Tubing and Ha na na na noi (Hanoi)

So we arrived in Vang Vieng after a few hours on the bus from Vientiane, getting ready for a few days of tubing. After checking into our hotel, the night started quietly with everyone informing us most people were in fact asleep of resting from a day of tubing. However, after visiting the infamous "Q bar" we then went to the "Bucket Bar", deciding to start how we meant to go on. The next day was our first day of tubing, and we thought it best to get tubes. For a quick run down of what tubing is, just type in tubing into Youtube. While being labeled as "tubing virgins" on our first day by a guy who had been there over 2 weeks and being set upon by every bar tender, the day was in fact awesome. However, most of the bars were located within 30 metres of each other, and so for the remaining days we ironically didn't bother with the tubes while...tubing. So, we mostly soaked up the sun at the river and chilled at the bars, while also heading out a couple of nights. After a while we slowly started getting to know most regular people around there, and while it was all great fun, it started to take a toll on us as Grieve had to take a day off while Walmo and I got more and more tired. As well as this, it seems there was a flip flop thief since Walmo's had been nicked 2 days in a row, even after he bought a new pair. We HAD to leave. So, we booked a bus to Hanoi, a mighty 24 hour journey apparently. The few days in Vang Vieng had turned into 6 days. To be fair this was probably one of the last places we would get a lot of sun! We finally got the bus on the Thursday, after a late night all round. This however proved wise as the overall journey turned out to be nearly 30 hours, and with plenty of time to do nothing we could catch up on the sleep we all needed. Still, the beds we were in were not suited for anyone over 5ft 8. After getting to Hanoi, we elected to go to the Drift Hostel, meant have been voted one of the best in the world last year, and after an attempted scam by the bus company we eventually go to our current destination. So, we checked into our dorm, had a look around, and yesterday we went to see the Ho Chi Minh Museum as well as the "B 52" site. Having met a couple of guys at the hostel, we are all going to go to Halong Bay in the north of Vietnam, where we will be trekking and kyacking through the jungle and rivers on the Monday (tomorrow).