Hello Hanoi

Wednesday 4th November
Thanks for all of your emails. It's so good to hear all your news from home. It seems weird that it's getting cold and dark over there. The hotel receptionist here was complaining how cold it is here today as I sauntered out in a vest top and sunglasses. It really isn't cold - it's nearly thirty degrees!

I've had a great few days in Hoi An. It is such a lovely, quaint town. I spent ages just pottering round the streets full of tailor shops and art. I got to the beach which was beautiful and did a Vietnamese cookery course which was fun too. Be prepared to sample my new repertoire of dishes next year!

I had a few days to enjoy the sunshine before a big old storm hit on Monday. By Tuesday the river had spilled over its banks and flooded a couple of streets. The ever resourceful locals just pitched up in boats to take the tourists to the places that were under water.

I'm in Hanoi now and it's much nicer than I expected. Everybody told me that it was crazy busy and unbearable. After Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City it seems ok to me. I've learnt how to cross the sea of traffic. Basically, you can step out in front of a motorbike but not a car, definitely not a 4x4 and only step in front of a 4x4 with a government numberplate if you have a death wish! I've spent the day wandering around the city sightseeing. I went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum but his body is in Russia being cleaned at the moment unfortunately. I still managed to see the mausoleum, the museum, sing the Ho Chi Minh theme tune and avoid buying the t-shirt. They're HCM mad here!

Anyway, I've just booked myself up for the rest of my time here so I have a plan. I'm off on a boat trip Thurs-Saturday around various islands in Halong bay. According to the tourism blurb, there's one that looks like a human head, one like a teapot and one like a cock (fowl or phallic?). I end up staying on Planet of the Apes (ok, monkey island!) for a night so I'll try to avoid going monkey nuts. Then I head off into the hills around Sapa for a few days to go trekking.

I'll let you know how it goes...