirling clouds. We got out of the bus and headed up to look at a fortification that was used in ancient times as well as during the Vietnam war.

As we got back on the bus again I checked my phone and realised I had had a message from my Mum saying that my Dad had died. He has been in a nursing home for the last ten months after a hospital admission and although his death had been expected any time, it was still a shock to hear about it on a mountain in Vietnam. At the next stop, the Marble Mountains, we sat in a cafe while I called Mum and we began to make plans to return home.

In Hoi An we spent most of our time in the hostel room booking planes to Ho Chi Minh City and then on to Gatwick. Our flexible tickets were not so flexible that we could book immediately back to the UK without incurring a lot of additional expense as we needed flights at short notice. The tickets were also from Bangkok and it cost a lot more to get there than to get to Ho Chi Minh. However we knew that we could re-book these tickets at some point if we did manage to come back to south-east Asia.

My initial impression of Hoi An was that it is very touristy, but the next morning we wandered a little out of the centre and had breakfast in a lovely family owned cafe. That made me think that the whole place would bear another look at some point in the future if I did ever manage to return to Vietnam. I wasn’t feeling like doing any sightseeing so I booked into a salon to get my nails done to pass some time. I had heard from fellow travellers that the Vietnamese salons provide an amazing service. Two women worked on my feet and hands in tandem. There was soon a pile of dead skin on the floor which had been hacked from my feet. I apologised profusely but these women were clearly used to dealing with foreign women who weren’t used to having regular pedicures.

That evening we caught our Vietnam airways jet to Ho Chi Minh. We had booked at an Aparthotel there, right next to the airport. I was feeling pleased that everything seemed to be falling in place for us to get home quickly. I felt in my money belt for my passport which – wasn’t there! I was distraught, imagining spending the next week hanging around the British consulates and Vietnamese police stations trying to get it replaced. When I had my passport stolen in China on our big trip so many years ago, it taken had taken me three weeks and numerous visits to the local police station to get a new one! We spent a lot of time hanging around in cafes at Dali Lake in South-western China. I didn’t want a repeat of that experience in these circumstances! Luckily Tim remained calm. We headed back to the airport. After talking to some friendly air hostesses a message was sent air side and eventually a young man appeared with my passport which I must have left on the plane. We mobbed him with thankfulness,

When we eventually managed to check into our accommodation it was amazing. We had a whole apartment to ourselves with access to a swimming pool, sauna and steam room, all for less than £25 a night. We didn’t make good use of the facilities – we were so tired that we collapsed into bed. The next day we headed into Ho Chi Minh briefly via a Grab taxi and did a bit of shopping. It is a busy but interesting city that I would have liked to spend a bit more time in. That night we were due to catch our Turkmenistan Airways flight back to Gatwick, leaving at 3am.

The flight went smoothly. We stopped off for a few hours in Ashgabat. The landing and take off was awe inspiring as we circled high mountain peaks covered in snow prior to landing. In the airport we bought a bottle of quality Russian vodka for $5. From the waiting area we could view the city and the tantalising mountains surrounding it. I checked google maps – fifteen hours to Samarkand where I would love to visit. Maybe another time….

Although our travelling has been curtailed for the time being I feel very lucky to have visited all the places we have so far and we hope to continue with our trip some time later this year.