Day 144. Cat Ba Island, Vietnam. Burn those calories.

A day of trekking and kayaking, which came as some relief, as we've done little else but scoff noodles and neck lager for the past four weeks.

We teamed up with Rob & Dave, a pair of likely lads from Sydney who have come to Vietnam via Everest base camp in Nepal where the trekking is a little more hardcore, and Roy & Claire who form a decidedly unlikely Manchester/California combo (with a name like Roy, I think you can guess which one is the Manc).

It was a good old walk too. Maybe not quite the Himalayas, and probably not even as arduous as our rock climb in El Nido, but a decent workout nevertheless and we ended up high above the bay with superb views to the horizon.

The afternoon was a less strenuous affair. After being so completely rubbish at Kayaking in New Zealand, then only marginally less crap in Thailand, we're finally starting to get the hang of the thing, managing to complete a full 20 minutes of paddling without one serious wobble or collision.

It's all in the stroke co-ordination kids.