Vietnam is great fun, has something for everyone and is pretty cheap. We stayed at Vietnam Backpacker hostels at Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Nihnvana, Mui Ne and Saigon. They are great at helping you plan your whole trip through Vietnam, sell all the must-do tours and keep you tipsy with their themed nights and drinks deals!

16th Nov – day 67 – We flew to Hanoi and checked in to the Downtown Vietnam Backpacker Hostel in time to join their bar crawl! The streets in Hanoi are small but with thousands of vehicles and people on them! We stayed at VBH throughout most of Vietnam as we bought their ‘passport’ which gives you 10 nights free when you buy 10 nights.

17th Nov – day 68 – We joined the hostel’s free walking tour of Hanoi which took us to a big market and walking street (which we recognised from ‘Jack Whitehall Travels with my Father’) and we tried our first egg coffee, which was delicious! We took to the super busy streets of Hanoi again that night!

18th Nov – day 69 – We booked a trip to Mai Chau through VBH. Mai Chau was a 3 hour minibus ride into the northern countryside of Vietnam. Once we got to our homestay we had some great food and then went on a bike ride around the rice paddys and fields, overlooked by hills.

19th Nov – day 70 – Our second day in Mai Chau involved an early wake up call, breakfast and then we set off to visit a bamboo chopstick factory! We drove further into the hills and trekked for about 3 hours, visiting some local families and drinking rice wine in their bamboo homes.

20th Nov – day 71 – On our last day we rode motorbikes to visit a waterfall and to a big lake and had a short boat ride. We headed back to Hanoi for the evening and went out with all our new friends!

21st Nov – day 72 – Hangover from hell. We all stayed in bed to try and recover, while chloe mourned the ‘misplacement’ of her phone!

22nd Nov – day 73 – We took a day trip to Nihn Bihn, booked through VBH. We visited two temples where people worship past Kings, took a boat ride (the Vietnamese paddle with their feet!) through the rivers between tall rocks. Many call Nihn Bihn the ‘Inland Ha Long Bay’. We had another bike ride through the paths between the tall limestone rocks.

23rd Nov – day 74 – We were up early ready to go on the much anticipated Castaways! We took the bus, boat, another bus and another boat to our secluded island in Ha Long Bay. We were introduced to the awesome people we would be spending the next few days with and our guides; Ish, Rosie, Courtney and Nick. There was rock climbing and we went high-speed tubing which was great fun, but a little painful when you came flying off! In the night we done what we do best… Party.

(check out @camera_with_wings for some cool vids!)

24th Nov – day 75 – Waking up in our bamboo huts and looking out to the beach and water was great, until you realise you sat up too fast and your head is banging from the hangover. But there was no rest, we were straight up for breakfast and heading out on the boat for a day of booze cruising and kayaking around Ha Long Bay.

25th Nov – day 76 – Our final morning saw us all lazing around the beach trying not to think about the long trip back. After the long sleepy ride back we arrived in Hanoi and thankfully it was carvery night! We stuffed our faces and then got on the night bus to Phong Nha.

26th Nov – day 77 – We spent the day cycling to The Duck Stop in Phong Nha. This place was awesome. We got to feed the hundreds of ducks and pose for the perfect picture on a water buffalo, finished off with some delicious Vietnamese food. We stayed at Easy Tiger which is a pretty big hostel with free beer happy hours and it’s right across from the bar.

27th Nov – day 78 – We hired an easy rider to take us to Paradise Cave which was HUGE! We taught one of the Vietnamese girls some English words to help her with her future tour guide job. In the evening Chloe and I went to Hair of the Dog Bar.

28th Nov – day 79 – We were up early to catch the bus to Hue. Ash and I took scooters to the abandoned water park which was interesting. In the evening we had a few drinks with people we were at castaways with.

29th Nov – day 80 – We had an early and hungover morning to tour the Demilitarised Zone. The drive there gave us some time to sleep before exploring the well preserved tunnels and bunkers.

30th Nov – day 81 – We got up early and hired bikes to do the Hai Van Pass. We tried to wait out the rain but there was no sign of it stopping. We sported some great waterproof trousers and ponchos and started riding. The views from the top were great but we couldn’t wait to reach Hoi An and have some food and a hot shower!

1st Dec – day 82 – Ash was so hungover today that he didn’t make it out of bed. Meanwhile Chloe and I went shopping! Hoi An has loads of tailoring shops where you can get almost anything made! After shopping we headed to a pool party at Kahunas.

2nd Dec – day 83 – We spent our morning on push bikes cycling around Hoi An with our guide, Lewis, from VBH. We got to make traditional lanterns, had the ‘world’s best Bahn Mi‘, visited the Ancient House, Japanese Bridge, Market and an art gallery. After the great tour we picked up our new clothes and got the bus to Nihnvana.

3rd Dec – day 84 – We arrived early in the morning and headed for a few extra hours sleep before spending the day by the pool and enjoying the best curry since India! Nihnvana sits alone and with not a lot to do we relaxed by the pool and ate some of the best food we had in Vietnam, thanks to their chef!

4th Dec – day 85 – Today we got up early and went on the kayaking tour with Dinise. Me and Ash whimped out of the cliff jump but enjoyed the kayaking and a couple of beers on the beach! In the evening we sang the night away during karaoke (luckily there are no neighbours!).

5th Dec – day 86 – The pool helped with the hangover we suffered from all day before heading to Mui Ne On the night bus. Unfortunately my new bikini from Hoi An did fail me with a major wardrobe malfunction *ping*.

6th Dec – day 87 – We had a chilled first day in Mui Ne by doing nothing but sit around the hostel pool. In the evening we took a walk to the nearby food court which had lots of different foods from around the world.

7th Dec – day 88 – Our 4am alarms went off and we set off to the White Sand Dunes for sunrise, then the Red Sand Dunes and the Fairy Stream (you can ride an Ostritch here for 50p if you’re feeling brave!?). Ash then set off on the bus to get to Saigon as he doesn’t sleep well on the night bus, whereas me and Chloe hung around the hostel before getting the night bus.

8th Dec – day 89 – During our short stay in Saigon we visited the war museum, which was quite shocking and heart wrenching seeing all the pictures of the war. To try and cheer ourselves up we visited the 3D Art Gallery! In the evening Ash and I experienced the crazy streets of Saigon, we had never seen so many cars and scooters and people! Be careful around these busy streets at night though as we spoke to lots of people who had been pick pocketed!

9th Dec – day 90 – We got up and changed some money into dollars ready to head to Cambodia. We caught the bus in the day, crossed the boarder and arrived in Phnom Penh later that evening.