I must of been sleeping again by 9.30pm last night and slept right through till 7am. Only waking a couple of times to either throw off the blankets because I was sweating or pull them back on because I was freezing. I felt much more rested when I woke but still felt weak. I didn't eat anything for breakfast, as I had no appetite at all, just had my barocca vitamins and water.

We were then getting the bus back to Hanoi this morning which took 4 hours, we left at 8.30am and I really can't explain how crazy the traffic in Vietnam is. I was sitting at the front of the bus and it was a pretty scary journey to be honest. Buses, lorries, cars would just be heading straight for us and at the very last minute and I mean the very last minute they'd swerve back to their side of the road, but our bus driver would do the exact same thing. We would over take and under take when other vehicles were heading straight for us... completely insane. The scenery was pretty out the window though, acres and acres of rice fields which are all planted and harvested by hand. The traffic really was the entertainment for me, watching all the motorbikes go past while the driver is either texting or on their mobile... crazy.com.

As soon as we got to our hotel, we just had to dump our bags in our room and meet back at reception where Charles gave us a talk on the city and explained where we were etc on a map. I was sharing with Nikki for the next two nights and the hotel room was really nice, much nicer than last nights one!!! We then headed out as a group down to the centre of the city to see the sights and experience Hanoi.

It was so stressful walking the streets here, they were much smaller than Ho Chi Minh but with the same volume of traffic, again you look your life in your hands every time you crossed the road. The pavements were full of parked motorbikes and stalls so the only place to walk was on the side of the road, but to be honest the pavements were so disgusting it was the cleanest place to be. All the roads had hundreds of tiny shops selling everything you could imagine, by this time everyone was starving and even I was a wee bit hungry. Charles took us for a group lunch at restaurant called The Gecko, which was really nice. I was freezing cold though so had a plate of soup and a cup of tea to warm myself up. It turned out to be a very late lunch as we didn't get out of the restaurant until 3.30pm. Lauren started to feel unwell and she couldn't understand what she had eaten, but I blamed an omelette I had at breakfast yesterday morning for not being well and Lauren had an omelette this morning at the same place... so I'm definitely blaming that.

A few of us went for a walk around Hanoi to experience the city but we soon headed back to the hotel because it was so stressful. Our hotel is quite a walk from the city and the streets really are quite disgusting here. When we got back to the hotel I booked flights for Lauren and I from Chaing Mai to Bangkok following our hill tribe trek on the 25th, so glad thats all sorted. It was either a 14 hour overnight train for £20 or an hours fight for £50 and it means I don't miss out on any of my tour nights which is ace.

Nikki and I just chilled in the room for a few hours before we met the group for dinner at 7.30pm. I had a bath for the first time since I left home which was so fine and managed to get my feet properly cleaned... which will last 5 minutes until I step out of the hotel, yuck!!!

Our group dinner was at a tiny restaurant down a back ally called 'Little Hanoi' and it was lovely. We shared caramel beef rolls for starter and the beef was so tasty, and then I had sweet and sour pork for main which was one of the best I have had. I was only drinking water but most people were on the wine and beers. After our meal I was ready to go back to the hotel but it wasn't the place to walk yourself at night and no one else was heading back, so I went to the pub 'Hair of the Dog' with everyone else. I wasn't feeling great at all again :( and wasn't even able to drink water in the pub, the only good thing was that we were all sitting on the floor on beanbags and cushions and I was really comfy on my beanbag :) Tasha and Jordan were ready to go just after midnight and I was well and truly ready!!! I was feeling much better by that time though but I was still going to my bed!

It was a half hour walk from the bar back to the hotel and it wasn't that cold. I checked the weather forecast for Laos and Thailand to see whether or not I should be buying a winter jacket tomorrow or not, but on Monday we are heading to 33 degrees according to the met office site! :)

Can't believe I only have 1 day left in The Nam :( its just passing far too quick! xxx