We're busy doing nothing!

Our first full day began with breakfast on the rooftop dining area, don't think we've gone all posh though, the laundry is done up there as well! It was a bland plate of scrambled eggs and baguette for me and an omelette for Lynn, coffee was almost undrinkable - time to find a decent cup somewhere.

After a quick walk round the block we found a bar called Booze Cruise - looked like an Irish bar, owned by an Aussie - par for the course then. We got something resembling an almost decent cup and then proceeded to the beach.

Our days were spent virtually the same for four more, indeed, we were classing this as a rest from all the frantic travelling of the previous three weeks. We actually chilled, can you believe it?

During the time by the sea we established some sort of pattern of breakfast, beach, shower, eat snack (bought from mini mart along with beer and wine), me write blog - Lynn read book: out for food at about 7. Why bother with anything else, we are now semi-retired, during this bit of the trip it just began to sink in.

One memorable meal was the fish BBQ at Aurora along the seafront. Basically, for £7, you are sat at a table with a cut out hole in the middle containing a BBQ. You go to a buffet counter, fill a plate with fish and meat. Fill a pot with veg. Take it back to the table and cook away. Repeat as many times as you want - easy.

Some of the meat on offer was a bit ropey though. Frog and pigeon were some of the more unlikely choices and of course there was crocodile, quite fishy actually. Hope ours hadn't been fed on human!

Another place we ate was at The Sailing Club, just behind our sunbathing area and a place we had considered too swanky for our budget. Nevertheless, our money was as good as anyone's and we had some great local food in there one late afternoon - the toilets were better than our hotel as well.

We took breakfast in there on our last full day, well, there's only so many bland eggy breakfasts a couple can handle.

That evening we tried Galegal, a Vietnamese restaurant where street food is cooked inside - it was fantastic and authentic. I even tried the countrywide favourite dish Pho Bo, Google it!

We finished up in Booze Cruise. It had become our local, late evening hangout, as the staff all made us welcome. The meet and greet girl was Rose? We found out her mother lived in Doncaster, as you do as an ex-pat Vietnamese woman in England! All in all, good craic, ropey toilets though!

Sadly another early night beckoned as we were up for the 5.30am taxi to the airport. Destination, Ho Chi Min City - Saigon In old money.

All you can eat, and, cook it yourself

One day the sea was a bit rough

Typical - Russians posing behind my selfie.

Beachside - still building the place though.

The Sailing Club

Typical Doncaster lass - Rose!

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside!

Half past four is a bloody early time of day to get out of bed - required, owing to an early flight out of Da Nang to Cam Ranh, the airport that serves the seaside resort of Nha Trang.

The taxi, flight and transfer at the other end had been organised by the efficient staff at The Prince, we said goodbye to a bleary eyed manager and were on our way.

On the way we observed hundreds of people doing their early morning work outs. Tai Chi, aerobics, running or, just walking vigorously ( or not so,). What an interesting sight it made at 5.30am. Now there's a great way for the NHS to sort the state of the nations health out - take the mobility scooters off the slackers and make them excercise in the mornings.

Da Nang airport was busy at 6am, it was also busy getting an extension built. Mark my words, this will be the place to be in Vietnam in years to come.

Safely through check in we hung around departures, complete with Burger King and boarded a half empty Vietnam Airways flight. We were up and down in just over 45 minutes and landed to a rather warm 27 degrees and sunny - time to hit the beach.

The road to the resort starts off skirting new and partly built holiday complexes, climbs into the hills then twists down to the town Italian Job style, the view over the various bays is worth it though, even if the driver is mad and trying to overtake everything in sight.

The high rise that greets you has a look of a Spanish resort. There is a dual carriageway running the whole length of the sea front, immaculately manacured gardens all palm trees and topiary line the road with golden sands stretching for miles - clean, tidy and managed by the various hotels that line the frontage.

We came down to earth when we pulled up in front of our hotel, just under five minutes from the beach, for the first time we thought Booking.com had let us down. The manager seemed surly, there was no welcome drink, cooling towel or briefing on local attractions. We handed over our passports, collected the keys and took the lift to the 7th floor of the St Pauls Hotel.

Our room was tired looking but clean and tidy, the fridge worked, there was a jacuzzi (which we never used) as it took us 2 days to work out how to get hot water. Once again, no plug in the sink and loo roll was a bit scarce, but hey - this was their deluxe room, it was the only one with a balcony, the air con worked and it was only £6 a night per person with breakfast. (Worse would come later!)

So, at 9am on a hot Good Friday morning we strolled into the Fashion Cafe adjacent to the hotel and got our first taste - of  - Russians. It seems like a lot of things in this town are owned by them, this place included. So, after reasonable baguettes, poor coffee, and questionable service we tottered off for a recce of the place - beach here we come.

Our nearest set of beach beds and parasols were managed by the Star Hotel, a massive high rise on the corner of the main road and turn off to our humble digs. It was just over three quid to rent a bed, towel and parasol for the two of us all day. What a bargain. Plus, tipping the lads, who pocketed the money themselves, ensured they looked after us all day. Another hotel ran a beach bar to get the all important cold drinks from so what more could we want. Now to just slap on the sun cream and enjoy five days of bliss. Sorry to all those back home but on this phase of the tour we are NOT roughing it too much! 

That first evening we strolled along the prom to a beach-facing, multi storey shopping centre, just for a look. We passed by a BBQ joint selling crocodile. I mean, a fully skinned, legs on as well, fully fledged croc. They leave on the head so you can tell it isn't a large lizard!

We discovered a fancy eatery on the fourth floor complete with its own swimming pool so as you do, I ordered a T Bone exported from Oz and Lynn had the stuffed chicken. I told you we weren't roughing it.

We slept well the first night apart from the noise of the construction sites (working round the clock) and the barking dogs. Still, I've heard worse through the night on Lancaster Road.

(In the next post I'll explain what else Nha Trang has to offer)

Da Nang Airport departures

Great beach

At least we had a balcony - the sea is behind me!

Hoi An, town of a thousand lights - and tailor's shops!

Wednesday 23rd March

The front desk greeted us in style at the Prince Hotel. Our bags were put aside and we received a complementary drink and ice cold hand towel, then the sales pitch began.

" We have many excursions for you to go on," said Miss Than. She had been the lady I'd been in contact with in Hanoi regarding the taxi transfer from Da Nang. A lovely young girl, dressed in traditional costume and probably able to charm the birds from the tree as she went into a well rehearsed mantra of visiting caves here, mountains there and then we got on to the subject of tailoring.

Hoi An is world renowned for its clothes making and they can whip an outfit up for you in about two days. She gave us a card for a place called Be Be's (discount and free taxi service to the shop), we said we'd let them know!

The room here was lovely and clean with a balcony, the hotel itself small compact and again exceptionally clean - Booking.com were pulling some rabbits out of the hat for us as far as accommodation was concerned. (We only paid £44 for the two nights with breakfast)

That afternoon we took a taxi to Am Bang beach to get a bite to eat. The place was packed with holiday makers but there were enough restaurants beach side to choose from. We had typical seafood fayre however the crab was very difficult to get into, especially as they gave us a set of those nutcrackers you get at Christmas as we attempted to break into them.

A young street hawker sat with us and persuaded us to part with some money for costume jewellery. She was called Li and she said she could only dream of travelling like us but just can't make enough money. Her fantasy, she said would be to travel to London, the US and Canada. We would learn more about Vietnam later.

That evening we took a cab into the old heritage centre of Hoi An where you couldn't move without somebody trying to sell you something or get you to go into their shop. Suits, dresses, shoes, handbags, cafes, restaurants, all plying for your business. We made it unscathed and with our money safely tucked away in our wallet down to the Thu Bon River. " You want boat trip, sir, Madame." Even here we couldn't escape the salesmen.

The riverside vista was beautiful, we'd missed the lanterns floating on the water though, that only happens on a Tuesday according to people we asked. At night though it doesn't matter if there are lanterns floating on the water or not, it's such a beautiful place with most buildings and streets lit up by some form of light.

One advantage to being in the old town was the lack of cars althought the ubiquitous scooters, motor cycles and push bikes were still a danger to life and limb. We found a place called the Rice Bowl to gather our thoughts and consult Wi Fi as to the whereabouts of the Lonely Planet recommended Dive Bar.

As the Internet revealed, it was on the street outside the rear entrance of where we were sat. We also discovered the Hoi An old town is completely wired up for Wi Fi. Just register and you are instantly online.

It was a great vibe as you entered the Dive Bar with a DJ playing reggae sounds, backpackers occupying the sofas, people playing pool and a Carribean style back bar where we ordered draught Tiger at £2 a pint and cocktails at £3. It was one of those places you discover on holiday or travelling and think - this is going to be our spot for the time we're here, and so it was.

The following morning we received confirmation of our flight from Da Nang to Nha Trang. We could have done it on the train but that would have meant a whole 8 hours wasted, the flight was only an hour and it only cost £50 each.

We walked into town as the weather was cloudy (still warm though). It took us 20 mins to get to the river, good excercise! We spent the day just exploring the old town by day and buying a few lanterns. Well, Lynn has a new house to decorate in Spain. 

We nipped into the Dive Bar for a pre-lunch refresher. There we spoke to one of the staff who are always inquisitive as to where you are from. Eventually she told us she envies us as in her words, "you have a choice in the west, we have nothing here." She went on to explain the average wage is $200 a month in Vietnam but they think all us foreigners are all earning over $4000 a month so can afford to buy everything. At least she did have a decent job there in the bar.

Lunch was taken in the very French Cargo Club complete with its own patisserie - it was sampled, don't you worry!

Near the famous Japanese covered bridge we spotted a bride having her hair done for he wedding - in the street. We wished her and her future husband well, you just wouldn't get that back home.

We walked back to the hotel, packed for the next day then walked back to have one more night admiring the lights along the river and a few drinks in the Dive Bar. It was back fairly early as our taxi to Da Nang airport was booked for 5am, next stop - beach time in Nha Trang.

Lynn tests out the funky seat in the hotel garden.

An Bang beach

Lanterns on sale everywhere...

...and clothes.

The riverside

Lots of French colonial buildings

The happy couple

Stop me and buy one

The Cyclo's are a sedate way to get around

Last Train to Da Nang Central

Tuesday 22nd March

Our tour bus dropped us opposite the Royal Palace Hotel in Hanoi, the manager having arranged for us to leave our bags securely whilst waiting for our train at 10pm. Road negotiated and bags secured we set off into the centre of town to find somewhere to hang out for a while.

We came across a place called Le Pub. Okay, I know it sounds French and we all know they have NO rules but it looked okay and the beer was cheap. They also had decent wine so Lynn was happy. An hour later we made our way to the Long Bar for a quick bite to eat and perhaps just a bit too much more to drink.

Back at the hotel our taxi arrived to take us to the station. I noticed in the traffic the bell boy from the hotel was following us on a scooter. He met us at the station (he paid for the taxi), he then took our heavy bags and ticket confirmation and led the way to our train. Halfway along the carriages he was stopped by an official of the railway company (the government). She gave him our tickets and it seemed we'd been moved into another carriage.

As it was, we'd been put into a four berth but with only us two in it. Another plus is that it had a sliding door. Sadly though the toilets left a lot to be desired. With great efficiency we pulled away on time - we both got our heads down immidetly- it had been a bloody long day.

The journey was as fitful and jolting as the last overnight we did from Bankok to Chiang Mai, with a fellow constantly shouting outside the door and the stations being announced over the tannoy. We kept our strength up with packets of Ritz Crackers we'd bought earlier, sweet wafer biscuits and water was provided from the railway. Sleep was hard to come by as well as any indication of a buffet car.

We woke bleary eyed at about7am, travelling through a ravine which soon opened out to a countryside view. Rice, corn, ducks and buffalo were to be seen en-route as well as many cemeteries, some strikingly military. Yes, the war ended just over 40 years ago, with both military and civilians taking thousands of casualties.

The first station we stopped at was Dong Hoi, I asked someone! We were then on time and heading for Hue where we passed over the Purfumed River to get to it. (It was featured in the film Full Metal Jacket). The weather at this point was still dull and damp at the point where we were still over two hours from DaNang. By the way. The fellow shouting outside the door most of the night was offering refreshments. We had a coffee to wash down the last of our crackers - if only we'd opened the sliding door.

At an hour away we began to see the South China Sea as the train teetered along the cliff edges, waves crashing onto the rocks below - a damp mist covering the horizon; a bleak view.

We came out of a tunnel to an unknown phenomenon. Bright sunlight made us squint, but with pleasure. Rocky coves, palm fringed sandy beaches; it all looked good - hello sunshine, where the hell have you been for a few days? It was unspoilt beauty that lay out below us, sad to think that in ten years it might just be another resort.

After going through another long tunnel it was apparent we'd decended as we were level with lots of fishing boats bobbing around in the blue water. Disturbingly we were almost in the front gardens and front rooms of houses that were way too close to the track.

Just before arrival we saw a huge pagoda and marble statue as we passed a level crossing, welcome to Da Nang and a warm 27 degree lunchtime.

A driver was waiting for us holding up a paper with my name on. The hotel in Hoi An had emailed me in Hanoi when I'd made the booking, very efficient! He negotiated the busy streets around the station and soon we were whisked across a huge road bridge, one of many that cross the Han River; once an important navel base for the USA during the Vietnam War.

We were now on the coastal road where it was evident lots of money was being ploughed into this city. Five star hotels including the Crowne Plaza dominated the shoreline with a Sheraton being built and other holiday villages both occupied and in progress spreading all along the road to Hoi An. This is deffo one of the new places to be in the world - investment- could be Russian?

It only took 35 minutes for the transfer and we turned off right to Hoi An, just opposite the An Bang beach, we made a mental note to visit it. There were so many tourists on push bikes and the land had flattened out to rice fields I suddenly thought I was in Holland and not Vietnam. It seems every hotel in town offers free hire of them.

Within minutes we were parked up outside the Prince Hotel, approximately 20 mins walk or 8 min cycle from town. Our bags were carried in for us, the taxi was on our hotel account so we tottered into reception to await the obligatory tourist briefing.

Le Pub

Hanoi station, a bit grim at 9.30pm

Breakfast on board

A misty view, early morning.

Time to catch up on the blog

At last - the sun!

A little bit close to the edge?

Nearly there 

A pearler of a trip to Ha Long Bay

Monday 21st March

We awaited our transport to take us to Ha Long Bay after breakfast, saying goodbye to the staff of the Royal Palace Hotel. Being first on the mini bus we camped out on the back seat as our guide for the journey, Tom, informed us how many were coming.

Driving through the Old quarter we picked up other travellers from different hotels. Some of the streets were winding and narrow. A street of a hundred coffee retailers, kids clothes, bamboo, motorbike parts. Virtually everything you wanted in life.

Out into a more affluent part of town we strayed to pick up a family of - Iranians. They were staying at the Metropole not a place we could afford; he must have been well connected to the ayatollah? And finally: we were free of the city and its mad traffic, heading down a dual carriageway flanked on either side by verdant, green crops; Vietnam's wholesale greengrocer and also plenty of duck ponds. 

The journey time was three and a half hours, hard to read or even write this blog as the bus braked and lurched from side to side as our driver considered it a challenge to overtake everything in sight. The small towns we passed by were grey and grubby in the rain, hardly anyone about but as we saw plenty of huge factories we guessed most folk were working. Funniest thing we saw at one point was a man on a motorbike with his child and a dead cow strapped to the back - only in Vietnam.

There was an obligatory toilet stop halfway. This was conveniently at a sort of factory outlet store where to get to a cup of coffee you had to walk through a production line of disabled people all engaged in handicrafts. Salesmen and women jumped out at you from both directions - "No pal, I'm not paying £100 for a tapestry - I don't care if the artist is disabled!" I'm sorry, I didn't sign up for a visit to a shop, we're going to Ha Long Bay.

We disembarked at the harbour after that horrendous drive to be met by a flotilla of cruise ships anchored out a few hundred metres away. Our operator was Starlight Cruises, although others are available. We were all taken out to the ship on a tender that was eventually tied to the rear of our floating hotel and we were given a welcome brief in the dinning room/bar. Our fellow passengers weren't bonding as well as our shipmates on the Meekong cruise but we did start to make some friends.

A giant Samoan, Mike, a citizen of the States and his wife, four Estonian lads, an Aussie couple from central New South Wales ( he'd worked in Odstock Hospital near Salisbury, we found out) and some Germans became on talking terms with each other - the Iranians kept themselves to themselves.

Lunch was a constant flow of food to the table, all local and all tasty. Lynn and me decided to ditch the trip  out to the caves afterwards and snook down to our cabin for a siesta. We were the first ones to the bar at 5 pm for Happy Hour, well, you do - don't you?

There then followed a masterclass in making hot spring rolls, well, Lynn was in catering, followed by another gargantuan evening meal. That accomplished it was time for a splash about in the jacuzzi before heading back up to the bar to help Mike and his wife celebrate their 3rd wedding anniversary, ably assisted by the Estonians and the Germans. Oh did I have fun!

Early next morning it was Tai Chi on the poop deck. It had seemed a good idea the night before but when that alarm went off at 6am all sorts of things went through our minds such as bugger that! We prevailed and met other bleary eyed shipmates up top. Actually it was quite invigorating and set us up nicely for breakfast, after which I went off on the tender for a trip to a fishing village.

You may be now asking, dear reader, when is the old git going to explain where the hell he is in the world and what's so special about it. I could at this point say Google it, and you may well do so.  All I can say about this UNESCO Heritage site is - breathtaking. Over 1600 individual large and small islands make up this amazing natural phenomenon and on the trip we cruised ever so slowly around many of them. Waking up in the morning was surreal as we turned on the anchor, looking out of the picture window of the cabin at rock formations that have taken 500 million years to form - purely magical, whatever the weather.

What our guide failed to tell us about the trip to the village (there was also kayaking available, stuff that,  I've done that in the army, it was rubbish) was that it was a floating village, actually several plus a visit to a pearl farm. We got off the tender onto a floating pontoon and piled into small boats that were rowed by one tiny person, ours was female - how the hell was she going to power our craft with seven heavy arsed westerners in it?

I imagine thousands of years ofrowing these  boats to fish has given the people a genetic advantage over mere mortals like us. Apparently it's all in the leaning forward, not in the shoulders. That sounded logical as if it were the other way round these rowers would be great golfers!

At the pearl farm I was glad I hadn't brought my wallet. The average necklace was £375. A pity because it's Lynn's birth stone - she'll be waiting until our next trip here for one of those!

Back on board Starlight Cruises we packed our bags, vacated the rooms and had another massive meal before leaving. It had been a magical cruise around natural features many could only imagine visiting. If you do ever get the chance to visit Vietnam, come to Ha Long Bay, you'll not regret it.

All that was left now was that horrendous drive back to Hanoi, factory outlet included, and for us the prospect of an overnight train at 10pm to Danang for onwards transportation to Hoi An.

The ship as seen from the tender.

Dining room and more importantly - the bar!

Lunch - day 1

We joined a flotilla of ships cruising round these stunning islands

A floating fishing community on Ha Long Bay

Come on - give us a smile.

That's better.

Now, put your back into it.

Two Nights in Hanoi

As I mentioned in the last post, our first priority was lunch. Mr Son gave us some tips but recommended a restaurant called Madam Hien on Cham Can, not too far from the hotel.

Armed with our Hanoi street map we negotiated the tight streets of the Old Quarter, getting to grips quickly on the smaller roads at learning to cross them - without being wiped out.

After walking down what can only be described as the street of a hundred motorbike repair shops, we hung a left and were there.

This French Colonial property, once the Spanish embassy is the second project of French chef Didier Corlou, who has managed to fuse Vietnamese and French food seamlessly, sadly it was fully booked when we arrived. We were advised to give them thirty minutes so we ventured out with my eyes glued to the street map. To be honest, the old part of town is easy to navigate. We completed a small recce of things to do the next day and headed back.

The wait for the food was worth it, my highlight being the duck in orange, it fell off the bone and melted in the mouth and at just under £30 for two with wine, beer and coffee; a great value three course set lunch, just a pity we couldn't sit in the courtyard due to the rain. Now for a siesta before tackling the streets at night.

Our tour guide, Mr Son had gone off duty when we came down to reception. I was hankering for some premier league footie, it being Saturday and all that. His stand in tried but failed to find us a bar that may have been showing some but pointed us in the general direction of some other places.

After negotiating some almost sacrificial junctions we came across a lively area of town just off the night market. Little shop fronts bars were doing a great trade with locals and tourists all sat outside on little stools drinking and eating. We found a bar called the Green Pepper where you could get a beer for just under 80p. It wasn't a traditional Bia Hoi hangout but it did have Everton v Arsenal showing, followed by Palace v Leicester - what a result. The atmosphere amongst locals (who were going through shelled peanuts like they were going out of fashion) and tourists was electric with never an ounce of trouble, why can't Britain be like that on a Saturday night? 

We eventually finished off in The Long Bar, near to our hotel and looking out onto the Hanoi version of Picadilly Circus. Two drinks and free entertainment finished off the evening - well, watching a balloon seller standing in the middle of maniacle traffic was entertaining to us!

The following morning we made tracks to the Army museum where we learnt how cruel the French had been to the Vietnamese and that they managed to capture lots of kit and equipment from the Americans.

After a long lunch in a small bistro just off Hoan Kiem lake we made our way to the Maison Centrale or, The Hanoi Hilton as captured American airmen nicknamed it. A notorious prison, built by the French, we learned of their inhumanity towards the Vietnamese they incarcerated there during their occupation of the country. It was interesting the way they portrayed their own capture and imprisonment of American service personnel. Were the photos of detainees celebrating Christmas and playing basketball staged or real? I think the visit throws up more questions than answers.

That evening we just ventured as far as a corner eatery called Little Hanoi, just a stride down Hang Bong. Baguettes and fries were the order of the day before retiring early. The next morning we were off to Ha Long Bay.

Madam Hien - classy colonial joint!

We sat inside - didn't fancy squatting on a stool. (Green Pepper)

The locals party until midnight. Then, the police break it up.

The Long Bar - very Parissien.

A balloon seller risks her life 

Not a nice way to be incarcerated by the French.

Woe betide if you really did something wrong.

This is why you can't walk on the pavements

Good morning Vietnam!

Our taxi was booked for 6.30am, quite a jolt to the system. I was feeling a bit sick so skipped any breakfast in the hotel. It was only a 15min drive out to the airport, brand new and very efficient. Like any other big operation without the hassle.

The plane was twin propped with leather seats, you even got a small snack and coffee for this one hour service to Hanoi, my sickness pills now kicking in.

Takeoff was smooth and soon we were heading north east. What awaited us when we dropped out of the clouds was disappointing - rain; the first we'd seen since leaving England. It was very humid though as we trooped down the stairs off the aircraft so the air conditioning was welcome as we entered the terminal off the shuttle bus. It was an ultra modern building and operation, the Vietnamese have obviously been busy these past few years.

There was a fairly long wait to go through immigration as we joined the queue for FOREIGNERS but no hassle once it was your turn. There wasn't a requirement to buy a visa but the 15 day stamp we were given in the passport meant we would have to reasses our agenda in Vietnam. Once through and baggage claimed (quickly) our next priority was money.

The ATM's in the arrival hall were a nightmare as some of them had run out of money. Others didn't work with one of my cards and, as we found out later, that bank stopped the card despite me informing them where I was. Eventually we found another set of machines and managed to draw out 2 million dong - we were rich! Well £62.75 rich. Next priority was a taxi but even though the airport was modern it looked like the usual scrum for transport outside.

It worked in our favour that we'd had to search for a cash machine as our little wander had taken us near to the official tourist information centre. Efficient women in traditional costumes guided us through the taxi booking process, reminding us it was safer booking through them because of the amount of scam taxis operating out of the airport. We then had a stroke of luck.

One of the advisors was being given a lift into Hanoi after her shift. Following her out we were guided into an air conditioned mini van with leather chairs, tv and mini bar. Our half hour drive into the city was much smoother and luxurious - thanks a lot to the tourist info staff.

The drive at first was incident free as we were whisked in on the motorway. Our first impressions were of the greenery from all the crops and rice paddies as water buffalo grazed and drank in the humid and damp fields. The so far smooth ride came to a halt when we drove off into the suburbs, suddenly we came to a halt.

It seemed every bus, car, taxi and motor scooter was heading in the same direction. Those that weren't were cutting across us making it impossible to attain any progress. Somehow though we did start to edge forward through the roads flanked by grey, damp, miserable looking houses and businesses. Hanoi looked at this stage, an ugly city.

Finally we entered the Old Quarter where the French influence of architecture and street design smacked you firmly in the face, as did the gridlocked traffic. How on earth would we get across those streets?

Our hotel was the Royal Palace on Hang Bong Rd, right on a busy intersection, first mission, get across the street with all our bags to the lobby. That achieved we were greeted by Mr Son the hotel manager. He welcomed us and within minutes we had a welcoming cup of coffee in our hands and somehow he had managed to book us two days on a Ha Long Bay cruise, arrange our train ticket for Da Nang three days later and issue us the all important wi-fi code, what a man! He escorted us to our sixth floor room and left us to our own devices.

The rooms and general look of the place can be described as tired and faded but the place makes up for it in the friendliness and efficiency of all the staff. The view down from our room to the almost carnage down below is worth the tariff but the windows remained closed to keep out the incessant noise of the tooting horns.

Our plans were flexible now that Mr Son had done all the donkey work regarding our cruise and train journey. The only priority we had now was lunch and the all important survival lesson on the streets of Hanoi.

Survival lessons are compulsory when learning how to cross these roads.

Hanoi chic - military clothing for the whole family.

A new one to the list.

A couple of days in Luang Prabang

The minivan edged its way round the tight streets of this provincial Lao town, very French in its appearance and at 5pm, still very hot. We were the last people to be dropped off and were pointed in the direction of a side street.

It seems this town has seen an upsurge in its tourist trade since being made a UNESCO heritage town. Every square inch seems to have been built on to provide more hotels. I counted at least eight small guest houses before we eventually reached ours - The Nacknoy Lanexang.

We were greeted in what has now become traditional style, cold towels and drinks being offered and then a briefing on what sights are on offer. We weren't all that bothered about tours to caves or waterfalls and the procession of monks at 6am was just a bit too early, and, how many more temples did we want to see? No, our plan was to chill and book a flight to Hanoi.

We checked out a nearby travel agent and discovered there was a flight out on the Saturday morning (19th March). We would book it the following morning. So, not venturing too far we found a restaurant called the Lao Blossom on Main Street where I ate amongst other things Buffalo Sausage. It was early to bed again in another very clean and comfortable room.

The next morning we went in search of a booking office for a £20 a head dinner cruise we had seen advertised in the travel agent. The map on the company flyer was very vague so we headed down to the Mekong promenade and started our exploration. 

Having been badgered by every boat and Tuk Tuk owner wanting to take us on an excursion we stopped for a coffee. Minding our own business the peace was shattered by our friends off the boat trip, Ted and Dianne. Ted shouting a loud hello, I mentioned to him he looked like he was out for a game of golf. The electric trolley they were being driven in was provided by their hotel but they were, in fact, looking for another one with a pool. 

Pleasantries over we set off to look for this elusive booking office. It turned out to be one man and an advertising board. He wrote down our names and told us to be back at 5pm.

Our plan was to head back for town, we used our now honed in sense of direction and found ourselves on a street that could easily have been mistaken for one out of France. It was tree lined with shutters on most properties. Art galleries, boutiques, coffee houses and restaurants dominated the frontage as monks mingled with the tourists with the odd temple here and there reminding you that yes, you were in SE Asia. We ate lovely French baguettes and fries in the Lao Blossom before that all important siesta.

We married up with the Nava of Mekong at 5pm, walked down another steep embankment and joined other tourists plus a group of South Koreans for our evening cruise. It was to say the least a great way to pass two hours at sunset.

All of us on board managed to get spectacular photos of the sun going down over the river, eat a very tasty Laos set meal and watched traditional dancing accompanied by two accomplished percussionists (aged about twelve). A perfect end to a day.

We finished the night off with drinks in the Indigo House, a boutique hotel on Main Street where at sunset you can ascend to the top floor in the lift to watch the sun go down over the river. It's situated outside the towns famous night market.

An early night beckoned again before an early start for the airport in the morning.

Our guest house

The French street

Just to remind us we were in Lao

You know you're getting old when the monks look this young

The Nava of Mekong

A spectacular sunset - so Apocalypse Now!

The house band.

Traditional Lao dancing.