The Botanical Gardens in Hanoi are an excellent way to take a break from the onslaught of the surrounding city streets and it is one of the very few green open spaces that Hanoi has. We visited at 6.30 in the morning when it was already busy with hundreds of people taking part in everything from Tai Chi through to badminton where the ‘net’ was little more than a string tied between two trees, to aerobics, dancing ( ballroom and Latin American) and shuttlecock – a game much like badminton except that the shuttlecock is three times the usual size is kept aloft by feet not racquets!