Hi all,

At 5am, we were awoken by the guard and sure enough, we were back in rainy Hanoi. We made it back to the guest house where Naomi and Jen had stayed before and managed to get a 4 room share for $4 each. We climbed back into bed as soon as we got in and didn't wake until about 9am.

Jen and I were up and about earlyish as we took to the streets of Hanoi. Forty minutes later we were at our planned destination, the Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. We mooched around for a bit and something didn't quite seem right - we couldn't work out how to get in! We finally consulted the bible and to our horror, Friday was the only day of the week that the Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum was closed all day - doh. To that point everything that we wanted to see that day was closed, b*****.....! We ended up having a look round the one pillar pagoda and home for a shower with dissapointed looks on our faces.

At 1pm, we met up with Naomi and Becki in a pub. They had had a snoozy morning and ate stuff. We all spent the afternoon walking around the city, buying bits and bobs before going back to the guest house for a snooze.

After nearly a month in Vietnam, it was finally our last night. We weren't going to let it pass without a party and so when George and Katie, Naomi's friends turned up, we all, including Cat (from Hoi An), decided to go out for a farewell meal...and after that, a 'Bia Hoia' experience!...

Bia Hoia is homemade local beer that the Vietnamese make in their shops. Our guest house, as it turned out, was right next to Bia Hoia Junction which is famous for lots of homemade beer brewers all located on one junction (how convenient!). And so, it was to be an evening of drunken debauchery on the street corners! What I also forgot to say, was that they sell it for 2000 Dong a glass - which is about 7 pence. Rock on!

We stayed on the corners drinking until midnight, which is when we were told we had to go as apparently the police arrive to clear the streets at that time. However, as it turned out, Cat's guest house receptionist showed up and he knew a family further up the street where we could continue drinking. There, we were supplied with Bia Hoia a plenty and loads of monkey nuts!! By 1.30am, everyone was starting to flake a little and so it was time to move on. We stood outside and decided that the 'Funky Monkey' bar would be a good place to carry on the evening. So, we all (7 of us!) crammed ourselves into one taxi - and yes, it was a bloody tight squeeze, and probably not legal! - and took the short ride to the bar. There, we continued to drink until about 3am, which is when Becki and I called it a night...

At 5am, the girls stumbled into the room and had apparently gone to a boat party with one of the owners of Funky Monkey. They were wrecked the next morning!

We got up and had to check out by 11am and as all of us were more than slightly hungover, we met up with George and Katie and went for a well deserved big lunch to sooth the heavy heads.

After some goodbyes, Becki and I finally had to leave Vietnam. We got a cab to the airport and after a 30 min delay, our plane took off for Bangkok. An hour and 50 mins later, we were there and going through customs once again. Also in our taxi had been a Dutch guy with his Thai wife. When we got through to baggage reclaim, they had decided to wait for us so that we could all share a taxi to Khao San Road. It's a good job they did, as when we arrived in the centre, ALL the guest houses were full! I've been to Bangkok several times now and even when it's been busy, we've always got a room - there are hundreds of guest houses! But, as it was 1.30am, we were all tired and just wanted to find a bed and so we decided to get another cab back towards the outskirts of Bangkok. There, we got a room and stayed where this Dutch guy had stayed before. Believe me, it was NOT the Ritz and it was expensive for the pit that it was, but it was a bed and at that time, we really didn't care!!

Early to rise meant that we could get back to the Khao San area and plan the getaway to the beaches! We got back at 9am and managed to get a ticket to Ko Chang that was departing that evening...which meant we had a day to roam around. Usually, being back in Bangkok brings with it a natural level of stress, but having been in Vietnam for three weeks, it now appeared a peaceful haven - no more honking horns and motorbikes. We headed away from Khao San and into 'real Bangkok' to the Siam Square area - shopping! We went tothe super swish mall to admire the Ferrari's etc it was good fun!

And so, Bangkok was again over. We left on the bus for Ko Chang at 10.30pm, after killing time in Gulliver's bar beforehand. Beaches - here we come!

Bye for now

Miffy x x x