The alarm went off at 5am and we leapt into action, on the Airport Express by 6am and so to the airport in very good time. Before going through we collected our all important Banana Wifi which we are trying out in the hope it will save us from paying exorbitant roaming fees. By 7am we were in the Cathay Pacific lounge with a glass of champagne and it was only about now that my head started to wake up! Thanks for a good night out last night, Carlyon and Alison!

Our flight to Hanoi was crowded and very cramped but thankfully also very short and, on arrival, we were impressed by the lovely modern airport and the smooth, if a little slow, transition through the usual airport formalities. The airport transfer we had arranged failed to show up but we were able to arrange another quite easily through the airport information desk. Driving towards the city it was murky and quite dark, we wondered if it might be smog, or factory smoke from somewhere. It remained quite dark for the rest of the day. We arrived at the Hotel de l'Opera where we were welcomed very warmly, allowed a very early check in, and upgraded to a Suite. That seems like a very good start! The room was lovely, very art deco with interesting pictures, lamps and mirrors, a claw foot bath and mini gold rainbow tiles in the bathroom and, of course, very little drawer space. Very comfortable, nevertheless.

The hotel is wonderfully situated and we stepped out right into the thick of things. We wandered along a busy street crammed with interesting looking restaurants and coffee bars just a short distance to the impressive Opera House. We were looking for the Hoan Kiem Lake and realised that we were heading the wrong way so turned back. Very soon we entered streets that were closed off and pedestrianised and we soon realised that the whole area surrounding the lake was like this. Crowds of people of all ages were milling around enjoying an early evening stroll. There was live music on street corners, street food of every kind, balloons, toys, small children riding remote control cars, bigger kids playing street games. All the brides were out having their photos taken and many people were just sitting, relaxing and taking in the view. It was great to see so many people having a good time.

We walked round the lake for a bit and then sat down at a little cafe by the lake side and had a beer as it grew dark and the lights came on. We strolled back to the hotel and had a happy hour beer in the hotel bar, beautifully called La Fee Verte (the green fairy). Quick change and we went out to eat at a lovely little restaurant, very close by, called Club Opera Novel which we had seen had very good reviews. There were some very interesting and also very high-priced set meals available and a very basic bottle of wine was going to cost us USD50 which was a little bit daunting. However, we were able to order some delicious and less expensive dishes from the a la carte menu which suited us much better, and drank a gin and tonic instead of wine. Nothing we ordered from the menu was quite as we imagined it would be, but it was all amazing! We especially liked the tiny pancakes and the assorted spring rolls, delicious!