A different perspective

This is an experiment, my first beach-side blog entry. Most times I update this I am sat on a wonky chair in front of a flickering screen trying to remember our adventures from the previous couple of days...not really a conducive environment (actually as I am copying this from my notebook the chair isn't wonky but certainly not as comfortable as the couch I wrote this on!!)

Well this is much better...I am sipping tea (yes some things never change) in a place called the Lousiane Brewhouse, a beach club / bar that has a microbrewery, free pool and great sounds.

We are due off later tonight to Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon on our 3rd night train ride and have found that the perfect way to get ready for such an event is to find the right venue and while away the hours reading, playing games as well as the obligatory eating and drinking both for sustenance and to also permit us to remain in said joint.

When in the rather damp Hue we spent a quite impressive 8hrs in Bar Why Not (rather fittingly) comprising 2 full meals, countless pineapple shakes, lessons in othello and pool for Cath, shithead galore (it's a card game) and a fair few beers.

We made the 2am train happy little campers with full bellies and ready to sleep...which is just as well as the entertainment system on Vietnam Railways consists of Kenny G meets Abba piped into the carriage...AAhaa!!

This time around the weather is much better and if we had wanted to we could have visited some Cham ruins or hopped off on an overpriced boat tour of the islands but we again find ourselves trying very hard to be able to honestly say "we just chilled out." I am not sure if this means we are bad visitors or that we are moving slowly from being tourists to travellers...(I haven't got dreadlocks yet although Cath has been dropping hints about me needing a trim!!) I do know however that towards the end of Japan and certainly in China, although that could have been due to the cold, that we started rushing through the temples with one seeming to blend into the other. We both want to make the most of everything we do which has lead to balancing the cultural excursions with the odd days in mud baths or doing not much at all...

...I think I can live with that.