Hello

Currently in Hue, Vietnam. Flew from Vientienne in Laos to Hanoi about a week ago. Couldn't have been more different in Hanoi from Laos - it was quite a slap to the head when we arrived. Hopelessly, we fell for the standard hotel scam as soon as we touched down - some bloke got into our cab, said the hotel we wanted to stay in was full and that there was one just around the corner etc. So we ended up staying a bit out of town... but all in all not a big drama. Saw a Vietnamese water puppets display which was nice and splashy. After a couple of nights in Hanoi we headed down to Halong Bay. Spent a couple of nights there, one on a river boat. Beautiful scenery - was used in Tomorrow Never Dies. We rented motorbikes ti\o explore the island, which was excellent fun. Stuart had a minor crash right in front of the guy he had rented from, so we had a protracted damages dispute upon return. The vietnamese are extremely driven in their pursuit of tourist cash and it isn't always a relaxed country to travel in.

Hanoi's 4000 motorbikes per sq km proved too much for us on return and we jumped immediately on an overnight train for the relatively laid back atmosphere of the previous capital Hue. Tomorrow we are off to the demilitarized zone to crawl through a few tunnels and to discover a few unexploded landmines.

Thanks for all your messages for my birthday, I had a wonderful evening - Stuart treated me to a fancy meal in an exclusive hotel. He truly is a remarkable boyfriend. (Stuart clearly typing there... but did have a fab evening).

Can't seem to download any photos here so there are lots to come soon. Expect everyone to view them and leave comments on the site.

Miss you all

emma and stuart

p.s. congratulations to govan and sarah.