As I feared, I am really bad at keeping up with writing a blog! So much for “I’ll just write snippets regularly, no need for big essays”; even that isn’t working. Ah well, I do what I can. But here is a snippet: as well as my good intentions regarding keeping this diary, I also keep meaning to keep a record of the weather in Hanoi. Questions about the weather pop up on Travelfish regularly and I’d like to work off a more reliable basis than my memory when responding. This subject came to mind a couple of days ago as the weather in Hanoi has changed from warm and sunny to cold, wet and grey and it reminded me that exactly this time last year the same thing happened; friends came to visit around now and had to put up with grotty weather, despite our previous promises of warmth and sunshine. The year before? Who knows. But if anyone asks from now on my advice will be to stick to September and October and avoid late November — it’s...