A Few Days in Hanoi

It is quite different to HCMC here. It is 20 degrees cooler which has been nice, reminds us of home!! Couldn’t do 35 forever. Yesterday we walked around the old quarter where we are staying, interesting all the stalls. We ate street food for the first time – it looks and tastes great, but then you see them washing the dishes out the back 🙁 Georgia has been amazing taking it all in her stride, the queen of map reading and crossing the roads which can be hairy when there are 50, million motorbikes, people and taxis on these narrow streets. Today we became real tourists and bought our day packs – North Fake as they call them here. They seem fine and the price was right. Just need to last a few months. We have walked miles since arriving but its been great. Just moved hotels today because it was so dark and damp. Now in a backpackers so will monitor noise levels on the 6th floor! We have seen our first temple on an island in a lake. Sadly it was not the colour of Tarawera!! Tomorrow we are leaving the city on an overnight train to Sapa to tramp and see some rural life, which we are looking forward too. We will be there for 3 days and back to Hanoi on another overnight train, then new year at Ninh Binh another small town.