Vientiane to Hanoi

Wednesday 23rd February

After a hearty breakfast we were driven to Wattay airport, only a quarter of an hour or so from the centre. There we caught a Lao Air turboprop to Hanoi, crossing hundreds of miles of jungle covered mountains with frequent clouds of smoke haze from slash and burn agriculture. No sign of soil erosion though.

At Hanoi airport we were met by a driver who took us the 35km to the Lakeside Hotel in the centre of the old town. Beside the new highway were endless peasants in conical straw hats tending strips of rice paddy, a sort of rural Lowry scene.

We walked around the lake in the middle of the old town, withdrew two million Dong from an ATM ( All bearing Ho Chi Minh's head), then ventured a kilometre or so eastwards to the Quin An Ngon restaurant on Phan Boi Chau.

This was a frenetically busy canvas covered courtyard filled with bench seats and lined with smoking cooking pots. The food was magnificent. Thanks to Em for recommending it and to Christine for having the courage to cross the innumerable roads to get there ( There are two million motorbikes in Hanoi and we think most were driving along our route.)