We basically stopped in Hue to break up the journey to Hanoi, so it was only a brief overnight stop here. We strolled around the old moated citadel ending with dinner at the waterfront where we tried a Vietnamese Hot Pot. This is basically where you are given a little pot on a burner with flavoured broth inside and you cook the seafood and greens as you go! So we got to try some squid, clams, prawns, pork and tofu....tasty and different!

Next day it was the overnight bus to Hanoi, and we didn't break down this time, but they did pull over for a bit as the bus was making funny noises!!! They also switched off the lights at 7pm....which was not appreciated!!! So Phil read by torch light and Shane watched a few programmes on the laptop until it was actually a time when you could feel tired!!

We arrived into Hanoi the same time as the latest typhoon!! Which meant that for our first couple of days we didn't achieve too much...just out for food and checking how much water there was on the street....they were pretty waterlogged!! Once the worst had passed we took a stroll around the lake, we walked more of the maze that is the old quarter and ate some really good food to rival HCMC.

We also took a trip to the basketball and volleyball playing holiday camp that was the Ho Loc Prison, aka the Hanoi Hilton...it looks like the POW had a great old time of it according to the Vietnamese authorities....although we think John McCain and his comrades might have a slightly different view on the place!!

Once the typhoon had passed we headed for Halong Bay on our 3 day boat trip. This is an area of about 2000 limestone islands...on our first day we had a lovely sail through some of the islands, walked through Sung Sot cave, kayaked around the bay and got to watch the sunset on the boat over the islands...amazing...the drinks on the boats are a bit on the pricey side so while you are on the main boat little boats call around to sell you drink and snacks, so Shane decided a few beers were needed so they got a sale....while we were up on the boat we watched a similar sale occurring on the boat opposite...but it didn't quite go according to plan when the big boat started moving...with the lady from the small boat clinging on!!! From our point of view it looked like she eventually gave them what they wanted, they handed over some money and then she somehow lost her grip and was left behind...we suspect with their change!!!

To finish a great day off Shane got to cast a line in search of fish while we star gazed....with some being lucky enough to see some shooting stars....Phil was not one of them and still has yet to see one....Shane on the other hand was selfish enough to see them....which was not fair!!!!

The next day we went to Cat Ba Island. In the middle is a national park where we were heading first. We did a two hour sweat, sorry we meant hike, up to a lookout point and back down!! To say it was hot is an understatement but was worth it to see just how jungle it is there. We had an entertaining guide who had no English but his monkey man skills and willingness to fan us all down at each break made the journey more fun!

After a small siesta to recover from the hike we hired a motorbike and headed out for a tour of the island. Was great to get away from it and see what real life is like....all was going according to plan, and we were almost back in town when we got stopped on the road....next thing you know there was a huge explosion with rocks flying everywhere in front of us....it seems they were trying to widen the road by blowing up the sides of the cliff...as we were debating what to do an explosion happened behind us!! So really there was no decision to make...we were there until the road got cleared!!! They seemed to be making good progress just in front of us so we weren't too worried until the last explosion went further down and really covered the road!!! So the digger was called in to help clear the last rubble while we got to sit there wondering would we make it back in time for dinner!!! We eventually got through and just had enough time for a cheap beer and to watch the end of the sunset before returning the bike and eating dinner!

The final day was back onto the boat for a final sail, and then we were returning to Hanoi for our night train to Sapa....no rest for us at the moment!