Running out of superlatives

Motorbikes, beaches, mountains, caves, car horns, lakes, rivers, war stories, travellers, traders, overnight trains, live fish in supermarkets, weird food, and so much more...

In the last 3 1/2 weeks we've been constantly surprised by what Vietnam has thrown at us - some annoying, but mostly great. We've both loved Vietnam, but for slightly different reasons - Fiz's highlight has been Sapa, talking to the Hmong people (who we didn't know existed) about their lives and whilst this was excellent, I had an awesome time in Phong Nha National park - the caves and rivers in the mountains were superb, as has been all the scenery here.

But we both agreed that we weren't expecting Vietnam to be as good as it has been. Some of that has been luck - meeting the right people, the weather (mostly) and finding the right hotels/tour companies (and some of it has been making choices based on the trusty Lonely Planet!). Either that or the not-so-positive reports we had heard of Vietnam prior to coming here were way off the mark.

It's true, I have felt that we've had to be alert when it comes to money - we've been duped ('scammed' is too strong a word) more times here than all the other places we've been put together, but that still isn't a lot and at the end of the day, you need to expect it in Asia. Despite this, many of the people we've met, in the service industry or not, have been positive, friendly and interesting (though the Cambodians remain the friendliest people we have met by far).

We've also met a lot more travellers here in Vietnam than anywhere else so far and it's very easy to see why so many Europeans (we've mainly met Germans, Russians and the Dutch) and older Australian couples/families choose to spend their entire, once a year, 3-4 week holiday here. And 3 weeks is probably the minimum time you should spend here as a couple if you want to experience the whole country and slip in a little luxury while you're here.

Could we have done things differently? Fiz thinks it would have been good to have come over to Vietnam from the Chinese border and toured from North to South, and eventually ending in Southern Thailand after having seen Laos and Cambodia. It would have meant that we wouldn't be doubling back on ourselves a little in Vietnam but then she wouldn't have had that glowing tan for the last 3 months! Plus, we both agreed that whilst most people we met were travelling from North to South, we're glad we started in the South - it got better as the trip went on, so we'd recommend doing the same.

So 4 countries done now, 4 new countries to go (plus Thailand again!) - and we've still got just under 4 months to go! Nuts!