We're FINALLY here!!!! Honking-happy Hanoi, the absolute number one, top of the pops, first thing you notice is the traffic. There are literally NO rules, pedestrian, bike, car it really doesn't matter, you can use what ever part of the pavement or road you can fit on. There are traffic lights but no one pays attention to them and pedestrian crossings don't get a go anyway! To cross the road you literally walk out and bikes drive around you. I've tried to take a few pictures and videos of the roads but none of them get close to doing it justice, it's beyond cameras or descriptive writing so I'm going to give up.

Steph - Adding to the above I'd just like to say that all the cliches of SE Asia were summed up to me when I saw a cage of live chickens on the back of a motorbike 2 minutes after leaving Hanoi airport in a minibus where the driver insisted on putting us in the front seat where I didn't have a seatbelt! Added to this we were driving past paddy fields, oxen and women in conical hats, I couldn't believe just how close it came to fitting my expectations!

Anyhoo, found our hostel without too much difficulty, crossing our first roads in the process (just walk out!) and felt much better after a shower so we headed off to Hoan Kiem Lake which is about 5 mins walk away and a focal point of the 'old town'. There's a temple on an island in the middle of the lake which is described as tranquil although we felt it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi due to the INCESSANT horns which you really can't get away from! Had good (though unidentifiable on Greg's part) lunch in backstreet cafe and bought some bargain sunglasses (mine were the first casualty of the trip) before heading to the 'Temple of Literacy', again described as tranquil but see above! Was interesting though and Greg took some lovely photos. Grabbed a taxi to get back to a theatre in the lake area in time for the water puppet show, a traditional vietnamese folk thing, unfortunately the melodic (live) music, dark and warmth started sending both of us to sleep having not slept properly for 48 hours!

A brisk walk back to hostel woke us up though and you now find us having eaten burger (from rooftop BBQ) and a couple of beers, thoroughly looking forward to bed! Tomorrow, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and ethnic vietnamese museum.

Thinking of you all lots, we're both fine just slightly overwhelmed with everything!

All our love

S&G xxxxxxxxx