We have arrived in Vietnam! We are here for a month and we haven't planned anything, unlike our previous countries. But we do have an idea about what we would like to see and do, hopefully we enjoy it more than China and can being to relax a little bit.

Hanoi is our first stop, we arrived at night a got a taxi to our hotel. Which is the nicest place we've been to yet, you'd pay around £120 a night in the UK but we've got it for £18! Lovely big bed, clean and modern bathroom etc. As well as a delicious breakfast each morning with lots of choice. The thing we are really not used to is the impeccable customer service, every person is friendly and wants to help you in any way possible. They won't stop asking the veggie if he wants an omelette or eggs sunny side up in the morning! We have yet to see if that's the norm for Vietnam customs.

We were meant to spend 3 days in Hanoi and then head onwards, but we have booked a 2 day cruise of Hang Long Bay which is nearby with the hotel, so they offered us an extra night in a VIP room for the same price as normal so we've definitely taken them up on that!!

We spent the, now, 4 days walking around the city. It is so different here and not completely how we expected. We are staying in the old quarter which seems to be where everything happens. The narrow streets are lined with worn colonial style building with market style shops on the bottom floor. The streets have trees growing up between the hazardous electrical wiring. The people sit out on the path on what we would class as plastic child's chairs and tables, relaxing out of the sun or talking to friends . In the evenings they become cheap street food restaurants where the locals eat. The main mode of transport here are motorbikes or mopeds, they criss-cross the street zooming around pedestrians and the odd car or taxi. When not in use they are parked up on the pavement in the masses, you have to resort to walking on the chaotic roads. Of course we have welcomed back the loud sound of beeping drivers and the scary trips to cross the road while trying not get run over. The locals do it without even looking! The roads also have locals riding bicycles loaded with fruit or carts selling food. Of course they all wear the traditional Vietnamese triangle shaped hat to protect them from the sun while carrying their baskets of fruit and food that are balanced at each end of a bamboo pole and resting across there shoulders.

We also walked through the old citidale and government district as it was near the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum we visited, this area was different with wide roads and paved paths lined with trees. There wasn't many houses or shops most of the area was lined with large orange colonial building dedicated to governmental use. It was nice to see, it reminded us of Spain in a way. It was a lot quieter up that way and hardly any tourists. We are glad we explored a different part, I'm sure there are more areas that you don't see as a tourist.

It's been very warm here around high twenties to low thirties, which has been hard to get used to again after the cool climate of China. We had to head back to our room to have a shower a few times a day as most buildings don't have air-con. We walked to most of the attractions in the city, from the Temple of Literature and the Army Museum, but the main thing to do is just walk around and take it all in. We found a cafe that looked down over a nearby lake and a busy stretch of road, so we headed there a few times to tuck into a baguette, which is a speciality dish here, and have a ice cold lime juice. We also found our favourite restaurant in the local bar, children's seats on the path style bar, called Little Hanoi. It was cheap, big portions and amazing Vietnamese food!

The VIP room was nice, we had more space a better shower and a lovely balcony looking over the city. But of course the first thing we thought of was washing our dirty clothes and hanging them up outside! The priorities of travelling! We spent time relaxing in the shade, watching the sun go down and listening to the night time bustle later. We only had one night here sadly, but don't worry all our clothes dried, even the jeans in the end.

We have absolutely loved being in Hanoi its such a busy and happy city, every corner held a new surprise. It also feels safe to walk around, of course you have people selling you stuff and bothering you but they are so polite and move away when you say no thank you.