We arrive back in Hanoi (reluctantly) after a really long boat trip in Halond Bay (which was quite chilled) and then a really long bus journey. As there was this big public holiday Hanoi was more manic than the first time....they had big stages in the middle of the road playing thumping music all in preparation for the big party. We headed back to the original hotel that we stayed in but they only had a really small room with no window so we went to the hotel next door and they had a room right at the top of the building so we lugged our back packs up six flights of stairs to a fairly ok room which had windows all the way around so we could see all of the roof tops in Hanoi so quite cool really. We went out that evening to what they call beer junction and had some of the local Bia Hoi and ended up chatting to some American/Vietnemese guys which was really interesting to find out a bit more about the place. We then watched the fireworks through slighlty bleary eyes and headed back to sleep. The next day we were just trying to kill time before our flight the following day so just mooched around and had a relatively early night and watched a movie back in our room as we had a 5.45am start the next day. So we are just falling asleep and firstly get woken up by a mosquito buzzing past our ears, so then try and go back to sleep and then we get woken up by what sounds like a plastic bag unravelling so switch the light on and look around and think well maybe it is the aircon blowing on it, so lights out again and try and sleep to then be woken up again by more rustling. Brad gets the mobile and switches it on to get some light and just out the corner of his eye he sees a wrapper which he left on the bedside table and a shadow disappear!!!!!!!!

Flip flops on and run and turn the light on (there was no bedside light) and then we are both sat in the middle of the bed trying to work our what is going on. Brad is convinced that we have a mouse in the room whereas in my mind I'm thinking not a mouse but probably a rat! Whilst we are on the bed with our hearts pounding the rustling starts again and suddenly a rat runs along the top of the bed and runs straight up the wall and out of a hole right in the top of the building.......I swear and Brad screams (like a girl) and then we are left standing on this bed in shock horror thinking oh my god! The rat must have been approx 12 - 13 inches big. It is now around 2.30am in the morning so we grab our backpacks (which luckily were already packed) and go and sit in the reception lobby area waiting for our pick up to the airport at 6am. There was no way that we were going to stay in that room any longer!!!! Needless to say we were very pleased to leave Hanoi and since then our accommodation budget has increased and every room we now stay in we check to see if there are any rat access points!!!!