Don't be angry Mummies and Daddies.................

So Hanoi. There are 3.4 million mopeds in Hanoi and we have seen/ been run over by every single one of them. Boy do they love tooting their horns. After tranquil Laos Hanoi seemed ridiculously hectic. We were there during the Communist Party Congress and it was a surreal experience to be surrounded by such blatant Communist propoganda. First port of call was a date with the British Embassy, where we were disappointed to find that our hero Elliot Haines was back in the UK and so we couldn't thank him in person for saving our asses at the border. (Incidentally Erin is now stuck with the most unfortunate passport photo for the next ten years- unlucky.) We indulged in a trip to the traditional water puppet theatre where we discovered 45 minutes of watching puppets dance in water is actually 40 minutes too long. Enjoyed an overnight boat trip to Ha Long Bay which involved cheesy star-gazing, yoga up on deck and collecting shells on a tiny deserted island- paradise. More importantly though we suprisingly managed to entertain ourselves for an hour and a half with an indepth discussion about yoghurt. Whilst on the boat trip we discovered a love for arty camera work so we urge you to enjoy any future use of black and white or sepia image mode used in the journal. In our haste to get to Nha Trang (legendary party town on the coast) we found ourselves getting involved in two overnight buses and a horrific 5am start in just 3 days. A visit to the De-militarised Zone "served as a poignant reminder of Vietnam's recent brutal history" (Murph). The trip was made especially interesting when our journey back became a race against time in order for us to catch our overnight bus. We were bundled into a small van whose driver decided to play 'how many random Vietnamese people can we pick up off the side of the road and squeeze in to the van.'At one point there was us and 15 Vietnamese people snuggled into a 9 seater vehicle and the sweaty experience was made even more extreme for Colly as she had to spend the journey's entirety pressed up against the armpit of a clammy old man. Once back in Hue we had 2 minutes to get back to the hostel and catch the bus- in our panic we bypassed the sensible and speedy motorcycle option and opted for the only mode of transport actually slower than walking- the cyclo, good effort girls.

So got to Nha Trang and for $20 we are basically staying in a penthouse suite with sky tv, room service (which we have definitely over indulged in) and a balcony- to die for. After six weeks of relative sobreity we were looking forward to Jaxx-style nights and a Reunion with Matt and Robbi- the boys from Vang Vieng. For the parent's sake we'll keep the details of the following four nights as brief as possible and have decided to document events using bullet points.

1. Murph got stung by a jelly fish on her face.

2. Erin had a drunken revelation that on her first night here she had dampened her curiosity about the "bum squirter" (the hoses located in toilets). This began a group initiation with individual trips to the toilet to sample said bum squirter. Robbi came off the worst after sorely misjudging the force of the bum squirter leaving his linen trousers somewhat sodden.

3. We spent one hungover and delirious day piled in our room listening to the entire score of Les Miserable with sing-a-long.

4. After drunken group deep and meaningfuls with the boys about how much we all loved each other the boys came out with a quote that scored a ridiculous amount of brownie points. After having likened us to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in Robbi's exact words "individually you are all amazing but together the whole is greater than the sum of your parts".

5. Murph found her male hair twin in the form of Phil who was sporting a waist length mane. By looking at their silhouettes it was impossible to tell who was who (Kavos ladies you will especially appreciate this after Murph's "I am the man from the Black Eyed Peas" comment.)Colly then proceeded to grab Phil and shout in his face, "I'm actually obsessed with you!" Poor bugger.

6. We intiated comedy dancing on the first night which resulted in the whole dance floor doing either the scissors or the knee to elbow.

7. Murph rang Charlie Parish on her mobile purely to demand to speak to his Mum.

8. Murph has lost two pairs of flip flops, her camera and her purse. However she remarkably still managed to come home with a bag full of toilet roll so it wasn't all bad.

9. In attempting to grab Erin's attention Robbi called out "E C G" at which point Erin turned around with indescribable excitement and squealed "Oh my God, those are my initials".

10. Everything else is censored.

We have four more days in Nha Trang (if our bodies can handle that many more buckets of Vodka Redbull) and then move on to Saigon.

For those having inquired regarding the author of our blog we would like to point out that it is the combined genius of all four of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

written by

Murph, Tay, Colly and Erin on May 3, 2006 from Nha Trang, Vietnam

from the travel blog: The Smug Adventures of Murph, Tay, Colly & Erin

Send a Compliment

from what I've seen in the uncensored section I'll endeavour not to contemplate what has been going on. Some things your average Dad doesn't want to know. Sounds amazing and the literary standard continues to amaze, delight and surprise in equal measure. Keep the publishable stuff coming and enjoy. Mobies available care of Tay's Dad on arrival in HCMC.

Dad G

written by Andy Gillham on May 4, 2006

well its good to know my boys are being looked after by the mighty morphin power rangers! sammy

written by sammy on May 4, 2006

It sounds just like Fleet on a Saturday night girls!!!
Helen - sea urchins in your feet and now jelly fish in your face!! What is it with you and sea life?
Anyway enjoy but continue to take care and keep in touch. We are all enjoying the blog! Much love to you all, mummy Murphy.Glad you are phoning other mummies in the middle of the night - I expect Charlie's mum was thrilled to hear from you!!

written by Liz Murphy on May 4, 2006

Just so everyone knows, Murph didn't actually speak to my mum. But with hindsight I wish she had because it might have been quite funny...

written by Charlie on May 4, 2006

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