Vietnam 2006 Part 2 : Streets of Hanoi

Day 2(Sun) : Around Hanoi

A New Day
Woke up on Sunday to light filtering in from the window. It was a new day and we were raring to start exploring Hanoi. But before that, we just stood out at the balcony to take in the fresh morning air, listening to sounds from the bustling city below and enjoying the sights of the locals going about their business.

After freshening up, we moved downstairs to have breakfast. We had a few things lined up for the day - a few chores to complete, a few decisions to make and a number of places of interest to visit.
Rather than bore you with a detailed account of every single concrete monument that I visited and every interesting sight that caught my attention, here is the story told from the lens of my camera.

Sightseeing around the city
Scenery around Hoan Kiem Lake ...

View of Ngoc So'n Temple from the river bank

The inaccessible Tortoise Tower

A boat on the lake

Ngoc So’n Temple ...

A pavilion in Ngoc So'n Temple

In front of the temple

The Streets ...

Motorcyles rule the streets of Hanoi

Shophouses

St.Joseph Cathedral ...

Worshipers leaving the Cathedral after Sunday morning mass

Pho - 2nd Breakfast ...

Pho Bo (Beef).

Temple of Literature ...

Courtyard outside temple

Temple corridors

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum ...

The Mausoleum was closed. It closes before noon.

Lunch ...

The fate of man's best friend - served cold. Lost my apetite after this starter.

Norman tasting the intestine-like piece. He was the only one working on the plate after we decided that we had enough.

Army Museum ...

The guard tower outside the museum.

Train Tracks ...

Train tracks running along the back alley

French Opera House ...

Looking grand and magnificent at night A singing performance was on that night.

Ciao Café ...

After dinner. We had our new hats on. Bought mine for 40,000D

Chores Completed
1) Booking a Ha Long Bay tour
The hotel had given us their sales pitch during breakfast. We were presented with a few packages and had later on decided on the most expensive package(US$45). It was a 2 day 1 night tour inclusive of two-way bus transport to and from Ha Long City, a English speaking tour guide, tour and overnight stay on a houseboat(with sails), room with attached toilet on boat, kayaking and big meals. More on this in the next post.

2) Planning for Sa Pa

We were offered a US$85, 4 night 3 day trip to Sa Pa by the hotel, that includes 2 nights on the train, a night in a hotel and possibly a night in a village. But after checking out the train ticket(212,000 Dong or $US13.30) to Sa Pa, we decided to travel on our own. We purchased the train tickets to Lao Cai, soft sleepers of four in a bunk (perfect for a company of four). The train leaves on the same day we return from Sa Pa, at 9:30pm.