Mrs S and I were in Hanoi last month. Had been before so wanted to try something a little different and we decided to take a cooking course at Hanoi Cooking Centre. Good fun, easy to arrange ourselves - no guide needed.

We also did a night out in Halong Bay - was supposed to be 2, but got cut short by an incoming typhoon. We were actually a little disappointed by Halong Bay. We went reasonably high-end, but it still felt like a tourist factory, and the level of garbage in the bay is appalling. Our kayak trip involved playing dodge-the-plastic-bag etc.