Good Morning Vietnam! Or good evening I should say. I know I said I wouldn't update until after Halong bay but even just after one day in Vietnam there is much to tell and if I don't write now then I will surely forget some of the things we have been up to!

We arrived in Hanoi early this morning after a very early start in KL (the alarm went off at 2am!) The flight was uneventful apart from most of the surrounding people on the plane showing no respect for any of the rules in that the majority were merrily trying to use their phones mid-flight (eek!) We landed in a gloomy looking Hanoi, the weather was wet, and damp and the sky was grey and smoggy. Getting through the visa process was a bit of a 'mare with long waits as when you get to the desk you hand over your multitude of forms and paperwork and then they whip that off you as well as your passports and then send you to another desk at the other end where they all have a conflab and a general mothers meeting, shuffle some paper while you wait somewhat anxiously for them to call your names and grant you entrance! Tis very nerve-wracking despite the fact that we had prearranged entry too! Still we finally got the nod and went through customs and to the luggage belt - which was empty! Everyone else had scarpered and we were somewhat concerned for our little rucksacks - which had gotten even smaller as we had them shrink wrapped for security on the way in! The we spotted our plastic encased bags dumped somewhat unceremoniously onto the floor near the empty belt - phew all my clean pants were in there! Luckily, we had arranged a transfer and when we plodded through the gate we had a guy waiting for us. The journey into Hanoi was fascinating, the roads here are c-r-a-z-y and our driver, pretty much spent the entire time pipping his horn and weaving in and out of the traffic which appears to follow no rhyme nor reason! Bikes laden with everything, we saw a bike piled with enough wood to build a house, another heaped with fresh flowers and a third stacked high with chickens, all scuttling past replying to horn beeps with equally loud honks! We've figured that 'honk' in Vietnam means get the hell out of my way I am coming through and I am bigger than you! We arrived at the hotel, which is lovely and set off to explore town.

Now Hanoi is everything Malaysia is not, gone are the malls, the Starbucks, many chains are absent (although KFC is here as it is everywhere in SE Asia!) and instead there are different names and sights, I especially enjoyed seeing a restaurant called 'Fanny' which made me snigger like a 12yr old boy! The western world definitely feels a while away, and Hanoi is busy, noisy, fascinating, vibrant and exhausting all in one heap! It's somewhat un-describable! We are in the old quarter where houses are squished together, and market stalls lay out front selling everything you can imagine. There is a heady mixture of various smells from coffee to spices and incense and the streets buzz with the engines of a billion motorcycles, who know no fear and seem to press the horn constantly! All in all, it is an experience that attacks your every sense not knowing what to look at, listen to or where to go next. Each street leads somewhere different and street markets wind their way amongst the lanes meaning that it is incredibly easy to get lost if you are trying to head somewhere. The markets are amazing - all the veg you can imagine and fish of all types (mahoosive ones! Bigger than the ones in your pond Nigel!) swimming in shallow troughs just waiting to be bought and chopped (or probably hoping not to be!) There were eels and squid and crabs for the choosing and people sat on the stalls either busily skinning and gutting fish, pounding spices or taking a nap amongst their wares! There is an array of beautiful coloured silks and fabrics for sale with the most amazing clothes on offer, in every vibrant colour you can imagine! I am holding off for now because apparently Hoi An is the place to go for clothes so I am trying not to let myself be coerced into the beautiful stores as we are on very limited luggage! We've also been warned against buying souvenirs like carvings etc whilst here and in Cambodia as you can't tell if anything naughty is hidden amongst your 'traditional' carving a 'la Bridget Jones!

We're just near Hoan Kiem Lake which is at the centre of town and is in the picture with this blog! It's a beautiful lake with a bridge into the centre where there is a beautiful temple which we visited and for that pleasure parted with 20,000 dong (about 66p each!) Now changing our dollars to dong was beyond fun as for our measly little 60 dollars we became instant millionaires! I was very excited to be a millionaire, but when a can of coke is 15,000 dong you soon realise that being a millionaire is not all it cracked up to be! We wandered the whole lake, disappearing at times into winding streets and markets. It's quite tough to get about and you have to have your wits about you at all times, the bikes and cars follow no rules, for anyone and therefore crossing the road has become a sport of strategy, skill and daring! You soon get used to it, but you have to watch everywhere, they even take their mopeds and bikes down the single file market stall pathways stopping when they want to buy something in a primitive drive thru kind of way! The other options to getting around to walking are the cyclos which are like pedal powered rickshaws, however they are notorious for taking tourists such as ourselves for ride, literally and financially so we haven't partaken just yet! The other option is to hire your own motorbike and join the throng, you don't need a license or a lesson just twenty of the finest American dollars and jobs a good 'un. Don't worry mum, we have no intention of joining in with that we are sticking to our own two feet, I can't even ride a bike on a country road at home for fear of other traffic so to do so here would be beyond terrifying in every way! We have also turned down the many offers we have had from people to hop on the back of their bikes (for a fee of course!) and by that they mean squeezing both of us on and all three setting off at a merry pace. Again, we gratefully declined, however this is the way everyone else gets about, there are whole families squished on one cycle with toddlers being held in the standing position in between Mum and Dad! The only problem with walking is that pavements are non-existent - nope that's a lie, there are pavements but they are put to much better use than merely walking on, they are used to display the goods for sale or are a place to leave ones motorcycle whilst they pop off, meaning you have to edge your way along the roadsides, using super sensory senses and keeping eyes and ears open! This is what makes walking around so tiring, tis an amazing, fascinating place so different from the westernization of Malaysia which is brilliant to see and be part of, but it is not a relaxing stroll around a new city!

This afternoon we went to the water puppet theatre, a bizarre puppet shows in a small lake in the theatre (bet you couldn't have guessed that by the name!) It was really good even though it was very odd, the Vietnamese music was haunting and quite pleasant to listen to and the puppets whilst crazy were really clever. We've just come away from the noise and chaos for a breather before heading out for tea. Tomorrow we are getting picked up for our cruise on Halong Bay, which we are totally excited about - not least because it's 2 whole days of relaxation as although we're on a very long holiday we've never stopped! So, we will write more then and as we wind our way from North to South Vietnam over the next 11 days and then into Cambodia!

Big hugs to everyone,

love Kat & Lee xx