Just a 2 hour boat ride away from Otres Beach and you'll find yourself at Koh Rong island. Also known as the island that gives you the mysterious food poisoning. But determined not the let it ruin our experience, we hopped on the boat and headed on over for the night.

Now, (just our luck) we didn't end up having the best experience during our 24 hours on Koh Rong island but view-wise, it was absolutely beautiful. We arrived at the harbour around midday and hopped onto the partly put together, partly falling apart pier and wandered down onto the beach to find a place to stay for the night. You're quickly approached by many travellers working there trying to get you into their hostels, so we found ourselves at one called Island Boys. To give it credit, it's location was absolutely perfect.

Literally a 2 minute walk from the pier and amongst all the main bars and nightlife, it's hard to knock it. The only thing I will warn you about (if you choose to stay here) is that it's very VERY basic. Our 4 bed room had 2 bunk beds draped in pink mosquito nets, and the building itself is very minimal - just wooden beams holding it up and no ceiling. So although all the rooms upstairs are divided off, you can hear everyone in the rooms next to you as there's huge gaps where the roof should be. Hard to explain, but you'd know what I mean if you saw it!

The room itself though was very cute and quirky. The walls were covered in writing which when we inspected it closer, turned out to be poems and motivational quotes. After wandering around the island we quickly named it 'Pirate Island' as it literally feels like you're staying in that sort of vibe.





We spent the rest of the day eating at a little floating restaurant down at the pier over the sea, sunbathing on the beach and then getting ready for the famous island pub crawl in the evening. We had so much fun!



. Food Poisoning - We'd been told by so many backpackers before we came that the one thing to watch out for on this particular island is food poisoning. 9/10 people we'd spoken to who had been had suffered with food poisoning. Many people put it down to the meat there and the conditions it is kept in (sat out in 30 degree heat for a couple of hours is never a good sign), but even those who didn't eat the meat still somehow ended up with food poisoning so it really is a mystery. Even though we were only there for one night, one of the girls managed to get it and was seriously sick. All I can suggest is to be very careful. Don't get ice in your drinks, become a veggie for your time there and just stick to western food. There's not much more you can do about it unfortunately - you're either lucky or unlucky.

. Thieves - Out of our big group, 2 people had personal belongings stolen. 2 phones and a wallet. Keep your stuff safe! It can happen anywhere in Asia but Koh Rong just seemed to be the devil for us.




Even though our night was ruined by food poisoning and theft, we still managed to have such a fun time here up until then and had these things not happened, we'd of loved it even more. We decided to head back to Otres Beach the next day to get back to our comfort zone, but we'd have probably stayed another night if we weren't in such bad moods.

Whether you're going North to South or South to North, here's the main backpacking route that tends to be done and the places that you won't want to miss out on.

Being a very popular backpacking destination, the North-South stretch of Vietnam is lined with fellow tourists - many of which are following the exact same route as one another. This also means that you'll find yourself constantly bumping into the same people and sharing a drink or 2 with them along the way. The good thing about Vietnam is that it is so accessible and the transport around the country really is amazing. It's ridiculous just how easy it is to book a bus to the next place, not to mention how cheap it is. We entered Vietnam through Laos and stayed for just over 3 weeks, so here is the North-South route guideline to follow:

1. Hanoi - Vietnams capital is a great place to start the adventure. You'll get to experience the craziness of the cities mopeds, the busy lined streets and the most amazing street food (make sure you sneak into a cafe selling 'egg coffee'). It is also filled with backpackers so you'll meet plenty of friendly faces to spend your evenings with.

2. Halong Bay - Unfortunately the weather in the North of Vietnam was terrible whilst we were there, so sadly we had to skip Halong Bay. Gutted! But it is definitely the place to visit in the North. It can be accessed pretty easily through organised bus journeys from Hanoi, and you can spend the next 24 hours admiring the amazing views and kayaking around the caves. So make sure you have your cameras and GoPro's charged and at the ready.

3. Sapa - If you fancy a trip into the tribal mountains then Sapa is the place for you. Again, this is somewhere we skipped as the temperatures here were waaaay too cold at the time, but if you're one for the slightly cooler climates then head on over. It's supposed to be beautiful.

4. Hue - You don't need long here, but is a great little pit stop on the trip down South. You can visit the historic sights and learn a lot about the war in this city. We did a day trip on a coach to different land marks across the surrounding areas (including war museums, tunnels and shelters) and really enjoyed it. It is often overlooked by backpackers but I'd add it onto the tick list if I was you.

5. Hoi An - Ahhh Hoi An, possibly one of my favourite places I've visited in Vietnam. I can't rave about this ancient city enough, it really is incredible. It is so so beautiful and pretty, and is famous for it's shops and tailors where you can get (cheap) hand-made suits and clothing made there and then. Cobbled streets, amazing food, and the prettiest boat-lined river. What more could you ask for?

6. Nha Trang - Although very pretty, I think this is my least favourite place I've visited, purely for the fact that it is simply just a beach town. But if you're looking for just a few days on a beach and not much to do other than eat out at night, then I guess this is the place for you.

7. Da Lat - Another personal favourite. Famous amongst backpackers for 'canyoning' down waterfalls, it attracts thousands of people a year. Just make sure you go with the professional company if you choose to do this. If not, you can spend your couple of days there wandering around the city renting pedalo's, visiting temples and riding across the mountains on cable cars. Oh, and the views are incredible!

8. Mui Ne - Paradise. If you go to Mui Ne you'll be bombarded with tips by fellow backpackers to stay at the backpacker village in tents on the beach. Yes, experience this, but I urge you to stay at 'Mui Ne Budget Hills Hotel'. We stayed here for 5 days and it was like being at the most relaxing resort ever. Hidden up in the hills, you'll spend your days relaxing by one of the many marble pools overlooking the ocean and palm trees below. You can also watch the beautiful 6am sunrise over the famous white sand dunes. I loved it so much I even did a blog post on it here: Five Days In Paradise!

9. Ho Chi Minh City - The place to end your trip through Vietnam with a bang! Also known as Saigon, it's popular for its nightlife, food and markets. The city boasts so much culture surrounding the war, as well as many excursions such as the Cù Chi Tunnels and Mekong-Delta River. If you have an extra bit of money, a moped tour around the city is also a must-do. I did this and got to see so much of the city I wouldn't of managed to see otherwise, so I would definitely recommend it if you are able to. There isn't much about this city you don't end up loving.

The trip lasted the full day, 8am - 5pm, and we were well and truly ready for our beds when we got back. We didn't really know much about the Mekong Delta trip until we arrived in South Vietnam and heard other tourists talking about it, so we were so glad we got to do it. It was such a lovely day and was really interesting to see many different aspects of life on the river. For example, the floating food markets, home made coconut toffee, bamboo huts and many fruit farms.

Planning my visit to Vietnam back in July, I knew the Cù Chi Tunnels were an absolute must do on my list of places to visit.


As well as the minuscule entrances to the tunnels which have now been widened for Western tourists, the original air holes and clever traps are still preserved around the site. Knowing the tunnels inside out, the soldiers would also create many different traps above ground for the attackers. Below is an example:

With this particular one, the attackers would pretty much stumble across their death. Not pretty. Once we were shown around the site and different larger bunkers, we were offered the chance to actually crawl inside the tunnels themselves and make our way through the 3 levels. This is the part I had been looking forward to! Straight away many people backed out and couldn't do them because of how small and compact they were, but the rest of us headed in and came out at the end with sweat dripping off us and covered in dirt. It was honesty so so hot down there and the only way to get through them was to crouch right down and shuffle - that's how small they were. It was crazy! I don't get claustrophobic in the slightest usually but even I struggled at times.