I have the alarm set for 8, Lenh says that we will be leaving at about 9.30, so this will give me enough time to get breakfast and wake up. I get black coffee when I wake up and it is not long before we are presented with pancakes, bananas and honey. I can see above the door, in the corner of the roof they have a beehive, that must be where they get the honey from. Breakfast was good, and again there was plenty for the 3 of us. Lenh has been up from 4 this mornin...

As we get off the bus there are plenty of people swarming round us trying to offer us taxis, bikes and guides. It is to be expected, though I have been told that I am to wait for someone who will have my name on a peice of paper. not that it stopped some boyo trying, he rolls up on his bike saying he is here to pick up for a tour, he sees Alex and me and says its two people. I ask him the name of the people he is picking up, and he replies that he picks up so man...

Booked the tickets for Sapa yesterday, and so the bus leaves today at about 6, we are getting picked up from the hostel and then taken to the bus station before getting a 12 hour night bus to Sapa. I can safely say that I am not looking forward to a 12 hour bus journey, trains are one thing, but a bus, on these roads, that is an entirely different matter. So I spend most of the day mentally preparing myself for the potential disaster that may ensue. Before it is ...

Another easy morning, just the usual weasel coffee and some food from the street rather than my free breakfast. It is Vietnamese Woman's Day today and so I buy the girls in the hostel some breakfast as a treat. It is a big deal this day, everywhere you go there are flowers available to buy. Apparently today women pay for nothing and would be admirers shower them with gifts, some that are often hard to get in Vietnam. If you ask me it looks like some of the woman ...

Today I relax. The hot weather really does zap me here. Even when I go out without a bag I am still struggling. I just chat to the girls in the hostel. I am trying to decide if I am going to go to Sapa. It is a rural town to the north of Hanoi, it is quite expensive, but everyone I have spoken to in the hostel says its worth it! You can book a number of options, but the one that interests me is the 3 day trek, 2 nights, of course this is also the most expensive, ...