After the basic of Sapa to the luxury of a Cruise in Haylong Bay. Bit of a panic when my booked cruise let me down at collection time, but the hotel I was being collected at got on the phone and booked me another with collection 15 mins after I asked them, a very good service from the hotel that had looked after me during my sickness in Hanoi as well. A four hour bus trip to the bay and then transfer onto the cruise ship, very nice, drinks on arrival and sunshi...

Travelled to Sapa on a night train and bus from Hanoi which took nine hours train and one hour bus, all the sleepers were sold out so I was on a soft seat in a crowded locals coach, very interesting when a bunch of tipsy suited guys in their 30's jumped on at 2am on the way. Not much sleep and lots of laughing at my expense I think as I was left with the most drunk and loudest crammed in next to me! At one time he offered me a wad of 100 dollar bills for my wat...

After a very short plane journey from Laos I had a taxi ride to my hotel in the old quarter of Hanoi that was like being in a test simulator where cars, bikes, pedestrians kept popping out in front of you or cutting you up, what an introduction to Vietnam! I am assuming that there is order to all this apparent chaos, this city has millions of motorcycles, I think I saw a few thousand of them on the way from the airport. Met up with Poonam from work and hubbie Chi...