First day in Vietnam

By the time I got on the plane to Hanoi, I was pretty worn out, and this may have helped calm my initial nerves about traveling. I'm not sure why I suddenly got nervous about this trip, but about 2 days ago, I was feeling pretty scared! Anyway, I got through immigration no problems, collected my bag intact, got money out of an ATM and a local SIM before locating a taxi and heading out of the airport.
By this time I had a cracking headache, overtired and probably dehydrated. It took about an hour to get to the Old Quarter through traffic. The taxi driver was excellent; insistent enough to weave through the buses, mopeds, motorbikes and bicycles, but not so much that you thought you were going to die. It was interesting traveling through the outskirts into the city, and probably the most amusing thing was seeing a small herd of cattle being moved along the busy highway in the opposite direction.
Our hotel - Hong Ngoc 3 on Hang Bac Street in the Old Quarter seems very good. It is locally owned, clean and rooms are quite big. I am sharing a room with a girl from Brazil, who happens to be studying english on the Gold Coast. In fact most of our group of 12 are Australian, with a few Brits thrown in for good measure. So far everyone seems really friendly. Our leader, Bon, is enthusiastic and doesnt come across as a scripted guide.
I haven't seen much of the place yet, as I just wasn't in a state to face the busy streets when I arrived and crashed into bed. After an hour's rest and a shower though, we headed around the corner for a delicious meal at the Handspan Restaurant. I had the grilled fish where you roll them up in rice paper yourself. We had a shot of the local rice wine to finish - they call it "fire water". It seemed extremely pure, and didn't have a nasty after taste. I assume it's an excellent way to prevent an stomach bug!
Tomorrow we have an early start for an overnight trip to Halong Bay. I was inspired by Romain's photos of his visit earlier this year, and I'm looking forward to kayaking and swimming in the South China Sea.