I am woken to the sound of my phone ringing, it's Hoang. I'm too late to answer, but it is followed by a txt saying that we meet at 10 at the cathedral. This is good because I am clearly still in my bed. Not feeling terribly fresh. Up, shower, then out. It's a scorcher today, this coupled with my dehydration from the night before proves to be a difficult combination. I'm nearly at the cathedral when I get a txt saying that we meet at "less dirty kebab" Well that'...

Alex's last day today, so I head out with her for one more weasel coffee, back to our good old favourite spot. Alex buys some ground weasel coffee to send home. I head back to the hostel to enquire about where to go to get a haircut, at a good price of course. One of the guys in the hostel tells me of a good wee spot out on the street. I agree and I jump on the back of his bike for him to take me. My god! This journey was in stark contrast to my ride yesterday. H...

I wake up and realise that I didn't even pay for the drinks last night. I say to Abdullah that I'll have to call back later on today and pay duke, wouldn't rip him off like that. Just within all the commotion of the exit, we hadn't paid yet. I'll square him up later. ----- I go for breakfast with Hoang near the cathedral, and I have the famous food from Hanoi. It is a beef noodle soup. But it has large slices of meat in it, like from a Sunday roast. Tastes good...

I get to practicing more or my rusty Vietnamese today. Thuy in the hostel is a good teacher. In exchange I offer her English practice. A good trade I think! I see one of the shoe shine boys in the street outside the hostel today and I decide that I am going to get my shoes cleaned because they are pretty dirty, they have also developed some holes during my travels, these boys ate always telling me how they can fix them up for me, so today, one gets the chance. Th...

Today I welcome the rain. It is amazing the difference that it makes to Hanoi, much less people about and everyone who is out has a poncho on, even the people on the bikes, with the poncho thrown over the bike as well as themselves. Looks hilarious, but everyone is wearing them. You get a sense that everyone is feeling down, the normally upbeat atmosphere has been replaced by a much more serene and somewhat depressing undertone. There are still throngs of women w...