Hanoi

Hanoi doesn't have pavements: it has motorcycle parking zones which fill the space between the shops and the road. The tourist must dice with death on the latter to get anywhere, dodging bikes carrying fridges, flowers, saucepans, bricks, goldfish, mops, woven baskets, vegetables and entire families. In Vietnam anything can be carried by motorcycle and in the morning rush hour a tide of colourful bikes surges through the intersections, engines spluttering and drivers honking.

Stuart gives me a short tour on the back of his bike. As he wobbles and swerves through the intersections and we brush toes with the crowd of other bikers, he points out that the shops are located by trade, and as he navigates the crazy traffic I spot party decoration street, bamboo ladder street, catering equipment street, rolled up stuff street, packaged coffee street, wedding invitation street and wine and biscuits street.

This is definately the most mental city I've been to so far. The roads meander in random directions. Electrical wires are tangled in clumps around poles. There are hundreds of 'Pho' and 'Com' shops which clutter the pavements with low plastic stalls and clouds of meaty smoke. There are ladies in conical hats carrying fresh pineapple on shoulder-suspended baskets. There are cafes selling tasty locally brewed beer.

Stu does a lap of the enourmous West lake and then takes me to one of his favourite coffee shops. Locals sit on stalls chatting over low marble-topped tables as the smell of roasted beans wafts through the air. We have great fun chucking sunflower seeds on the floor and sipping the smooth local brew.

It's not the prettiest city in Asia. It's not the most interesting and the people aren't the friendliest. The pollution leaves a greasy layer of dirt on my face that I can feel when I hop off the bike. But it feels very genuine. It's not a town set up and sanitised for tourists, it's a town set up and maintained for the Vietnamese. This in itself is a refreshing experience for a major town on the tourist trail.