We arrived back in Hanoi after our trip to Halong Bay and met up with Katy, an American girl we met on the boat trip, to try the local Bia Hoi. Bia Hoi is basically 'fresh' beer, it doesn't have any preservatives so it has to be drunk straightaway and there are Bia Hoi places all over Vietnam - you just sit on the road drinking beer for 6p a glass! We went to Bia Hoi junction in the Old Quarter where we also met an American couple, Rebecca and Jeff and an Aussi...

We arrived in Hanoi early in the morning and got a taxi to the Old quarter, after checking into a hotel, we decided to do a walking tour of the old city. We saw the infamous red bridge, that leads you over the Hoan Kien Lake to the Ngoc Son Temple. The temple is dedicated to the scholar Van Xuong, General Tran Hung Dao (13th century) and La To (the patron saint of physicians)!! All the streets in the old quarter are known for a certain type of shop, so we saw;...