Get on the bus to Hanoi, which takes us to the west of the island where we get on a small, slow, very cramped and extremely hot and humid boat to Haiphong. Once there we get another bus to Hanoi.
I'm offered about a million moto rides, which I decline until I have time to work out where I am, where I want to be, and how much I'm willing to pay to turn one into the other. I'm offered one more moto ride at an extortionate price, and decide to try a new way of haggling, something I'm going to call the "laugh in his face" method. It works, he more than halves his price, and I'm on my way to the old quarter.
Sadly Hanoi seems as much of a dump here as it did the other day when I passed through - the tourist zone is full of rip-off merchants and it's not exactly the most beautiful part of Vietnam. Still, it would be pretty dumb of me not to at least try and see the place, so I go for a walk round the lake, meeting a couple of Brit backpackers in the process.
In the evening I visit the Water Puppetry theatre which is bizarre, but very entertaining. The puppets are manipulated behind a screen, and they move around in 2 or 3 feet of water. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. After this I find a hostel with a decent bar, and get talking to two Irish girls who are just starting their trip. I arrange to meet them again tomorrow and head back to the hostel, preparing myself for my last proper day travelling.
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