Vietnam

Well at 9pm on Monday night there was a knock on the door of our hotel room and a man came in with a brief case !! He took out two flight tickets for a plane to Hanoi and we handed over the cash. All a bit "spy novel" but we got tickets out of Beijing. On Tuesday we went to visit the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs both were worth a visit, but unfortunately it was very misty at the Wall and we didn't see a great deal, however it was good to walk along the wall to say that weve done it.

On Wednesday we went to the Temple of Heaven Park which was amazing, and it was a very sunny day which made it extra nice. We have had some really good food whilst in Beijing, but on Wednesday night we found the ultimate. It was a restaurant with a sort of puppet cabaret. The food was brill and we watched a traditional Chinese puppet show, with charachters such as Monkey, Piggy and Tripitaka, Anyone who remembers the cult series on TV in the early eighties will know the story !!!

Our flight with China Southern airways was late but a pretty good flight, the leg room on their planes is about twice as much as BA. We arrived in Hanoi at 11pm very tired, and our room wasn't ready which was a bit annoying, however we slept in an annex room and moved into our room the next day. We are staying in a quaint Hotel in the old quarter, we have a lovely room with a balcony overlooking the street, all a bit French colonial. The food here in Hanoi is amazing it makes chinese food seem almost bland !!!.

We are staying in Hanoi until Monday before we go for a cruise to Halong Bay, will catch up when we get back.

Love to all