Hanoi. The French sat in this town for a while, and made coffee houses and wide roads. Hanoi is so much calmer than Ho Chi Minh. Perhaps because it isnt as industrialised, and perhaps because it has a lake in the middle of the city, calming the residents by it's very presence.

Took a trip to Ha Long bay, which is a series of limestone islets on the coastline. Stunning scenery and scorching temperatures. Yet again, annoying unrelenting people trying to sell stuff. One woman tried to sell me a comb, and was not happy with a no, No or even a NO. She attempted to show how useful the comb would be to a bald man by combing my arm hair and repeating the essential "One Dollar?" with soul destroying persistence.

- posted by Daniel @ Thursday, July 01, 2004