So at half 8 the next morning we were picked up from our hostel by a little bus and our local guide, Ti. We picked up the rest of our group (how the bus managed to manoeuvre its way round those tight corners of Hanoi I do not know!!) and then we were on our way! The journey took about 3 and a half hours and as we approached Halong City and the bay itself, it actually looked a little bit like a mini Miami with all the built up hotels on the beachfront. Once we wer...

Before we knew it it was time to land and we arrived safely into Hanoi airport. After smoothly passing through visa control and collecting our lives... sorry I mean rucksacks... we kindly had a car come collect us courtesy of our hostel. Approaching the centre it was clear that this city is extremely built up, with a lot of hotels and lit up billboards on each side of the road advertising Canon, Samsung, Nikon, you name it! The short car journey from the airport...