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As we had expected there was a dramatic change in pace as we arrived in Hanoi. The city is renowned for many tourist scams especially to catch those unaware fresh off the planes, with overcharging taxis taking you to the wrong hotels, lots of copycat hotels set up with the same name as reputable establishments and general skulduggery. We were quite happy to have arranged a hotel with an airport pick-up so we were greeted at the arrival gate and quickly whisked to a very nice hotel down a quiet alleyway in the old town.

We were keeping an eye on the volcano situation in Europe as the day of Steve's flight approached - the situation was not improving, and the airline announced the flight was cancelled. However over the next couple of days European airspace was opened up again, and Steve was able to get booked onto a flight around 10 days later than his original ticket. We were planning to leave Hanoi on the train and pick up Russian visas in Hong Kong, but we've had to change this slightly - we've got our fingers crossed that the Russian embassy here in Hanoi will grant the visas for us instead; the process is fairly bureaucratic, and useful information is not easy to come by.

Hanoi has the same motorbike madness as Saigon which makes walking around the narrow, busy streets of the old town quite trying at times. However, the climate is much cooler than we have been used to for the last 6 months with temperatures dropping below 30 degrees and noticeably lower humidity, which makes a very welcome change.

The old town is quite charming, bordered on one side by a large lake. The legacy of French colonial presence is apparent in places, including the impressive cathedral which is surrounded by a cafe-lined square. Sitting on chairs on the pavement sipping strong coffee watching the world go by is an enduring tradition, and small baguettes are sold on many street corners. We have also been enjoying the bia hoi which is fresh beer poured straight from the barrel and sold at very down-to-earth establishments for about 20p a glass.

After a few days getting our bearings in Hanoi, we took a sleeper train north-west towards the Chinese border to the old French hill station of Sapa. The town sits at about 1600m, and on clear days offers fantastic views across the valley to Fansipan - Vietnam's highest peak at 3143m (about twice the height of Ben Nevis). Sapa is, however, famous for being shrouded in mist most of the time. We arrived early in the morning, and sat on the rooftop terrace of our hotel for breakfast watching the clouds roll past offering only occasional glimpses of the surrounding hills.

After mild Hanoi, Sapa was colder still - this was probably the first time we'd experienced temperatures around 10 degrees since Nepal. We loved sleeping under a duvet and wrapping up in several layers of clothing for the first time in ages.

Sapa is an important market town for the many hill-tribe villages in the surrounding area which now rely heavily on tourism. Visitors cannot fail to notice the colourfully dressed H'mong and Red Dzao ladies who sell handicrafts, and have a very well practised patois "you buy from me... maybe later".

We woke up on our first full day there to clear skies and beautiful views across the valley from our bedroom window. After a hearty breakfast on the roof terrace, we headed down the valley to explore. The road down to the H'mong village of Cat Cat was steep and winding, but perfect for a gentle hike. The steep hillsides are covered in terraces which reminded us of Nepal, and it was interesting walking through the rural setting having spent a lot of time visiting cities recently. Along the way we encountered dozen of Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs and their very cute piglets. We've obviously not walked in the hills much since our big trek in Nepal, as we both had quite achy legs after only a few hours. A lot of tourists obviously don't make it all the way on their own steam; there were about a dozen men on motorbikes at the bottom of the hill offering lifts back to town for a fee.

It was a very pleasant and relaxing break in Sapa, at the end of which we got back on the sleeper train to Hanoi. We had a cabin all to ourselves (unless you count the handful of cockroaches who were unwelcome travel companions). We were woken by loud bangs on the door and the now familiar piped music which announces the trains arrival - it was not yet 6am. Hanoi was just waking up, and was pleasantly cool and quiet. We had an unhurried walk to the lake, and sat watching hundreds of the more senior citizens of the city doing their morning exercises - some more vigorous than others but all quite impressive and commendable.

We're hoping to get our visas sorted (we need to do China, Mongolia and Russia) in the next couple of days before Steve gets here so that we can relax and enjoy our delayed holiday together.

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