6.15am - Hanoi

Hi folks, this is Jaymz.

Jojo got up at 5.15am this morning and wouldn't go back to sleep so I volunteered to get up early and take him for a walk. What a sight Hanoi is at 5.30 in the morning! Everyone, everywhere (and i mean EVERYONE) is exercising around Hoan Kiem Lake - on their own or in massive groups listening to terrible Vengaboys-style techno. Young people also play badminton, which Jojo and I watched for a little while before chasing a bananaman trying to buy a banana off him. I have a feeling he wasn't selling them because Vietnamese seriously can smell a sale a mile off and he just rode off despite my banana-related pleas.

We're going to let Kythera and Ophelia sleep in until 7am before going in and jumping on the bed to get them up for breakfast. I might challenge a hotel staff member to a game of FIFA on these computers.

Last night we watched a Water Puppet Theatre show. For the kids, it's absolutely terrific - Ophelia was spellbound (Jojo was fast asleep). For the adults, it gets a bit boring after about 10 minutes. It's cool to work out how they do it though. I was obsessed with watching this woman play a zither/theremin thing. She had a whammy bar on it which she didn't just bang down and up, but almost caressed it to the tune of the music.

Traffic is freaking insane here. There is literally a million scooters going past you at any given moment and in order to cross the road, you just have to close your eyes and walk forward with purposeful strides and hope for the best - hard when you have a pram! :)

Sorry about the lack of photos, we haven't hooked up the cameras just yet. I'll get onto that a bit later. Today we are being met by the Hanoi Kids and heading off on a private tour to Sa Pa tonight. Will try to write some more this afternoon.

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