HANOI (VIETNAM) 10TH-13TH DECEMBER 2006

It was nice to get off that bus after 24hours!

We arrived at Hanoi bus station about 8pm on the 10th and shared a taxi into the old quarter where we found a $6US Dollars room in 'Little Hanoi Hotel'. Nice spacious room, with bathroom, fridge and cable TV, and very helpful staff. They sorted out our Cambodian visas within a day for $26 and we also booked a two day, one night Halong Bay trip through them for $25 including food and accomadation.

Hanoi is the capital of vietnam and sprawls along the banks of the Song Hong (Red River) which is spanned by two bridges. The attractive centre is built around Hoan Kiem Lake. Just north of this lake is the old quarter, which is characterised by narrow streets and where most visitors prefere to base themselves.

We loved Hanoi as soon as we got here because it is so alive and it is a great place to look around and soak up the atmosphere. It is fat paced and full of people, everyone seeming to have somewhere to go. It is absolutely crazy being a pedestrian as you struggle to walk on the pavements with the amount of parked mo-peds and people cooking, and the roads are a constant cat and mouse game with a sea of mo-peds racing up and down. You can barely see the tarmack with the sheer mass of mo-peds. And the noise!..... every vehical beeps when passing any other so there is constant beeping every second! (this could become head achey!)

It is also cold here, 16 degrees. The first place we've been where its cold in the day and people wear scarfs and gloves! Normally i'd moan, but as its december and i've been longing for at least a slight christmassy feeling, its great! You can smell the cold, drink hot chocolates, eat chestnuts on the streets, and there's loads of christmas shops selling decorations! its kind of homely being here!

It was great to look around the markets here and there is a coffee shop street which is a great place to chill. We walked round the lake and over the bright red Huc Bridge and went to the water-puppets theatre which is an ancient art form originated in northern Vietnam.

Traverlling in Vietnam seems quite different to other countries in asia so far..... There are no Tuk-Tuks! but instead just moto's, (blokes on mo-peds offering lifts on the back), also the accomadation isn't basic guesthouse rooms, it is hotel rooms with TV, fridge and clean bathrooms, and for the same cost, and the main and best backpacker way to travel the whole country is the 'open bus tour' which you pay one fee of $25, it lasts two months and the bus goes from Hanoi to Ho Chi Min City with six stops, and you can get off and on where and when you want. This is easy and a bargin!

On the 12th we left for our Halong Bay tour. Halong Bay has 3000 incredible islands rising from the waters of the Golf of Tonkin and is said to be the natural wonder of Vietnam. Halong Bay's limestone islands are dotted with caves of all shapes and sizes. We visited a huge cave on our tour called Hang Dau Go which consited of three chambers and was beautifully illuminated for the benifit of tourists, it was very impressive.

Sailing around the islands was very relaxing and our boat was great with spacious sitting and sleeping quarters. We docked at Cat Ba island for the night and we stayed on board over night. We had a good group of people and it was a good trip.

We got back to the hotel in Hanoi and showered and ate before getting on a bus for our first leg of our open bus ticket, 14 hours to Hue.