Hanoi Vietnam

After a short flight from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) we arrive in Hanoi with a population of close to 7 million.  We head straight for our hotel, The Rising Dragon Palace in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.  We love the Old Quarter, think French colonial meets Old China, add in the hustle and bustle of traditional street trading in the narrow streets and alleyways.  What a buzz, a great place to explore and people watch while sitting at a pavement cafe sipping coffee.  Luckily we can get western style coffee here, lets just say that Vietnamese coffee is an acquired taste and unfortunately one which I’m never likely to acquire in my lifetime!!!  The weather’s supposed to be cooler up North, the first 2 days are really warm and then some drizzle comes in and it gets much cooler – is this a sign of things to come?  We visit a few museums, the best of which is the Womens Museum which had some fascinating stories of how women coped though the wars.