Hanoi

I'm in Hanoi for a few days, enjoying the hectic atmosphere and contemplating what next. The bus journey from Sapa was very enjoyable for the scenery, but pretty painful in other ways - because of the overloud and almost constant Kungfu DVD movies and Vietnamese pop videos.

On arrival we were fortunate in quickly meeting up with Chris from Australia and Hugo from France, who helped us get settled in to an acceptable hotel and head out for some good food. The "street food" here is just about the best there is - and of course it is also the cheapest option.

The photo is of me and Ayumi with Kenji, our new Japanese friend, at last night's fine street meal. This was followed by the discovery of a similar place which sells the local beer at 3000 Dong a go (that's about 10 pence each). Needless to say I rose slightly later than planned this morning.

Toda Ayumi and Kenji are on separate trips to Halong Bay.

I'm hoping to meet up later with Hien - someone I have kept in email touch with since my visit last year and she rated a blog mention as a top travel agent!