It’s been a series of false starts since we arrived in Vietnam, and our arrival in Hanoi hasn’t done much to buck that trend; after recovering our from our stomach upsets, we’ve now both managed to come down with heavy colds, so our activities here have been curtailed somewhat. However, whilst not as intrepid as we might’ve liked, we’ve been managing to make it out of the hotel and onto the streets to explore.

We’ve spent most of our time in Hanoi retreading familiar ground, returning to the old quarter for shopping, revisiting the Temple of Literature and stopping by Fanny’s for an ice-cream by the Hoan Kiem Lake. As we were so taken by them on our last visit here, we re-visited the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre at Cuc Phong National Park to check in on the Langurs and Gibbons under their protection.

We did manage to take in some new sights as well, visiting the Fine Arts Museum on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the country’s revered revolutionary figure rests embalmed and on display for all perpetuity. Though memorialised in such grandeur, I can’t help feeling sorry for poor Uncle Ho - despite all the wide-sweeping change and stability he brought to Vietnam, his dying wish was that he would be cremated; I don’t think this is quite what he in mind.

Since our arrival in Hanoi, the weather has been permanently overcast with just a touch of drizzle, but we’ve never felt the need to alter our plans because of it; unlike back home, local people seem to be completely unpeturbed by it, still eating outside at pho stands and generally going about their business unaffected by the general sogginess - it’s just something that happens.

Next stop; Hue.