A blaze of colour greeted us when we visited the Quang Phu Cau incense village near Hanoi.
An array of red, yellow, green and purple clumps of sticks provide Instagramers with great photo opportunities.
Stepladders and scaffolding enable photographers and video makers to get an elevated view of subjects in walkways.
There was also a chance to see the process of making incense sticks, one by one through a little machine.
From there we travelled to an incense stick factory where the Sunday shift workers were grafting away on an industrial scale. They managed to look happy in their work as us gawping tourists poured in with camera phones raised. Wages paid here seem a pittance to us. But the workers get on with their jobs with a smile and a wave and earn everything they get.
Next on our agenda was a trip to a conical hat (non la) maker in Choung village.
Two ladies showed us the process of putting the ancient, iconic bamboo titfer together.
We also had the chance to iron some banana leaves, ready for a hat assembly that can last up to eight hours.
After that our tour bus navigated its way back through the maelstrom of Hanoi.
It is an amazing, awesome city, home to what seems like a continuous scooter grand prix chopping and changing course between big vans and buses.
It makes you wonder who runs this place, how do they run it, and will the chaos just continue ad infinitum?
Train St.
Back in the city, we accompanied a nice couple we befriended on the tour – Faith and Brandon – to world famous Train Street. Here, a spotter picks you up and takes you along a railway track flanked by bars and cafes a few feet from the track. You are then deposited at a bar, where a smiling host sits you down, you place your order and wait.
It doesn’t take long before a bell rings and the tourists grab their camera phones. With that, the impressive sight of a great diesel locomotive looms into view before it speeds towards you and rumbles by right in front of your nose.
You could say Train Street encapsulates Hanoi. Exhilarating, yes. Memorable, absolutely. A bit mad like the traffic yes, but still great.