Hello (Xin chao) from Hanoi. We arrived here on Wed 2 April on a Laos Airlines Flight. After getting on the plane in Vientiane we were then all sent back off and into the departure lounge as the plane seemed to be suffering from a small dose of engine failure!! Always good to discover these things before take off! Hanoi is a complete contrast to laid back life in Laos. We took a taxi from the airport to the old quarter and had romantic visions of quiet cobbled streets and an abundance of old temples with our cosy wee boutique hotel nestled down a quiet lane. Didn't take long to shatter that illusion. Rik had booked Hanoi Stars hotel on line and the place looked gorgeous but like everything it seems around here is a copy of the real thing. He hadn't booked the real Hanoi Stars Hotel and we had a poor quality copy of the Hanoi Stars Hotel. It resembled more of a drug abusers hostel! But with millions of motorbikes racing down the road outside we decided it would be easier to stay there than walk the streets and go and look for other accommodation. The streets are full of motorbikes and any spare inch on the pavement is taken up by people selling things (everything and anything and lots of it). Everybody beeps their horn and we still haven't worked out what side of the road they drive on as they just seem to drive anywhere they can. Nobody stops at junctions or crossroads and the Highway Code does not appear to have reached these parts just yet! We booked a trip to Halong Bay and an overnight stay on a junk boat and left Hanoi yesterday morning. It took about three hours to get there and on the way we were taken to a place called "Honesty, Sincerity, Beauty, Humanity" which looked like a slave labour factory full of disabled children working on art. Rik was tempted to buy a couple of life size lion sculptures for the front of the house but Anna talked him out of it. We arrived in Halong Bay at midday. The harbour was full of hundreds of junk boats and smaller boats used to taxi people around the harbour and even smaller boats rowed by ladies selling biscuits and beer. Our boat was gorgeous and we got shown to our room. As the cabin crew shut the door he whispered "VIP room" and smiled. The boat set sale and we all sat down for dinner. Being "VIP guests" we were asked not to sit at the big table with everyone but move to our own table at the end of the room - not sure if that was because we were special or because they had heard about Riks healthy appetite and as the meal was a selection of communal dishes placed on the table they probably wanted to ensure everyone got their fair share! Not being great seafood lovers we struggled a little as they bought out king prawns, squid, crab and clams but we were good guests and tried it all. Then they bought out a plate of chips and ketchup and we stuffed ourselves! We spent the afternoon visiting a huge cave and kayaking around the limestone rocks till well after the sun had gone down - then headed back to the boat for more seafood and lots of wine! We sailed back to shore today and we're now back in Hanoi. Off to do a bit of sight seeing the noo and hopefully heading south tomorrow......