Hanoi

We have now left Singapore and flown to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. We were met at the airport by our very helpful guide Hung. The first task was to pay for our visa, which proved difficult as payment was requested in US dollars cash only. After a bit of negotiation we managed to scrape together enough sterling and Singapore dollars to keep the official happy. So with a stamp in our passports we were into The Peoples Republic of Vietnam.

The second task was to get Vietnamese currency from an ATM, a withdrawl of 2 million dong takes some getting you head around, but this converts to only about £59!

We were then driven through Hanoi to our hotel in the old quarter. The roads in Hanoi are crazy with absolutely no rules, with cars motorbikes carts cycles and pedestrians all competing on equal terms. The junctions are just a free for all, it's amazing we didnt see any collisions. However we did see a dachshund riding pillion on a motorbike. No crash helmet of course.

Bizarrely this evening in the hotel was a christmas party for the local orphanage and a ceremonial switching on of the christmas lights. Hearing Jingle Bells sung in Vietnamese in temperatures in the high 20's was very strange.

Tomorrow our guide picks us up early for a tour of the city.