We were on the 'Reunification express' overnight going between Hanoi and Hue - only there was very little express about it. We were overtaken by mopeds as we left Hanoi! The sleepers were definitely hard - very little padding and they were also built for the Vietnamese who are not quite as big as Westerners. We shared the cabin with 3 generations of Vietnamese - grandmother, mother and daughter. I'm glad to say the daughter, about 3, did not show the same reactio...

We left early to go Halong bay to see the limestone karsts in the bay. We had booked a tour as this is the only practical way to see the bay. We were in a group of 15 with Swiss trainee doctors, 4 rugby players from France and a mixture of Brits, Italians and Aussies. It took about 4 hours to get down to the port - including the tour of hotels to pick up people and the obligatory stop at a tourist shop. The trip was only notable for an entry of 'most unusual thin...

We had an OK night on the train from Sapa. Vietnamese trains are a lot older than the Chinese ones - and a little bit rougher round the edges. We shared with a Vietnamese mother and toddler - the toddler was terrified of me but I soon taught her to stick her tongue out much to Fran's disgust. We arrived at the crack of dawn in Hanoi - and the pre-arranged pickup from the hotel wasn't there - so it was the usual negotiation with the taxi driver to get the meter tu...

We were heading out of China on the early bus to the border, so it was a 6:00 am alarm. After all of our panic, we had to wait 30 minutes for the bus as we were confused as to the time it left as there were 2 bus stations in town and it called at both. Anyway, after the driver coaxed the bus into life (no small feat), we were off down the mountains with views of the mist sitting in the valley. After an hour down hill and half an hour of good road, the journey sta...