Day 1

Flights were great, all on time etc but very very long day - by Seoul to Hanoi we were truly sick of being on planes and in airports!

Had 3 and a half hour wait in Seoul airport - ended up in Dunkin Donuts of all places! Pakistani man took a shine to Lewie - didn't want to speak to us girls! Wanted to know "what business' Lewie's dad was in and whether he loved his father more than his mother! Said that as soon as he saw us he knew we were Scottish by Lewie's hair and freckles!

Finally arrived at Mike's Hotel in Hanoi late last night. It is very small but really nice. The staff are fantastic and are really going out of their way to help us. Lewie is happy that we have a TV in bedroom and everyone loves football here.

Woke up this morning to incredible heat and drums banging, scooters honking horns and lots and lots of cheering and clapping. Went out on balcony to discover that local kids were having some dance/sports competition in the middle of the street - including a tug of war with the local police!

Ventured out for a walk round the old quarter - it is absolutely mental, soo many scooters and people and bkies, no room to walk on pavements as everyone is sitting there cooking or cleaning dishes. It really is very busy and hot. Kids were a bit freaked out (as was I!). Tess had a moment with a few tears and fear but quickly got over it, don't really blame her though as it is very very hot and sticky and just so busy everywhere. Went to a little cafe for smoothies and ice cream - cost a whooping 3 pounds (ish) then decided to walk back to hotel for a lie down. Was standing looking at map when a nice lady grabbed our hands and started taking us to the street we wanted - realised half way that she was going to try to sell us kids baseball caps, told me she had 4 children, then 3 children then when I said no to caps she said "but I need to feed my 5 children!!" was trying to charge us about 15 quid per cap! She ended up getting about 12 - will have to watch out for nice helpful old ladies in the future!

Off out for dinner tonight to Matchbox, an Aussie restaurant - will be taking a cab as don't think kids could cope with walking the streets again today! On saying that Lewie has become a star at map reading already! I have no sense of direction, I think in future I will pay him a couple of quid instead of the local con artists!Tomorrow we're off on a cyclo tour and to the water puppet show, will hopefully be a bit less frightening for the kids (and me!) to have a guide with us.

Kids going for a sleep so I'm going to sit on the balcony with a Tiger beer from mini bar (70 cents - bargain!) and watch the craziness in the streets below!