Hanoi is a city that I love to explore, I couldn't live there as the weather is too cold in winter too hot in summer and way too humid a lot of the time but as a place to wander and take photographs it's fantastic. Hanoi has a lot more of a traditional feel to it with a lot more activity on the streets, pagodas tucked in amongst ancient houses and is a fascinating labyrinth of alleys and lanewys.

I spent the morning walking to Long Bien bridge and taking in the views of the traffic and the wholesale market below. Then in the evening I headed to Ba Dinh Square where Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum dominates the space. I have been to Ba Dinh Square many times but I have never seen it at night and it was absolutely beautiful and serene with people exercising or strolling.

The following day I rode a motorbike out of Hanoi to Tan Hoa rice paper making village in Bac Ninh some 50 kms from the city. This small village is dedicated to producing rice paper and all over the village sheets of the stuff were drying in the sun on lattice frames. Apparently, in the past the forte of the village was making small coffins which were used for the second burial when the deceased is dug up from the first burial and the bones placed into a small casket and buried in the family tomb.

Hanoi has one big advantage over Saigon and that is it's relatively easy to leave the city and find interesting places, rural scenes, historical sites without having to travel too far.