Have we really done justice to descibing the heat out here? Just when you think its more sweltering than ever before, it manages to get just that little bit hotter. To give you an idea, the act of showering, drying and dressing yourself is enough to start you pouring (or poring).

Hence we've discovered the Vietnamese logic of doing anything active really early or late, when its not so hot. One morning in Nha Trang, couldn't sleep, got up at 5.30 am and found right outside the hotel an outrageous amount of people of all ages frantically playing badminton and running the streets barefoot, whilst public tannoys blasted diatribes from the street corners. A sort of Butlins from hell! Got down to the beach to find it more packed than ever it gets during the daytime, with 99% Vietnamese, and 1% late Western revellers trying to enjoy sunrise. Can't deny that it makes sense temperature wise, but at 5.30am every day, we'd rather them than us.

Anyway, our route north so far: Saigon - Dalat (central highlands) - Nha Trang - Hoi An - Hué (here) - Hanoi (overnight train later).

DALAT - being in the highlands we were warned that it would be quite cool, jumpers and jackets a necessity. Not the most accurate advice we've ever had - still bloody hot, although the locals did try to fool us by dressing up as if it were really cold.

NHA TRANG - one of Vietnam's main beach resorts, very beautiful and, of course hot. Unfortunately our first night was marred by our first break-in. Bit of an odd one - our room and our padlocked bags were broken into, some of our stuff emptied out, but fortunately nothing was taken. We are obviously worthless. Thank goodness for the money belts we were trendily wearing in a bar at the time - they contained all our money, passports and tickets. Nha Trang was also an introduction to 'beach vendor' etiquette. If one more person tries to sell us gum / fruit / fags / lighters / necklaces / postcards / massage / manicure, and at a 'special price', we're in danger of screaming. You know the expression 'won't take no for an answer'???? Nevertheless, great venue, and (at times) nice and chilled out.

HOI AN - quaint, quiet, small town - can't fault it. Great tailors, lovely beach, more pagodas and yes, very hot. Went a bit beserk at the tailors - got 2 suits, 3 shirts, 2 trousers, 1 boxer shorts and 2 skirts (token effort by Kate), all made to measure, for the grand total of $122 or about 76 quid. We spent more than planned, but at those prices... We also braved the traffic by moped for the first time (not that it was too busy there) - absolutely fantastic way of getting around. What we lacked in ability to just pull out blindly whenever possible, we endeavoured to make up for with relentless beeping. When in Rome... Also we managed a 5.30am trip to My Son, Champa Kingdom ruins from 4th-13th centuries, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills of forests - that was pretty magnificent.

HUÉ - done the moped thing again and been around the citadel and a few more pagodas. Just got back from the most interesting trip so far, to the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone), 1½ hrs from here. Massive insight into the American war of the 60s-70s, went through the hand dug tunnels at Vinh Moc where 400 people lived (and 17 children born) in 1966-71. Saw fields razed flat from the war, big craters and areas where still nothing grows as a result of some of the chemical bombs - all set against the backdrop of a beautiful coastline. Pretty eerie, and very hard to imagine in wartime. Apart from the above, our bartering skills are coming on a treat (walking away - always a winner), endured some pillows which must have been bricks in a previous life, experienced some shocking toilets, feel like we've mastered chopsticks, but we're still not convinced about noodles and meat for breakfast.

Must dash - got the overnight train to catch. We've got top bunks, and as the Vietnamese are generally a small race (ie. public transport seats are tiny), sleeping comfortably may not be on the agenda.