Another gloriously hot and sunny day, clear blue skies.

Last night, we stopped with Jan and Michael at the Rose Cottage bed and breakfast in Fort Augustus. It was superb, and we would highly recommend staying with them if you are in the area.

Today was the last day of our holiday before we fly back to Manchester tomorrow. We had planned to walk around Fort Augustus in the morning and then go out on Loch Ness in a rib in the afternoon before travelling to Inverness Airport.

However, a fault symbol appeared on our all-singing Renault Astrale Esprit Alpine hire car. After two and a half hours of being passed around in circles, Alamo finally arranged for the car to be picked up by a recovery vehicle and for the driver to drop us off at Inverness Airport. So we did not see Fort Augustus or go Nessie hunting, which was a great disappointment.

But one bit of good news: my mobile, which I lost, has been found in a pub we visited after finishing the Big Burn Walk. It had fallen into the toilet bowl and got stuck in the waste pipes. A plumber called to clear the blockage, found it!! The staff are drying it out and returning it to me, but I doubt if it will work.

It has been a wonderful holiday. The Scottish Highlands are magnificent and awe-inspiring, with their views, superb beaches, and beautiful lochs, hills, and mountains. We would recommend the North Coast 500 as a wonderful, relaxing, and peaceful holiday. You will not see better views or beaches anywhere in the world.

We’re back home tomorrow. Our first job will be to lose the extra weight we have put on, get back to sensible eating, and restart our exercise regime.

Another glorious day, with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky, very warm.

Today, we leave the Gairloch Highland Lodge, which provided last-minute accommodation after our booking at the Old Curing Station on Dry Island Badachro fell through. While the hotel was basic, it was clean and offered a nice shower and breakfast. But what truly set our stay apart was the staff—exceptionally friendly and helpful, they went above and beyond to enhance our customer experience.

After leaving Gairloch, we headed to the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve, which boasts stunning views of Loch Maree. We took a delightful one-hour walk through ancient woodlands, enjoying every moment.

Next, we ventured to Shieldaig, a picturesque village overlooking Loch Torridon. Opposite the village lies Shieldaig Island, a bird sanctuary managed by the National Trust for Scotland, where Sea Eagles have nested in recent years.

Historically, Shieldaig was established in the early 1800s to encourage local villagers to fish for herring and thus cultivate a stock of trained seamen for the Royal Navy.

Today, the local economy thrives on fishing and tourism. There are salmon farms in the area, along with a smokehouse in the village. We observed creels on the pier, used to catch what locals refer to as “prawns,” which are actually nephrops, resembling mini-lobsters. Crabs and scallops are also plentiful here.

We had lunch at Nanny’s, a charming cafe on the seafront that served delicious homemade food.

Next, our journey took us on a long (84-mile) drive across country to Fort Augustus. While this should have been an easy drive, there were long stretches of single-track roads and narrow two-lane roads that demanded full concentration and were thus very tiring. However, the phenomenal views and breathtaking scenery made every moment worthwhile.

We’re staying at Rose Cottage Bed and Breakfast in Fort Augustus, where owners Jan and Michael extended a warm and very friendly welcome. Jan eagerly showed us around the house, while Michael kindly took our luggage to our room. The house is superb and elegantly appointed, and our bedroom (Room 2) is spacious, featuring a super king bed.

Tomorrow, Saturday, marks our final day touring the Highlands. Time has flown by, but we have thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of this incredible journey.

It was another lovely sunny day with clear blue skies. It was cool at first, but by lunchtime, it had become very warm.

In the morning, we were due to go on a Shellfish Safari in a traditional working fishing boat to see langoustine, creels, and lobster pots hauled from the deep, but sadly it was cancelled.

Instead, we walked around Gairloch. Gairloch is a small fishing village with a population of just under 700 situated on the shore of Loch Gairloch amongst the awe-inspiring scenery of Wester Ross.

We first visited the museum, which is housed in an old, reinforced concrete nuclear bunker built during the Cold War. Two of the six-inch reinforced doors are used as exhibition stands. The museum offers diverse exhibits highlighting local history, culture, and the natural environment. Highlights include the original lens from Rubh Re lighthouse, a replica croft house, an interactive natural world gallery, a Pictish Symbol stone, and a 25-minute video of local people discussing how life in Gairloch has changed over the last few hundred years, which was fascinating.

After the museum, we took a stroll around the picturesque small harbour. On our way there, we spotted a lovely beach in the distance, but could not see how to get there. We eventually found a sign pointing up a steep hill saying, “Beach 1km.” But despite walking for around 15 minutes, we never saw the beach!!

By the afternoon, it had become very hot, so we returned to our hotel and found a nice place in the shade to read and relax.

For our evening meal, we went to the Badachro Inn. This involved driving along a narrow, winding single-track road with many blind corners for three miles. During this, we encountered a few locals who appeared to be practicing to be motor racing drivers. But we finally made it without incident and were seated in the lovely conservatory with spectacular views overlooking Loch Gairloch. The food was enjoyable without being anything special.

We have eaten far too much this holiday. Once back home, we must return to exercise and healthy eating to lose these excess pounds.

Another glorious day—sunny, with not a cloud in the sky, very hot, reminiscent of summer in Spain.

We were sad to leave Jo and Trevor at Ardmore House Bed and Breakfast. We loved our stay with them, and they easily rank as the best hosts we have encountered on this trip.

We made our way to Ullapool, the main settlement on the West Coast. The scenery and views on the drive were magnificent, reminding us of our travels in New Zealand, with narrow roads, stunning landscapes, lakes, lochs, impressive hills, and mountains. The views of Loch Broom as we neared Ullapool were simply unbelievable.

Ullapool is a charming small fishing village with quaint houses and a busy harbour nestled on the shore of Lochbroom.

We enjoyed visiting the Museum and Visitor Centre in Ullapool, which is run by volunteers and housed in an old church. It shared the story of Ullapool, the lives of the crofters, the clearances, and the rise and fall of the fishing industry over the years. The more we learn about the clearances, the angrier we feel about the cruelty and cold-heartedness of the landowners involved.

For lunch, we went to the Seafood Shack in Ullapool, a food wagon located by the side of the Ullapool Outdoors store on West Argyle Street, directly across from the Ullapool Museum. The Seafood Shack is owned by two locals, Kirsty and Fenella, who set up the business in 2016. They sell fresh fish sourced directly from local boats. We had fried haddock and salad in a wrap, which was delicious. If you are in Ullapool, we can definitely recommend it. After lunch, we had an enjoyable walk around the village and harbour.

By the time we left Ullapool the sun and travel had taken a toll on us, so we decided to skip visiting Corrieshalloch Gorge and Nature Reserve and head directly to Dry Island, Badachro, where we were booked for the night at The Old Curing Station. The journey once again treated us to magnificent scenery.

However, upon arriving at Dry Island, we discovered that the Old Curing Station was quite a distance from the parking area. Not only was it a long walk, but we also had to navigate narrow, twisting steps and traverse a very narrow, uneven concrete walkway before crossing a floating bridge made of wooden slats. There was simply no way we could wheel or carry our two large suitcases down to our accommodation.

So, we searched for an alternative place to stay and finally found a room at The Gairloch Highland Lodge, which is basic but meets our needs. We sent an email to the owner of the Old Curring Station, who replied that if we had said that, he could have arranged to have our luggage delivered to the island by boat!!

Most of the roads we traveled today were narrow, twisting, and winding, requiring full concentration. Thankfully, many were two lanes; however, we did encounter some narrow single-lane roads, and I had to reverse twice for the first time this holiday. Luckily, both times happened on straight stretches.

We were exhausted from the travel and the heat when we reached our hotel. We took a quick shower and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Another gloriously sunny day, the warmest so far.

The day started very well with a superb breakfast served up by Jo at Ardmore House. She makes her own bread, compote, and marmalade, all served up with a fabulous choice of food.

Then it was off to another spectacular beach, Achmelvick Bay, 10 minutes from Ardmore House. It was like being in the Bahamas: pure white sand stretching round in an arc and crystal clear turquoise blue water. So peaceful and beautiful.

A quick cup of coffee at the An Cala Cafe in Lochinver, then out on a 90-minute wildlife boat tour with North Coast Sea Tours. We did not see much wildlife, some sea birds, and seals on the rocks enjoying the sunshine, but it was delightful.

We had lunch at Lochinver Larder, which is famous for its wide range of meat pies, which it sends all over the world. Highly recommended, it can’t be booked, and at peak times, you may have to queue.

We then returned to Ardmore House to conduct a hand-fasting ceremony, during which couples re-commit themselves to each other. We sat on a bench in Jos’s garden, bound our hands with ribbon to symbolise our commitment, and read statements indicating our love for one another. 

In marriage, you often reach a point where you take each other for granted, love each other but don’t show it, presuming your partner will always be there. But when one goes, the one who is left then realises what the person they have lost meant to them. Often regretting that they did not show it more when they were together. Hopefully, our small handfasting ceremony today will remind Sue and me how important we are to each other and how we must make the most of the days we have left together and never forget to show our love for one another.

For our evening meal, we had a superb fresh crab salad that we had bought from the An Cala Cafe after our boat ride, and Jo had kindly put in her fridge for us. We ate it at Ardmore House together with Jos’s bread, which Jo had just got out of the oven, and butter. There is nothing like fresh seafood.

Weather: Sunny, hot extremely humid. Temperatures 28c (83f) to 36c (97f). Real feel 34c (93f) to 42c (107f).

It’s our last day in Vietnam, we’re flying home this evening. We’ve had a fabulous time and really enjoyed it. However, we’ll be glad to escape the heat and humidity and return to the cold and wet of the UK.

Weather forecast: Hot with intervals of clouds and high humidity. Temperatures from 27c (81f) to 36c (97f). Real feel 33c (91f) to 38c (100f)

This morning, we have a tour around the Reunification Palace, which used to be the presidential Palace. On 30th April 1975, a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates of the Palace; this marked the end of a decade of brutal fighting against the US and South Vietnamese allies.

We are then going to the War Remnants Museum, which contains exhibits from the Vietnam War. Various planes, tanks, and heavy weapons are displayed outside in the grounds. Several people we have spoken to about the museum say it is a very moving experience.

In the late afternoon, we are off on a Sunset Cruise along the Saigon River, which meanders its way through the city.

War Remnants Museum visit—If you visit Ho Chi Minh City, set aside at least half a day to visit this museum, which tells the story of the Vietnam War. You don’t need to book a tour guide; all the displays have an English translation, and there is an information headset you can purchase. The exhibits and photos are powerful, sad, harrowing, and moving. Start on floor two, which is all about the journalists who died in the war on all sides and the photos they took. Floor one is the most is the most harrowing, showing the atrocities that took place, including the My Lai massacre and the effects of Agent Orange.

Presidential Palace—It is Worth visiting to take pictures of the Viet Cong tanks that burst through the gate, signaling the end of the Vietnam War. There were actually two tanks: one smashed through the gate, and the other dragged the gate off its hinges. The two tanks on display are copies of those tanks; the real ones are on display in Hanoi.

We found the rest of the Palace not very interesting. It was just a series of rooms for the President and his family to use, rooms for entertaining, meetings, and war rooms.

The sunset Saigon River tour was a great way to finish our holiday. We booked a small speedboat for a private one-hour trip and watched the sunset on the river on our way back.

In the evening, we visited Bui Vien Street, the main party street in Ho Chi Minh City. It was heaving with people. Music blares out from the bars and clubs, scantily dressed girls dance on podiums trying to attract you into their bars, ladies of the night offer their wares, and numerous people try to encourage you to sit in their bars or enter their clubs. It’s a deafening cacophony of noise and people, but it’s very entertaining.

Weather: Mostly sunny, excessive heat. Temperatures from 26c (79f) to 39c (102f). Real feel 31c (88f) to 42c (108f)

We were up very early today (5.30am) as we were off at 7am to the Mekong Delta, a two-hour car journey away. 

The Mekong Delta encompasses a vast and fertile floodplain of the Mekong and Cuu Long rivers with a maze of waterways. It is a mass of rivers, swamps, islands, Khmer pagodas, and villages and is surrounded by rice paddies. The Mekong Delta is known for its unique rice cultivation tradition, floating houses, floating markets, and farming practices. Boats are the primary means of transportation.

We enjoyed our trip to the Mekong Delta, but it was extremely hot and humid and very tiring. We first went to a huge open-air market, then on a 20-minute boat trip down the Mekong River. 

We visited a small company that processes coconuts and turns them into many different products, including milk, oil, and sweets. We then switched to a hand-rowed sampan for a trip down a smaller canal. We were the only boat on this waterway, which was very peaceful. 

We had lunch at a restaurant on the Mekong River bank. We were due to go on a cycle ride, but it was so hot and humid that we canceled this and traveled back to Ho Chi Minh City.

While visiting the Mekong Delta, Scott hired a motorbike and drove to the Ben Douc Viet Cong Tunnels with a tour guide from the Saigon Riders. These are part of the Cu Chi Tunnels in the Cu Chi district of Vietnam.

Two tunnel systems are open to the public: the Ben Dinh and the Ben Duoc. 

Most tour operators take tourists to the Ben Dinh tunnels, which are nearer to Ho Chi Minh City. The Ben Denh tunnels have also been modified and enlarged to accommodate taller and bigger Western tourists.

Ben Duoc tunnels are more authentic, have not been modified, and stretch over a bigger distance. So, if you want to visit the tunnels, insist that you are taken to Ben Duoc. You will miss the crowds and have a far better experience.

However, one word of warning: the Ben Duoc tunnels are very low and narrow. Our Scott had to crawl on his hands and knees to get into them; even so, he could not get far.

The tunnels were uniquely designed with multiple bends for protection against explosions, U-shaped passages filled with water to shield against toxic gases, and narrow dimensions to facilitate Vietnamese movement while hindering American forces. 

Wildlife from the jungle sometimes took refuge in the tunnels, adding to the peril. Inside, entire villages were reconstructed, complete with ammunition depots, hospitals, bedrooms, meeting rooms, food storage areas, and even theaters.

Many Vietnamese would spend their entire days inside the tunnels, emerging only at night to engage in combat. This tactic confounded the Americans, who found it difficult to track the elusive Vietnamese fighters. 

However, this prolonged tunnel living brought about health issues due to the subterranean living conditions and the absence of sunlight.

If you are interested in the tunnels, read this article. 

https://local-insider.com/post/a-guide-to-ben-duoc-tunnel-a-non-touristy-route-in-cu-chi-tunnels/61334337afccd60a0bfca130

What I found interesting is that the tunnels were originally built to fight the French colonists in the 1940s and then greatly extended during the Vietnam War. They stretch over 75 miles and are on three levels. 

The tunnels linked villages in the Cu Chi district, which surrounded Ho Chi Minh City. They allowed the Viet Cong (South Vietnamese guerrillas supporting Ho Chi Minh and his forces in the North) and the North Vietnamese army to attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through the complex network of underground tunnels. For U.S. forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult.

If you would like to read a short guide to the Vietnam War read this:

https://www.thoughtco.com/vietnam-war-s2-1779964

Weather: Hot with intervals of clouds and sunshine. Temperatures from 28c (82f) to 36c (97f). Real feel 35c (95f) to 39c (102f).

This morning, we are going on a three-hour tour of Ho Chi Minh City’s main tourist sites as pillion passengers with the ladies from XO Tours. The three ladies were: Giang, Linh and Hang.

The tour was excellent but it was very hot and humid so very tiring. We visited the Central Post Office, a magnificent building built by the FrenchNotre Dame Cathedral which is undergoing restoration. The Reunification Palace, where the Viet Cong tank went through the gate and hoisted their flag, is seen as the end of the Vietnam War. The secret CIA building and the tower from the last helicopters transported staff out of Saigon. The Burning Monk Memorial commemorates Thick Quang Duc, who set himself on fire in protest at government repression of Buddhists on June 11, 1963. The hidden weapons Arsenal where North Vietnamese infiltrators stored lots of weapons and, during the Tet Offensive, attacked the Presidential Palace. Our final stop was the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda in Chinatown.

This morning, we travel to Da Nang Airport, a one-hour journey, to catch a lunchtime flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

We have loved our time in Hoi An. It has been great to take things easy and relax in the hot and humid temperatures.

When we arrived at Da Nang airport, we found out our flight had been delayed 45 minutes.
We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City at 4 pm. The temperature was 34c. At the taxi rank, we met numerous taxi firm salespeople aggressively trying to win our business. We were quoted 300,000 VND to go to our hotel, but we said that was too much, so he went to 250,000. When we went to walk away, we agreed to 200,000 VND, which is around £6.

We are staying at La Vela Saigon, a 4/5-star hotel in the city’s center. The chaos on the roads is worse than in Hanoi; there are still a majority of scooters but lots more cars. There is still the same total anarchy with apparently no road rules about where people can go, turn, or cross from one side to the other.

In the evening, we went on a three-hour scooter tour of the city (8 pm to 11 pm) as pillion passengers with XO Tours, a company run by women with all-women drivers. We were driven by three very enthusiastic young riders: Han, Anh, and Thao. They also had a male rider, Thinh, who followed them around to keep an eye on them and to help with things.

The tour was excellent. You would expect to be frightened riding as a pillion passenger in the madness and chaos of the traffic, but the girls were so skilled that you just relaxed, and it was great fun.
We visited Chinatown, which has a population of 300,000. It was 8 pm, but the food and vegetable street market was still open and very busy, with vendors sitting on the road with their produce piled up beside them. The vendors sleep on the street by their produce and open again the following day.

We then visited some very old and run-down flats where the founder of XO Tours comes from and where many of her relatives still live. The government wanted to knock the apartments down, but residents fought against it. We went to see one of the flats. It was very tiny; five people all related were living there. It was divided into living spaces by blankets. The cooking area was in the same area as a tiny bathroom. There was no wardrobe space, so all the clothes were hanging on a washing line throughout the flat.

The flat was owned by Mai who is known as Aunti Mai or Co Mai for endearment. Mai said that when she was growing up 14 people lived there, with some sleeping in a void between the ceiling and the roof which is about 18 inches high with no light or ventilation. They accessed this by climbing a ladder and crawling through a small opening.

Some homeless people live in what were originally bin rooms in the flats. The residents are happy for them to do this as long as they keep the space tidy and clean.
Auntie Mai was a lovely woman. She had the most amazing and welcoming smile. She said she had grown up and lived in the flats all her life, was very happy there, and did not want to leave.