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Our visits to many countries seem to have corresponded with major public holidays and national celebrations. In general, this has been a happy coincidence as we have been able to join in the festivities; however, for organising travel and visas, the country-wide shut down can be a problem. The day that Steve arrived was the start of a long holiday weekend marking 35 years since 'liberation' or 'reunification' - the end of the American war. Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the airport to meet Steve as we wanted to get our Russian visa application in before the holidays began.

Our first trip to the Russian embassy was an interesting experience. On the way there our taxi driver managed to upset a bus driver and we got a bit of a surprise when we stopped at the next traffic lights, and the driver's door was pulled open from outside by the irate bus driver who was shouting and waving a length of metal piping. Thankfully the bus conductor intervened and managed to diffuse the situation, saving the very frightened taxi driver who was visibly relieved.

The embassy is a very large, grey concrete building and when we arrived we were pointed down a long alley with high concrete walls. Halfway down there was a door in the wall which lead through to a small yard and into the visa section which was a small room with a bullet-proof window, and nobody around. After a few minutes a very nice looking lady appeared behind the glass. We had been warned about the bureaucracy involved in the visa application process so had tried to ensure we had all the necessary documents. After studying our papers for a while and checking down a long printed list, she looked up and told us very calmly that the organisation who had sent us our letter of invitation was not authorised by the Russian Foreign Ministry and it therefore could not be accepted. This was an unexpected blow, and the office was about to close for several days over the holiday. We would have to try and get our papers in order and come back the following week, by when our application would be very urgent.

Slightly frustrated, we arrived back to the hotel to find Steve had arrived safely after a good journey. It was great to see him and to hear about his first impressions of the chaotic traffic and the high humidity. After a long journey, he was a little unsure about what time of day it was, but he managed to hit the ground running.

We were hoping to spend a fair bit of the time down in Halong Bay, but due to the Russian visa situation, we only had a window of a few days to make it down there. As such, we opted for a 3 day, 2 night tour organised by the hotel. This gave Steve a day in Hanoi to recover from the journey and allowed us all to enjoy the Liberation Day celebrations where we joined many locals at a bia hoi joint. Not long after we arrived, the neighbouring table entreated us to join in with their feasting by passing over a large plate of dried, smoked, shredded shrimp (which is a bit like chewing shoe leather soaked in fish sauce) and a massive 'Tom and Jerry' style chunk of bony fish (which was actually very tasty).

The tour started early the next morning with a 3 hour mini-bus ride to Halong City which has a commanding position overlooking the karsts sticking up from the ocean in Halong Bay. The bay is the top tourist destination in Vietnam and the port in Halong was teeming with wooden junks and the wharf was crowded. Our boat, the 'Dragon Pearl', was a relatively small three-storey junk with room for about 16 passengers. The bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, were surprisingly luxurious and the top deck of the boat had comfortable loungers perfect for gazing at the amazing scenery as we cruised amongst the nearly 2000 islands.

The armada of junks set sail from Halong bay and after an hour or so of cruising we moored off a group of islands to go kayaking around a floating fishing village. After a paddle around the area, we were taken on a tour of the Amazing Cave which is an impressive complex of three cavernous caves with an area of over 10,000sqm with large stalagtites and mites. On our return to the boat we had some time for jumping off the boat and swimming. The top deck must have been about 25ft above the water and it took a bit of psyching ourselves up before we all took the plunge. Just before we made the leap, a large jellyfish was spotted off the side of the boat. Once in the water, it was impossible to spot and we had to navigate our way back to the ladder via directions from above. It was probably the highest any of us had jumped from for quite some years but it was very fun and exhilarating despite the large amounts of sea water ingested involuntarily in the process.

After all the activities, it was a short, pleasant cruise in the evening sun to our mooring spot for the night. We had been expecting to be in a city of junks so were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves the only boat in a beautiful, peaceful cove. All of our meals on the tour were included and as we were keen to try some of the local fish and seafood we had not expressed any particular dietary requirements... however, none of us are the biggest fans of strong flavoured fish or seafood and our meals over the three days certainly tested our tolerance levels, most containing a high proportion of squid and various unidentifiable rubbery molluscs as well as a healthy dose of fish and bones.

After dinner a lamp was suspended off the front of the boat and we tried our hand at squid fishing with a couple of bamboo rods with luminescent lures. Watching the fish, including flying fish, circling around the light was quite mesmerising and the site of any approaching squid created quite a buzz of anticipation. Early efforts by most folk were fruitless though and it took skill and perseverance by Steve, our master fisherman, to hook the first catch. It took a few attempts with the squid nibbling at the lure but not quite taking the bait; when Steve jerked the line they would propel away in a mist of dark ink. Once on board, there was much excitement at the alien-like creature but we were unsure of what to do with it. Having heard stories of the vicious bites that these creatures can give, Steve reluctantly, but bravely, managed to unhook the squid and throw him back (much to the bemusement of the crew). Whilst fishing, we noticed some incredible bright blue flashes of phosphorescence on the surface when the water was disturbed; this formed the basis of the rest of our evening's entertainment as we tried to create the best displays with sprays of water and other liquids from the top deck. Our fellow passengers were mostly Canadian and a group of international students from Singapore and we spent a very enjoyable evening out in the bay.

We have read a bit about the problems of rubbish and pollution in the bay and when we woke up the next morning, our beautiful cove was rather sullied by a stream of detritus - something which we witnessed a distressing number of times throughout the tour. It is unclear whether the main cause of this is the large numbers of tourists boats, industrial shipping or floating fishing villages; but it certainly distracts from the undeniable beauty of the place, and seems likely to only get worse.

It was a short cruise to the north end of Cat Ba island, the biggest and most populated island in the chain. Here we picked up bikes for a ride into the nature park and jungle in the interior. The bikes were not in the best condition and our guide did warn us that we should probably walk down the hills (a warning that was not heeded in any way). The bikes did generally hold together for the 10km ride to a village where we had a walk in the jungle and through a cave (which was used to house over 200 villagers during the war but is now home to a collection of bats) before some more squid-dominated lunch. It was a hot, sunny day and the temptation of the cool water was too much for Steve who dived straight into the water on our return. After a short trip over to an island with a beach, we all joined in for a refreshing swim.

We ended the day with a cruise into the main town on Cat Ba island which took us past a huge, sprawling fishing town with hundreds of dwellings and a school floating on the water. Cat Ba town is a strip of hotels lined along the water-front rising ever higher. Our hotel at the end of the strip was one of the tallest but did afford great views of the bay and we had an enjoyable evening watching the sunset and the lights on all the floating restaurants, houses and boats in the bay.

The last day was just a straight cruise back to Halong City and back on the minibus to Hanoi. We really enjoyed Halong Bay, the activities and the dramatic scenery and, although we had enjoyed many fishy treats, we were very happy to be back in Hanoi and choosing our own fish-free fare for a change! However, we were very keen that Steve try one of the Hanoi specialities of Cha Ca, which is a little like a cross between a barbecue and a fondue, where a deep pan is put on a burner in the middle of the table, and the diners stir the frying marinated fish, spring onions and dill with their chopsticks. This is eaten with rice noodles and more herbs and spices. We had to have a few fish-free nights before we could face it, but we all enjoyed Cha Ca as one of our last meals in Hanoi.

The next few days involved a further three visits to the Russian embassy with varying degrees of progress, frustration and expense... but thankfully we did manage to obtain our Russian visa without which our plans for our journey home would have been in serious trouble.

Luckily, Hanoi is a very pleasant place to spend some time. Despite the heat and the humidity (and the Russian embassy) in the last couple of days which sapped a lot of energy, we made it out to enjoy the city and see some interesting places including the army museum which we visited on an afternoon which was so hot all of the staff were virtually clinging to the electric fans and looking as hot and bothered as the tourists.

An unusual Hanoi tradition which we also managed to sample is Water Puppet Theatre. This art form originated with performances in paddy fields, and attending a performance in Hanoi one evening was a really distinctive and entertaining experience. The stage consisted of a small pool of water with an ornate backdrop, and a small band sat off to the side and provided live accompaniment. The puppets appeared from behind bamboo screens at the back of the stage, and the human characters appeared to be knee-deep in the water, with others swimming, or rowing boats. There were also lots of fish and animals including the main ones in Vietnamese folklore such as the turtle, dragon, phoenix and crane. There were something like 17 short scenes played out, some with a very simple agrarian theme and others involving local legends such as the Restored Sword (which gives the nearby Hoan Kiem Lake it's name). It was technically very impressive, especially when the puppeteers emerged waist deep to take a bow at the end.

On the day we left we had an early start to get to the airport, leaving Steve to enjoy a relaxing last day of his holiday before catching his plane in the evening. It wasn't too hard to say goodbye when we'll see him again in only a few weeks. When we got to the airport, we had a fairly ridiculous start to the journey; our flight was a code-share and our e-tickets were issued by China Southern for a plane operated by Vietnam Airways. The check-in desk told us we'd have to go upstairs to the China Southern offices to get a paper ticket as they couldn't accept our electronic ones. All we found upstairs were a few doors with No Entry signs. After several journeys up and down the stairs with all of our bags, we discovered that the China Southern office was in fact down a corridor behind one of the No Entry doors, and that nobody was there anyway. Eventually they checked us in without paper tickets, and the rest of the journey was effortless.

It definitely feels like we are now beginning the journey home which is very exciting. It is a shame that we had to fly this first leg as we hoped to get the train all of the way - unlike most people, the effect of the Iceland volcano has been to make us fly more. We are now new arrivals in Beijing where it feels much cooler and where we are pleased to have a few days before getting on the train. It is fun to be in a new destination and we have been reflecting fondly on our long stint in South East Asia.

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