We have decided to get our Vietnamese visas extended while we’re in Hanoi as our 30-day visas expire on 17th November. It’s going to take three days, so we will be here until at least Thursday. We decide to take the opportunity to do some research into our onward travel. We are planning to spend a few days at Halong Bay which reputedly equals the scenery in Guilin, and then do some trekking amongst the hill tribes around Sapa close to the Chinese border. Afterwards we will start to make our way down south. We discover that for a mere £25 each we can purchase open sleeper bus tickets which will allow us to travel to Saigon, stopping off at various points on the way, which sounds ideal. We will be break our journey at Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Darlat and stay at each for as long as we choose. So we spend the morning visiting travel agents to find out what sort of deals are available. We have an excellent lunch at 69 Bar-Restaurant located in a restored old Vietnamese house on Pho Ma May. We have just acquired a street copy of the Lonely Planet guide to Vietnam and we spend the rest of the afternoon making a start on its walking tour of the Old Quarter, beginning in the area devoted to shoe shops. It is impossible to buy any though, they don’t sell sizes big enough!