29th onwards...Into Vietnam!!

Sooo...

We left you in Bangkok and then headed to 'Nam. Took the flight in the early hours of the morning on the 29th. Fairly uneventful really other than we got to see the really debauched side of Bangkok...4am and still the city was going hard! Lots of very interesting drunk characters around...

Our first day in Hanoi (North Vietnam) was very much a culture shock...IT WAS RAINING!! and cold (prob. less than 25deg!! Way to cold for us who have got used to 40+!) After booking in etc. we went on a wander around and man...this place is full of mopeds! The noise is unreal as whoever beeps the first or the loudest has right of way and as a pedestrian, I have no horn...mayhem!! Survived the day tho (inc. crossing some of the busiest streets here...walk slowly into the road and make eye contact with the oncoming traffic and hope they have the sense to go around you!)

The weather is a lot more humid here but it's not quite as hot and it is quite dreary and drizzly most of the time.

Wandering around we managed to navigate the hundreds (literally!) of travel agents, semi-agents, tour operators, copy cats and frauds to eventually book ourselves on a trip into Halong bay on the 2nd. Couple of night on board a junk n the bay which we are looking forward too and generally orientate ourselves with the city. Not really much to report back other than this place takes a lot of getting used to! More than any of the other cities we've visited. You are approached every 5mins or more by people offering motobike taxi rides, pineaples or rickshaw rides!

Got scammed out of as much as it costs for lunch by a pineapple lady. She comes up all nice and chatty and then asks if we want to buy a pineapple which we poilitely turn down. Then she puts the pole she's carrying on Lou's sholder so we can take a photo with the hat and everything, then it's my turn, all nicey nicey, then her mate turns up and puts her's on my other shoulder and then hey presto she wants 80,000VND ('bout 3 pommie pounds) for a bag of pineapple that she forces on Lou and her commision for taking a photo and give the change of the 100 I gave her to her mate for her commission. Recovered some of my dignity by getting at least that back! Needless to say I'm not as accomodating to the pineapple ladies any more!!!

In the evening we went to the water puppet theatre as the Lonely Planet accurately describes it it was Punch and Judy on water!! It was both an entertaining and very surreal evening! After we had a nice meal overlooking the proceedings below as unbeknown to us it is Independence day here and everyone is on holiday!

Went for a wander around today as well around a lake and ate some really good food but not much more to report really.

It's quite cheap to live very well here. We're spending 30-40 pounds between us inc the hotel, eating at resturants (my stomach has only just got better so I've had to lay off the street food!) and drinking beer with all our meals!! It's great. Could live for less but like I say, I've had to look after my self so only the best restaurants will do right!

So that's it for the mo. I'll try and upload some pics of the last little while.

Ben and Lou out!!