We enjoyed the feel of Hanoi quite a lot, if not the sales tactics of the locals. As aficionados of alleyways Hanoi was our paradise, with little streets teeming with life fronted by tall skinny houses, french villas, intriguing passageways leading to courtyards and other mysterious spaces. Shops and restaurants occupied the most minute spaces – including corridor wide spaces that barely left any space to walk through, and street vendors and motos filled any remaining free space.

After two months however, the constant harrassment by touts, shopkeepers and motorbike drivers had taken its toll and we reached our limit of ‘you buy, you buy, you buy from me’ about half a day before we left. We are now chilling out in Kuala Lumpur before our final leg into London tomorrow.