At 7.30 this morning I got into my taxi. The old quarter of Hanoi is a maze of streets and at this time a hive of activity. The pick-up was arranged by Sidney of Friends Travel; (a travel agent/coffee shop run by an "on the ball" Dutchman) and arrived exactly as requested at 7.30 am. The airport is about 35 km away of which about 18 km is built up area of the outer suburbs of Hanoi. Incredibly though, I arrived at he airport, through check-in, immigration/customs...

The house Eddy built. With regard to my arrival, my friend Eddy had organised everything and I mean everything. After touching down at Hanoi airport I was met by a taxi driver holding up a sign with my name on it. The man took me to a hotel about an hour's drive away from Hanoi’s old quarter, the hotel which was pre-booked and also paid for. Three doors down the street I found the travel agent where I could collect my ticket for the sleeper train to Lao Ca...