Odyssey Overland 2011 London to Australia: To the jungle? or the beach? what about both?

Oh hey hi, what up (trendy speak that). So what news your end? Trust all is just dandy. Here we have been enjoying a couple of days at a beach resort on the coast of Vietnam, quite simply a great place. All food is included and very tasty. We have ample space in our rustic beach huts and the water is bath warm and clear, what else do you need? Oh yeah, wifi, well they have that too! Place is run by a Canadian guy who it turns out lived about 10 miles from the Canadians on our trip. So here I am typing and the complimentary fruit has just turned up....how can it get any better? Maybe with a few of the cocktails inside me that we are having on the beach in about an hour...the Odyssey cocktail competition is up and running.

And breathe...

Aoife enjoys some typical Irish weather here in Vietnam

Chief Colin

Classic beach dog action

Heating up

How does the office look now?

Jen sampling some of Jim's cocktail creation

Jim keeping up with his bushcraft skills

Jungle domestics

Jungle Beach

Let the games begin

Need I say anything?

Cocktail competition

So that is where we are but where were we? Last post saw us in Hue from where the guys took the DMZ tour. It was a winner, everyone came back educated and thoughtful as they had had a very interesting day. The guide was excellent and they got to see first-hand where the fighting happened, a very sobering thought.

The sad reality of war

US Marine lookout on the DMZ tour

Tank on display at the Tra Con airfield at Khe Sanh

The portal of the Hien Luong Bridge

Russell and a massive machine gun

Mandy, Colin, Jim and one of the many victims of the Vietnam War

DMZ directions

DMZ, north meets south

Group on the DMZ tour

Reality check

Odyssey, it is about opening the mind not just partying

Odyssey, it's about opening the mind, not just partying

Next stop Hoi An, and a hotel with swimming pool, brilliant! Hoi An is yet another UNESCO spot, a lovely old colonial port that is now better known as the tailoring capital of Vietnam. Almost every shop can rustle you up new shoes, a DJ, T-shirt, skirt...you name it they can make it, in a day and at a very reasonable price to boot! Now being a bloke I had not really taken on the full significance of this, but it was not lost on the ladies and at last count we have about 150 new items of handmade clothing amongst us! I must confess to new swimmers, a T-shirt and a rather dapper evening jacket of some distinction. A rather nice floral design on a lime green silk...ok awful, but I love it.

Beautiful old Hoi An

Classic Hoi An

The streets of Hoi An

Hoi An also boasts some pretty good restaurants and cookery schools so pretty much everyone enrolled and a great morning of lemon grass, ginger and the like. The restaurant then also played host to Wendy’s birthday evening meal, where nearly everyone was in their new clothes.

Birthday girl, Wendy

Looking serious at the cooking class

Hoi An also gave a couple of the group the chance to get up close and photograph the morning catch. It is still an active port and so fishing is a big deal. Mandy, thanks for the photos, and Zoe were up well before farm O’clock at fishing O’clock around 5am to witness a morning in the life of the fishermen et al. Check the photos out, superb.

not a scooter but and essential work tool

That then is that, any more up to date and you would be here with me eating the fresh pineapple that I am nibbling on. Here are some more great photos from our travels so far, a bit of a wander down memory lane. Laters, CJ out.