We arrived in Hanoi with the rain around lunch time so we grabbed something to eat and then the standard post travelling nap for everyone. We met up for the orientation walk at 4pm and headed through the city. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam but isn't quite as big or busy as Ho Chi Minh. There are still the standard bonkers mopeds everywhere though. We walked through the city past the markets and finished up by one of the lakes.

The girls headed back to the hotel as we had decided we wanted an evening where we had more than 20 mins to get ready and had a bit of girlie time sharing straighteners, make up etc. It was really nice. We then jumped into taxis and headed to the restaurant for dinner where I had an amazing duck dish.

After dinner we went to a local street bar for a beer where we literally sat on plastic furniture on the street drinking beer until the rain came. We then moved onto an actual bar but a lot of people were pretty tired. After one or two drinks most people headed off but a few of us decided the night was far too young and headed to the karaoke club just near the hotel. An hour of belting out power ballads and 80s hits was enough and we headed to bed. I am pretty sure the staff were laughing at us too!!

With a sore head I got up on Tuesday to do some sight seeing. We made the most of no rain and went walking around the main sights. Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum (unfortunately he was on his annual trip to Russia but good to see from the outside), the one pillar pagoda, the temple of literature and also the prison where the US pow's were kept during the Vietnam war. It is now a museum with a huge hotel on most of the land but was interesting to see.

We were all hot and sticky by the time we had done that so headed back to the hotel, collected the laundry we had left and got ready to head out again. We had an early dinner as some of us had bought tickets to see the water puppet show (see cover shot). This is a traditional vietnamese thing that started in the fields during the rainy season. It is now a tourist attraction with shows three times every day.

Puppets tell stories about Vietnamese life and culture being controlled by poles that run under the water and behind a screen. Certainly different to anything I have seen before but an experience too. Since it was the last night for the whole group to be together we headed to a bar called Le Pub for some drinks and goodbyes. We had an early start the next day though so it was a bit more low key.

At 6am on Wednesday we left Hanoi for the mammoth journey to Laos, 10 plus hours travelling. The scenery is beautiful though as we headed into the mountains with the lush green vegetation. We had a few local stops along the way including an interesting lunch stop that really highlighted the difference for me between these countries and home. We crossed the border in Laos at around 4.30 and toasted this with a beer Lao or a shot of the local spirit, Moonshine, a cross between vodka and sherry.

We arrived at our hotel in Lak Xao at around 5.30. It is a tiny place and really just a stopover so we headed for an early dinner which was not the best experience ever. 8pm seemed a bit early for bed so we made the most of the pool bar next to the hotel to while away an hour or so and then called it a night. Onto the capital Vientiane tomorrow, an interesting start to our Laos experience.