Hoi An

What a place! If you're only going to visit one place outside of HCMC or Hanoi than this would probably be the one. It has a beautiful old quarter which is off limits to car's & motorbike which makes for one of the nicest areas to walk around in Vietnam. They also have great little restaurants that line the river & serving some wonderful locals specialties as well as all of your favourites.

I spent three days in this town in which 90% of this time was in the old quarter. On one occasion though we did hire push bikes and went for a ride down to the beach which is located about 20 minutes ride form the center of town. The beach is quite nice but I still think we have the best beaches in Australia. It's not hard to find your own spot on the sand or under one of the many umbrella's in which you're required to pay. The beaches are long, flat & wave less but are scattered with beautiful palm trees. After we had finished on the beach we rode back to town before continuing the other direction out of town to check out the rice fields & the locals doing their thing.

As we were heading the wrong way, we had to carry out what sounds like a simple maneuver and do a U turn. First it I waited for a break in the traffic and decided to make it across safely. Then it was Mels turn but she thought she would just do a U turn and the traffic would go around. WRONG!!! As Mel turned she forgot that you don't have to stay on your own side of the road here as it's more of guideline that is rarely followed. She was then struck by a speeding girl on a motorbike. Both the bikes went flying, the Vietnamese girl hit the road and so too Mel’s camera but she managed to land on her feet shaken but not stirred. Instantly men coming running to both the girls aid but with in seconds began hinting to the Vietnamese woman get some money, get some money. Luckily for Mel she realised it was her fault and appologised.

If you're into photography than this is one of the nicest places to visit, & the endless award winning shots won’t disappoint you. You do have to pick your times though as from what I understand it can be quite prone to flooding in the wet season.