Hi All! At the moment we are in a very plush hotel in Hanoi! We arrived here this morning all very tired. We arrived by sleeper bus, we thought that as we had tried the sleeper train we would give the sleeper bus a go. I can say that it was a lot more pleasant than the sleeper train. Before I start with the train I will start where I left off the other day.

Our last day in Hoi An was fantastic, we were supposed to be leaving in the morning but decided to stay for Lunar night. In the morning we headed to a craft village to have a look at the crafts which was nice. We then headed to a restaurant to have some lunch. Naomi went off to collect her clothes from the tailors and me and Anita just went to a cafe for a drink and a pancake. When we were having lunch 2 children who looked about 8 asked us if they could sit with us to talk so they could practise their English. We said yes and they wanted to know all about England and also Christmas. We were asking them if they lived in Hoi An and they said that they lived a bit further out but they had come to Hoi An for the day with their Dad to practice their English. It seems quite popular out here to do that.

We then headed back to the hotel to meet the others. We then had a wander about in a few more shops and of course we spent more money. We found a lovely little restaurant to have tea. Whilst we were having tea a loud siren went off, it sounded like something from the war! The siren was for everyone to turn all the power out and to stop using their motorbikes. The whole place went dark and we our table was lit by a candle. It was just amazing, all the restaurants were lit by candles. We were sitting near the river and lots of people were in small rowing boats lit with candles. After we had our tea we headed to the river, we bought some floating candles. We went in a boat up the river, it was very rickety! We were told it was tradition to make a wish while putting the candles into the river, so thats what we did. We heard another siren about half 9 and then the lights came back on and all of a sudden motorbikes were everywhere! It was such a contrast. I have to say that the river trip was the perfect way to end our time in Hoi An.

The following day, Saturday, we travelled by bus to Hue. We left Hoi An will all of our luggage which seemed to multiple during our time in Hoi An. I had to buy another bag to put everything in. We arrived in Hue about lunch time. We went to our hotel which was very nice and then we went for some lunch. After that we walked to the Citadel. It was really nice and set in lovely grounds. We did have to wait under cover for a while as it poured down! We then had a leisurely walk back to the hotel getting tea on the way.

On Sunday, we woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel before setting out to the tomb of Tu Duc who was the emperor. We had a driver from the hotel take us and wait for us and we were taken toThiem Mu, Pagoda. It was such a hot day, so we decided to have a rest and take a boat down the Perfume River, which was lovely. The boat that we went on was a dragon boat which was cool. We then made our way back to the hotel having a late lunch. We then waited until 5pm for the sleeper bus. It took us 13 hours and was 15 dollars so a lot cheaper than the sleeper train, so we weren't expecting much. We were told that the bus slept 35 people. We thought they must have made a mistake but we were wrong. There were 3 rows of beds with very narrow aisles in between and the beds were 2 high. Our beds were at the front on the top. James, Naomi and Rob were on the first row and then Anita and Me behind. It was so funny! We clambered up to the top and the driver did not wait for us to sort our bags out so it took a while to sort out where to put them as there was no storage space, our big bags were underneath so it wasn't too much of a problem. The inside of the bus looked like an ambulance and they had seat belts which were you supposed to wear over your blanket. It was not as comfortable as the sleeper train as I woke up every hour and had to move position. The beds are definitely not built for people like us, as everyone else on the beds seemed to fit! It was a great experience even though we were quite tired today.

We arrived at the hotel at about 6.30am and they were closed but opened up for us. They said that we could leave our bags and to come back at nine when our room would be ready for us. We went to a coffee shop which was open so we sat there thinking about the rest of our time here. Luckily there was a travel agent attached to the coffee shop so we booked a flight to Bangkok for Saturday morning. We need to leave here by then as our visas run out on Saturday - which is also my Dad's birthday - so Happy Birthday in advance Dad! We then came back to the hotel and they made us breakfast but they said that the room would be ready at 12 instead but we were welcome to use another room if we needed a shower. So Me and Anita took advantage of this. We also booked a trip to Halong Bay for 3 days leaving early in the morning. They then told us they did not have space for us and took us to a hotel across the road. They said that we wouldn't have to pay the difference as the other one was more expensive, its a good job as we only paid $4 each for the room. The room we have got in far nicer than what we were supposed to have. We asked the hotel if they had internet and they the handed us 2 laptops which were free to use, so I am currently sitting in the hotel room typing away! We can't believe it, its by far the nicest room that we have had here, its just a shame that we cant come back here when we come back from Halong Bay.

This afternoon we went to a restaurant for lunch and also saw a water puppet show, which was really good. After we went to the Ngoc Son Temple which had the embalmed remains of a gigantic tortoise inside!

I think thats all for now, will update as soon as I can. Just one quick line to let you all know our plans for the rest of the trip - we are leaving Hanoi to fly to Bangkok on Saturday. We are then planning on heading to Chiang Mai for a few days before heading to Laos for a week or so before returning to spend the rest of our time in Bangkok. We cant believe that our trip is nearly at the end.

Anyway, will update soon. Love Anna x