101 Challenges:

Location: Hanoi - Vietnam

Still in Hanoi – the capital city of the wondrous and manic Vietnam. We managed to find a cheap little pad in the city centre and the room – for less than £2 each a night - is actually pleasantly nice.

This Vietnamese city has the most manic street traffic we’ve ever seen. There must be over a trillion (slight exaggeration) mopeds, at least 251,006 tuc-tucs and so far, we’ve counted 72 cars (and we’re still counting!)

Crossing the road is a life-or-death gamble. Apparently (so we’ve been told by some random idiots) all you have to do is walk straight across the road – making eye contact with anyone who’s fleeing towards you on a mechanical mode of transport. This glare should result in them swerving to avoid you. Fun.

Today, Lindsay is opting to leave the hustle and bustle of city life due to still not feeling too good after whatever he came down with in Laos. Searching for train or bus tickets to take him to Danang – where (according to the Lonely Planet) tranquil beaches await his now milky white and prickly body.

Lee’s decided to give the city a little longer and absorb its chaotic traffic and towering buildings for an extra day or so. He’s now counted up to 76 cars – 18 of them being red. He likes red.

Surprisingly, Lindsay shared a room last night… with a gorgeous stunner… Ally. Fortunately for him (and Ally who turned out to be an English male) they never pulled each other and so, the quest for an opposite sexual mate continues.

We’re still travelling with Cat, Nic, Steph, and Jenna - the English girls we met on the way to Laos and now, Lindsay’s potential future partner, Ally. Lee’s staying with them for another night in Hanoi which will allow him to see the prisoner of war (P.O.W – we love Batman noises) jail where the Americans were detained and tortured during the Vietnam War, or the American War as it’s known here.

He’ll then join his little white bro in Danang or Hoi An (further southwards down the eastern Vietnam coast) in two days - hoping that Lindsay doesn’t get a better colour than him. This is fearfully likely though, as it’s been overcast and relatively cool in Hanoi since arrival.

To describe Hanoi – Lee would say it’s a great little ole city. Lindsay would say it’s smoggy. That’s it. He doesn’t care to expand on this. He just wants out.

With a train booked for 7pm, Lindsay’s all packed and ready to go. Jumping on a motorbike taxi at 6:40pm proves that preparation isn’t really our strong point and with literally seconds to spare, he boards the train – ready to kick back, relax and enjoy the 16 hour journey to tanville.

Bring on the sun.