TheBigTrip: Bia Hoi Hanoi

We have actually already spent a day in Hanoi before the start of our trip into NW Vietnam but we knew that we'd have more time after that trip so figured we'd wait until our second time in Hanoi before blogging about it.

On our first time in Hanoi, it was the motorbikes that hit us (if you're not lucky they literally do hit you). They're everywhere. Millions of them. Crossing the road takes on a whole new dimension. Apparently the best way to do this is slowly, allowing the drivers time to judge your path and avoid you - yeah... good luck with that!

We also partook of the bloody cheep beer. Bia Hoi. At 4000 dong a glass (about 12p) it is the world's cheapest beer. You simply pull up a little plastic chair made for a child, order, drink and at the end of the night they expect you to remember how many you've had (the seating arrangements are very fluid so goodness knows how they keep track of this). Either way you end up drunk for next to nothing. Hooray.

But this time in Hanoi, my best friend, Issy, shows up to join our trip for 10 days. Not only was it fantastic to see her. But she showed up with Veuve Cliquot. And Lindt Balls. And Cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. It took me about 20 minutes to polish off an entire block of bree. You can imagine my euphoria! Thanks Issy!!!

We spent her first day with us wandering the streets of Hanoi. We went to the lake and saw the petrified turtle (apparently there are turtles in the lake - massive ones). We saw all the wedding photos being taken - we decided that they must have been a catalogue shoot as there were make up artists and everything, but I'm told no, they're actually weddings. And of course we ended up in a bar where Issy shouted us to cocktails (how nice to not drink beer two days in a row!). And after the bar came the bia hoi again. This time we met a lovely chap called Nev who got hideously drunk with us and helped us polish of the last of our cheese.