Good morning from Vietnam!

After leaving Vang Vieng (wish I'd stayed there longer) we made our way to Vientiane the capital of Laos. It was a big let down & there wasn't much to do. Our guesthouse cost 3 times as much & it was horrible, full of mozzies. I also wasn't very well so it was no fun for me at all. We wanted to move on as soon as possible, we decided to pay the extra & fly because apparently the 24hr bus to Hanoi can be a nightmare & you're not even guaranteed a seat. The plane was quite small & I was a bit nervous actually but it was fine. I said goodbye to the girls at the airport - they're going straight on to Danang because they're running out of time. I may see them later on the islands or even in Aus.

I shared a taxi into town with an English man called Nick who lives out here. I'm glad I did because I think i would've gotten ripped off otherwise. It took almost 2 hrs because of roadworks so it could've been very expensive but luckily it wasn't on the meter. The driving over here is even worse than Bangkok, we had several near misses & I just had to close my eyes.

It's expensive to stay in Hanoi so I'm staying in a backpacker hostel with dorms. It's great though, I have met lots of people already & it's all free internet access & it's really clean dorms. Still expensive though compared to what I'm used to! I'm going to stay here for St Patricks (big party) then I'm going to do a 2 day trip to Halong bay. By the time I get back to Hanoi the Newcastle lads will probably have arrived so I expect I'll meet up with them. Went to an Irish pub last night to watch the rugby - that was funny!

What's the weather like at home? It's colder here & it has rained all day, I had to buy a jumper because I'd put all my clothes in to wash. Anyway I'm off to a party on the roof. Fill you all in later!