As we arrived in Hanoi this morning, the rain was lashing down - the worst we've seen for a while! We got off the bus and sheltered in a shop doorway while we got our bearings. We managed to find a taxi to take us to our hotel, where they had a room ready for us even though we were very early! We checked in and then went back down to reception to book our Halong Bay tour for tomorrow morning. We managed to get a pretty good deal; we picked the 'superior' option as opposed to the 'standard' or 'deluxe' and got tickets for $68 each with one night on the boat and all meals included.

After waiting for the rain to ease, we headed out with our rain jackets on and an umbrella provided by the hotel to explore the Old Quarter of Hanoi. We began by finding our way to Hoan Kiem Lake in the centre of town. Very unusual to find a lake in a city, but there it was - very picturesque, with a small temple in the middle on an island. Apparently, giant tortoises (a symbolo of good luck) have been spotted and photographed in the lake, although there is a rumour that they're shipped in from elsewhere and put into the lake for a few days to keep the legend alive! We had breakfast at a place called City View Cafe, on the fifth floor of a huge building with views of the lake and busy square below. Feeling refreshed, we set off on our walking tour, finding our way around the narrow streets, which are pretty congested with motorbikes - crossing the road is probably even harder than in Saigon! It's a fantastic city for a wander though, with exotic and bizarre sights, sounds and smells around every corner.

The Old Quarter is divided into 'guilds', meaning each street specialises in producing and/or selling a different product. The streets are usually named after what they sell, so 'Hang' (which means 'merchandise') preceeds many of the street names - Hang Gai is 'Silk Street', Hang Bo is 'Basket Street' and Hang Ga is 'Chicken Street'! After visiting the Ngoc Son Temple on the lake and a look at the Martyr's Monument (erected as a memorial for those who fought for Vietnam's independence), we wandered though streets selling gravestones, jewellery and herbs amongst other things! We stopped in the late afternoon for a drink above one of the busy streets, before heading back to the hotel.

In the evening, we headed out and wandered around to try and find somewhere for dinner, which took us a while. We eventually settled on the Gecko Cafe, and enjoyed some spring rolls and footlong sandwiches! Then we found our way to a place known as 'Bia Hoi junction' - a small square where three bia hoi places operate, selling very cheap (5000 dong, 25 cents, 16p) glasses of fresh beer to locals and tourists sitting on plastic stools in the street. It was an amazing place for people-watching - we saw bikes, street sellers and police raids (no stools are meant to be in the street!) all within a couple of hours, as well as people wandering past on their way to bars and restaurants all over the city. Our bill for six beers came to 40,000 dong, which is about £1.40!

A hectic first day in Hanoi, but we love it! Looking forward to our trip out to Halong Bay tomorrow...