So, after a horrific sleeper bus to Hanoi, we were woken at 6am by a fella on the bus seemingly trying to get us to go to his hotel. Angered that we had been (rudely!) woken up, we chose to ignore him! Got our own taxi and eventually found somewhere to stay... quite a nice new hotel, fair price, and they'd let us crash in a spare room till ours was ready and give us breakfast... winner!!!

So, after brekkie and a nap, we got ready to head out and explore the Old Quarter... when I noticed I didn't have my camera with me any more!! After tearing my bag and room apart I concluded I'd either misplaced it (and I was sure I hadn't) or it had been swiped!!! s***!!

After a quick attempt to return by sketchy moto-ride to the bus drop-off point to ask if I'd left it on the bus- they were bloody useless.. nobody in the locality spoke any English whatsoever (ignorant!)- I had to go and replace it... fortunately the only photos I would have lost would be the previous day in Hue having uploaded previous photos before we left!! After (eventually) cheering up we went for Ice Cream at a place called Fanny's, later had dinner and a couple of beers before bed!

Next morning we got up and walked a mile to go and see the Ho Chi Minh Mausaleum and Museum (despite them both being closed on Fridays), and some educational temple. A nap later, we went off and booked a 3 day boat trip from Hanoi to Halong Bay, where we sleep on the boat, kayak and do watersports... should be fun!!

Later on we booked our flight from Hanoi to Laos- after the previous night bus of 14hours, there was no bloody way whatsoever we were going to attempt the 24hour bus ride that was the other option!!! Weak willed maybe... but also a damn sight more comfortable and faster!!!!

Next morning we were up at 7am to get the bus to Halong Bay.......