As alex and tanitas trip quickly comes to an end we are finishing in Hanoi. We took the lovely over night bus to get here where we met the lively victoria. However the bus also included (as free add ons!!) a lady vomming on the bunk below georgie all night (lovely), a game of pass the baby and lots of passengers sleeping on the floor so you couldn't actually get out of bed!
Our first night was spent with georgies mums friend's son ( a connection that sounds far more tenuous than it is!!) who lives in hanoi. Although only a quick stay it was so nice to be in a house for a short while! We met some of stuarts expat friends and went out drinking in the old quarter where the drink did not stop coming!! Fortunately we had had an amazing meal on chicken street, yes there is a street called that!! Lots of bbqd chicken and weird but amazing sweet bbqd baguette later and it was fair to say that you could have rolled us all home!
After a late night and a very early start alex and georgie headed to halong bay leaving tanita in Hanoi (probably at the gym!!) a boat full of fellow backpackers was involved along with a 6km kayak to a cave leaving our arms like jelly, some cave exploration where the cave walls were said to taste like candy floss.. They didn't!! And some organised fun lead to a very memorable trip which was brilliant fun!! We then dropped the two night people on a beach somehwhere in the middle of ha long bay, many of whom were feeling rather worse for wear and headed home :( it was raining though so we weren't that upset. We were then joined by people from the other 2 night boat who included lotte, abby, lizzie, ciara, Lucy and sophie Thompson, all still slightly green (painted) from their night on the island!! The bus ride home resulted in our meeting James (a well travelled scottsman with dreadlocks) and kelvin (a ucl graduate) and some very odd but funny conversation followed as 7up and vodka became involved...
Alex and tanitas last night was then upon us. We found justine and went for a meal at a local restaurant. Alex and tanita then went on a pub crawl while georgie made friends with some girls who had recently spent a year in china and so was getting some good advice.
As it is our last day in Hanoi we are off to get a massage with jill and victoria, two of our friends from the boat!
They have now gone home, leaving georgie to explore china and japan toute seule. for those at the BICMS, no this was not the original plan but what can I do!
So now onto china whithout a word of Chinese in my vocab but a lonely planet guide which will, cross fingers, get me through alive!!

Georgie and Alex x

Note from alex: a quick thank you and good luck to georgie who has made the past few weeks of travelling incredible with her intense bargaining, planning and navigating skills. Her ability to keep me alive and sane (ish) has also come in extremely handy as I am fairly sure I'd be in a gutter, have rabies or lost in a cave somewhere in halong licking the walls without her. I'm so sad to be leaving so early and would do this all again in a heartbeat. Good luck, have fun and keep us updated, it's going to be amazing! X