Hanoi

Night 1: Got picked up at 6pm and was taken to the Bus station for the trip to Hanoi. This was my first ''sleeper bus'' so didn't really know what to expect but it was actually quite luxurious. You get to almost lay down flat and there's just about enough room. There were quite a few locals on the bus, and they like to sit near the front as they get dropped off at various points prior to Hanoi. Didn't bother me though - loads of room at the back.

Also on the bus was a couple of girls from the U.S (Lauren & Whitney) who were really nice and we all got chatting instantly. Off we went to Hanoi. Had a great time in Laos but was looking forward to moving on.

Day 1: The bus parked right by the border crossing at about midnight, even though the border doesn't open until 7am. This was good though as it gave us all an opportunity to sleep (quite hard when the bus is moving) and also for the driver to sleep.

I was a bit nervous about this border crossing as I'd heard some horror stories. These included; drivers stopping in the middle of the night and demanding more money and being ripped off at the actual crossing. Thankfully, none of this happened and it all went quite smoothly.

We arrived in Hanoi at about 6pm (sick of the bus at this point) and myself and the 2 girls agreed to go to the same hostel. They had been to Hanoi earlier in the trip and knew the way around. We all got on really well and I wanted to hang around with them for a bit as they were both going back to the states tomorrow. We checked into a guesthouse and then went out for some dinner and to check out the nightlife in Hanoi - pretty good.

Ended up the 3 of us coming back to the room and staying up until about 3am (all pretty pissed) playing this american dice game they knew. It was really good laugh and I managed to get a win under my belt.

Day 2: The 3 of us went for breakfast in Hanoi and they then showed me the way to the backpackers hostel they had stayed at previously. I checked in there and we went our seperate ways for the day. The girls had some last minute gifts to buy and I wanted to start sight-seeing. Agreed to meet up at 6pm for dinner before they go.

So Hanoi is pretty bonkers and makes Bangkok seem like a walk in the park. The amount of motorbikes is quite staggering and is only surpassed by the amount they honk their horns. Crossing the road is extremely difficult at first and you're not even safe on the pavement sometimes because one of them might get bored of the traffic and decide to off-road and toot you on there. It's madness.

The girls had told me that you just need to walk across slowly, even when there are loads of Mopeds coming. Strangely, this seems to work and they just drive around you. It takes a while to force yourself off the curb though - walking into traffic doesn't exactly come naturally but you have literally no choice in Hanoi. They won't stop for you so you can be waiting for hours otherwise. Organised chaos I suppose because I haven't seen any accidents yet. Bit different when there are cars around though - they find it harder to go around you.

That afternoon, I slowly and with great difficulty made my way around the city. It's so busy and getting lost is ridiculously easy. One minute, you know where you are on the map and then, 10 yards later, you're lost again. Finally got my bearings and went to check out the Vietnam Natural History Museum and the War Museum - both interesting, more-so the War Museum. I then went to check out Hoa Lo Prison - no longer in use but was used for American prisoners of war. Also very interesting. The Hanoi towers were right next door as well - both quite big.

I somehow made it back to the girls hostel for 6pm and we went out for dinner. Nice meal with them and we said our goodbyes and exchanged contact info. Had a really cool few days with Lauren and Whitney so was a shame they had to go back home.

Found a bar showing the footy that evening (harder than I thought it would be) so I stayed to watch a couple of games with the locals. Nice little 2-0 win over Villa for the pool so I was very happy.

Day 3: Up early because I wanted to go check out the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This is the main attraction in Hanoi as it's the final resting place of the most famous and respected Vietnamese leader. Instead of trying to walk, I decided to take one of the locals up on their offer of a motorbike ride and got there within minutes - if you can't beat em, join em. Unfortunately, it was closed (travel book let me down again) but I did get a good look around the outside. Impressive building, surrounded by the Presidential Palace, The House on Stilts (where Ho Chi Minh used to live) and a nearby Pagoda. Spent some time checking all these out and get some sight-seeing photos. Also went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which is also nearby and was quite interesting.

After there, I made my way back towards the Old Quarter (city centre) via a statue of Lenin and the Temple of Literature. While on my way, I was stopped by a lady selling fruit and wearing a conical hat. I said I didn't want any fruit and she said ''no, no'' and that she wanted to take my photo wearing all the gear. Stupidly, I fell for it and let her put all the gear on me and take what's actually a really good picture. However, when I then tried to walk away, she wanted money for it. When I said no, she preceded to chase me down the street, while carrying all the stuff (and I'm not the fastest). Must have looked quite funny. Anyway, in the end I felt bad and gave her about 30p for some Pineapple (I don't even like Pineapple much). She seemed satisfied enough and I managed to lose her. Pretty funny and I did get a good photo out of it.

Hanoi starts to grate on you after a while. The traffic is a constant battle and the locals constantly asking if you want a ride on a motorbike can get very annoying when you're trying to walk around. It's part and parcel of life out here though and I'm glad I've experienced it. It does feel like real Asia when you are here seeing it all first hand but it does get exhausting after a while.

While walking back to the hostel, I bumped into the German couple I had met on the slow boat into Laos (Jakob & Miriam). Had a catch up with them and they told me about a deal they had got for a 3 day tour of Halong Bay, starting the following morning. I was planning on booking something similar and thought it would be cool to go with them so I went and booked the same deal.

That evening, I went out for a couple of beers and some food with 2 lads from my new hostel -Andreas (Germany) and Jay (USA). Had a good laugh with them and they booked on the same trip for the following morning. Halong Bay, here we come......