Vietnam and especially Hanoi

I went there last November. Hanoi is a big city so the tourists do not overwhelm the place. Hue is fairly touristy. The old part has been pretty much destroyed but the various wars not just the American bombing, but they are rebuilding it. Halong Bay is all tourist but still worth a visit just to sit on the boat chatting and watching the sun go down. Also Hoi An is really pretty if you go there at full moon when the lanterns are lit and candles floating on the harbour. I went for two months. I had the first three nights hotel booked in Hanoi and after that I just made it up as I went along. I found going to the touristy places useful as from there you could arrange transport to the more out of the way places. I also met lots of other people travelling around and we could discus which places we liked and how to get to them.

Thank you I am also going on the tripadvisor forum for Hanoi.

I think Vietnam my favourite country. The people, smile talk to you and a generally very clean. The Northern part is poorer than the south but still clean and tidy.. Don't bother with Dong just have lots of small clean US dollars.
A rickshaw ride around Hanoi is a great way to see the sights at a slow pace.

The travel agent has arranged some bits of the itinerary which worry me- the night train back from Sapa arriving about 5am then going to a day room in a pre booked hotel followed by a three hour car drive to Halong bay and two days on a Chinese junk. Is this a bit hectic Brenda and did you go to Sapa?

Things can go wrong when travelling, so as I had couple of months I always tried to leave a plenty of time between trips. I would have spent a night in Hanoi before going to Halong Bay just to rest as I don't sleep well on those trains.
I was coming back from Halong Bay, in the back of a mini bus. When there was a bump and then a scrapping noise. I looked out of the window and saw the back wheel disappearing across the paddy fields. Fortunately they managed to find us another bus so only a couple of hours delay.

I was in Hanoi earlier this year. I booked a tour with Hanoi Kids. It was great. It is free but you are expected to pay for the students lunch,cabs etc. we had two student guides who spoke excellent English and they were able to show us parts of their city we would never have found. I really recommend them.