GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

It was a 10hr bus ride from Nanning to Hanoi, and as soon as we had crossed the border into Vietnam, it was clear that we were in a completely different country. The countryside was a gorgeous kaleidoscope of different greens and the people were smiling. 

We arrived at the only genuine hostel in Vietnam, the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel, and were immediately immersed back into the 'travellers' world. We spent a couple of nights eating and drinking with our new friends - it was great to be surrounded by people again, after the isolation of our travels in China - and we spent a day wandering through the manic, bustling streets of the city and risking our lives dodging the millions of mopeds. On our second day there, a group of us from the hostel decided to visit the snake farm on the outskirts of Hanoi, to sample the notorious snake dinner. It was certainly an experience, but not one that we would like to do again.....three snakes were killed in front of us by the waiter, who then put the still beating hearts into vodka shots. The 3 bravest (sickest?) of us downed them quickly and then we all had a shot of snake blood and vodka, to whet our appetites. The 6 course meal that was served up consisted entirely of dishes made with different parts of the snake - skin, bones, liver, meat etc...it all looked pretty good and didn't actually taste too bad, but after seeing the killing of the snakes none of us really had an appetite and we all left feeling a bit queasy!

Back in the hostel we went swiftly up to the roof-bar for some free beers and then all headed to see the famous local entertainment - the water puppets. Not understanding Vietnamese, we're not sure whether it was meant to be funny?!

The next day we headed off to Halong Bay for a 2 day cruise, organized by the hostel. From the moment we jumped onto the huge wooden junk boat, the party started. Ben went straight to the sound system and plugged in his ipod, and there it stayed for the rest of the cruise. The boat cruised around for an hour or so, giving us a chance to see the amazing scenery, and then we stopped to jump off the boat, have a swim (trying to stay out of the way of the enormous jellyfish) and do some kayaking into the water caves. Afterwards, the night started early (to a stunning sunset backdrop) and ended late - great food, great company and a fantastic location. More cruising the next day and then we headed back to Hanoi to catch our overnight bus down the coast to Hoi An.