Happy Christmas Vietnam....

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The most striking thing about Hanoi is the sheer number of mopeds and motorcycles that swarm through the streets. It makes crossing the road an interesting challenge, we've found the best way is to drink a bia hoi (the worlds cheapest beer) close your eyes and run!

We've been staying in the Old Quarter which is a labyrinth of winding streets each of which have their own theme and sell merchandise accordingly. So you have button street, sweets street, sunglasses street and socks and pants street.

Its also been a good place to be for Christmas as there are decorations and Santa Claus outfits seem to be popular. It's a bit surreal seeing so many Father Christmas' on bikes with crash helmets over the traditional red hat! There is also a huge medieval style cathedral which has a spectacular giant nativity scene outside and most of the cafes and bars play the usual christmas songs so we still can't get away from Cliff Richard. Overall there is a really good festive buzz.

Hanoi is the eternal resting place for the much loved and respected Hoi Chi Minh. His embalmed corpse lies in a Soviet style imposing mausaleum which allows mourners to file past and pay their respects. The area also contains his humble house on stilts which he lived in and a slightly abstract museum which told his story and the communist messages he led his country to revloution with.

The centre of Hanoi is built around Hoan Kiem Lake which contains a temple with an embalmed gigantic tortoise who saved the city from Chinese (or so legend has it) The lake is an amazing place to be early in the morning as the pavements come to life with badminton courts, aerobics classes and yoga. They also play a great game with a kickable shuttlecock which you play volleyball style in teams over a net. Sarah bought me one for Christmas and I realised the game is much harder than it looks.

We decided to spend Christmas on a boat trip to Halong Bay. This is a natural masterpiece of over 3000 tiny islands all jutting out of the emerald waters. Our junk cruised through the islands which offered spectacular views as we took in caves, coves and grottos.

We spent Christmas Eve night on a boat with a great group of Australians, Canadians and British. The Vietnamise hosts went to a great effort to make the night feel special as we drank wine and ate freshly caught and grilled prawns. The full moon lit up the evening sky as did the fireworks in the distance, it was a peaceful and fun way to spend Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day started with a beautiful view outside our cabin window which we were then hastily encouraged to view at even closer quarters with an early morning kayak through the caves. This was followed by a trip to the 'Amazing Caves' where each rock formation seemed to have a different mythical story behind them. After sailing through the seas a bit more we arrived at our own private beach for the night. It was a stunning location although it didn't really feel like Christmas Day and we both enjoyed phoning home and speaking to our families. We missed our home cooked roast turkey and stuffing, pulling crackers, playing games and Audrey's letter! However we did enjoy our seafood dinner and the company of a really nice Australian family who adopted us for the day!

We went to sleep and woke up to the sound of the ocean before getting back on board and cruising back to the harbour.

The weather hasn't been as hot as we are accustomed to and its even rained a couple of times so we are heading to central Vietnam and Saigon to celebrate new year.

Wishing you all a fantastic 2008.

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