I sat myself down on the plane, making polite conversation with Thomas, an Austrian guy I was sat next to. It soon became apparent that, like me, he had no clue about Vietnam either. We discussed their currency and concluded that although we didn't know this, it was ok to spend US$ (of which we both had a small amount). Neither of us knew the exchange rate, or infact what to expect when we arrived in Hanoi. It transpired that neither of us had a hotel bookedor transport from the airport, so the suggestion of sharing a taxi to the city sounded like a good one! Settling on the first hotel we came to ($10 a night) I was still unsure if it was a hotel or simply someone's house and bedrooms that were rented out. My room consisted of 3beds, old fashioned furtniture (similar to that at Uncle Ernie's house) and a roommate in the form a mini lizard. That night we had a drink on a rooftop bar overlooking the lake - beautiful, but the constant sound of motorbikes and horns was somewhat distirbing. An early start the next day took me on a tour round the city. The constant harrasment from motorbikes offering me a lift began to piss me off slightly and my blunt rude side came out. Whilst walking ao\round the city I came to the conclusion that pedestrians were in fact in the minority here. Pavements had one use and that was for parking motorbikes on, and the only ways to travel were by motorbike or pushbike. As for road safety and etiquet, I began to think that this also did not exist here. To cross a road you camly and slowly walk out on to on-coming traffic, who will, of course, beep at you, before passing by! I decided to book a two day tour and get out of this place...ASAP! The evening was spent watching a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show, involving traditional music and instruments, and a series of figures/animals etc that feature within the way of life here. I didn't understand the most part of the show, but did impress myself when i reckognised a story that i'd read about early that day on my cultural travel around!