My last stop in Vietnam was Hanoi (except for a short trip out to Halong Bay). After another overnight train I was greeted by the somewhat unexpected feeling of coldness as I stepped outside. In fact I even detected goose pimples as the cold air hit my skin so I had to go hunting in my bag for a jumper, yes I really have had to wear a jumper! But a short transfer to the hotel revealed we were unable to check in for a few hours (I guess that's not unreasonable given that it was 6am!), so it was off for breakfast...

...And a short walking tour to work up an appetite was surprisingly eventful. Hanoi is a beautiful city, very leafy and open, helped by the several lakes scattered around the city. My first real introduction to Hanoi was at Hoan Kiem Lake or "Lake of the Restored Sword". It's named after a battle when a golden turtle appeared and took back a charmed sword, but needless to say I didn't say any golden turtles while I was there. The lake itself was full of activity though, even at such an early hour, from tai chi and fan dancing to just aerobics and the usual morning jogger. In fact I've never seen badminton played in such bizarre places - the pavements are given over to the fanatical players with courts drawn on them. That just leaves the congested road for the humble pedestrian, and when you step out onto that you literally take your life into your hands with motorbikes heading at you from all directions!

But there's plenty to keep you occupied for a few days here, and it's all walkable provided you don't mind clocking up a few kilometres... Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum is worth a visit. Thousands of people flood through the gates every see to see their revered leader "Uncle Ho" laying in state. It's an eerie experience but worth doing. Then there's the Hanoi Hilton, otherwise known as the former prison for American POWs in the 1960s. It's now been given over to the international hotel chain, but a small section remains as a museum. The broken bottles on top of the barbed wire fencing serve as a stark reminder about how brutal it all was.

The opera house is a stunning building, although unfortunately it seems the only way to get inside is to actually watch a performance. There's no tourist trail here. And the market is one of the largest I've seen. Luckily it's split into sections which makes it more tourist friendly, so if you want some shoes just head for aisle after aisle after aisle of them - you really can't miss them. Fortunately one thing I didn't manage to see was the famed roast dog which is apparently on sale. Not sure I missed out on much there then!

For a more tranquil experience try the Temple of Literature. Vietnam's first university was founded here in 1076 and it's a nice place to spend an hour or so just wandering around and sitting in the peaceful grounds. But if hectic is more your scene then the Old Quarter is definitely for you. Every street is named after a type of craft or basically something you can sell. They all start with the word "Hang" meaning "sell' followed by the word for their main produce, ie silver or silk etc. You can spend many an hour wandering around here, and also spend a lot of money, particularly if you can't find your way out again - it's a bit of a maze!

But probably one of the most memorbale things about Hanoi was the water puppet show. It's one hour of a kind of punch and judy show on water! It's not easy to describe and when you first sit down you're not 100% convinced exactly what you've just bought into, but give it a few minutes and you soon get into it. The show is made up of a series of short sketches with different puppets all in water and accompanied by live vietnamese music and a few small fireworks and lighting effects. Sounds wonderful doesn't it, but seriously it's worth doing as you'll never see anything else like it in the world anywhere! And at the end the puppeteers reveal themselves and show you how it's all done.