Hanoi - Vietnam

We headed back to Hanoi from Halong Bay after our night on the boat stopping by a ceramic factory on the way. Hard to believe, but all of those ceramic pots etc that you see around with the blue and white are individually hand painted and made. We got to have a little practice but you all know that both of us are artistically challenged so the end result was not pretty. Got back into Hanoi and had a delicious Vietnam lunch at a little cafe called Cafe 252 and then spent the afternoon at the ethnology museum before heading out for dinner at Little Hanoi in the Old Quarter. We also headed to a little theatre in the Old Quarter to watch a water puppets show (very interesting) and then out to an Australian owned bar called "Le Pub". Hanoi is a massive city and the number of motorbikes on the roads is phenomenal - you just cannot believe your eyes. There appear to be less road rules here than there are in Thailand and everyone just drives around the streets tooting their horns (as if to say - I am here, watch out) and weaving in between each other. There is no stopping at pedestrian crossing - the bikes and cars just weave around the people crossing! We were definitely not game enough to ride a motorbike during the day, but after a few drinks we all jumped on the back of bikes (three to a bike - eek) and cruised back to our hotel. A couple of the intrepid tour leaders then took a few of us around the corner to a small bar for another beer and some snacks. Apparently it is law that all of the bars close by 11.30pm and as it was closer to midnight, every so often the lights in the bar would go out and we would sit in silence until the police, looking for payments from the offending bars in exchange for no legal action to be taken, had gone past and the coast was clear. Amazing. We felt very naughty! An early morning and we headed out to the mussoleum to sight President Ho Chi Minh's body in its tomb. There were tens of guards all around the tomb, which was massive, each armed with a rifle and bayonet to guard the body of this much loved president and to ensure that the viewers behaved themselves. We even got in trouble for talking in the hallways! We had lunch at KOTO (Know One Teach One), a small restaurant, run and owned by an Australian, as a teaching facility for kids that would otherwise be on the streets. The kids are taught the ins and outs of running a restaurant, cooking, waitressing and managing the front of the restaurant etc and then are armed with these skills to teach others and also get fulltime jobs around Hanoi. The food was magnificent - some great Western foods! - and the staff were absolutely gorgeous with their perfect english ("May I take your menu please") and their huge effort to get things right. We spent the afternoon on cyclodes (little seats on the front of bicycles) around the Old Quarter doing some shopping. The Old Quarter is split up into streets that are named after the type of stores that are found on that street - ie. Silk Street, Silver Street etc. We then headed off for Hue, which is halfway down the coast of Vietnam, on the overnight train last night which is where we are now. Hope everyone is well!