At long last, a sleep in! We woke just after eight and grabbed some breakfast.

As we wanted to go on the walking tour of the local villages I asked the young girl, Thao, sitting at the front desk when it left. She told me she would get changed and we would go.

A couple of minutes later Justine joined us and we walked into the village. At one of the stilt houses, Thao stopped and explained she’d lived there for a few years as her parents were off on business. She then asked up to come inside, which we did.

The main floor of the stilt house is one large open room, which has thin bamboo flooring over slats close together. Justine mentioned she thought she’d fall through.

The house’s owner gave us some tea—I drank it, Justine and Thao did not—which was a little cold and quite bitter. We chatted for a while and the women gossiped in Vietnamese for a bit.

Eventually we left. Like all the villagers, they had local handicrafts on display so we bought Justine a cheap scarf. Wandering through the village and back to the hotel we were surprised at the lack of other tourists.

After checking out and eating lunch, which was nice though the meat overcooked, we both wandered through the village again. Lots of rice being dried, a lot of small puppies and chickens but few cats. On our way back to the hotel we spotted dozens of tiny crickets.

Our bus was a lot larger than the previous day, as a yoga retreat from Ha Noi just finished. Back to the city took 4 and a half hours and because the bus took such a strange route it was another hour until we were back at the hotel.

We wandered the city a bit and bought a couple of souvenirs. Dinner was at “Little Hanoi Cafe” and it was terrible.

Close to our hotel we decided to take a “cyclo”. He wanted 50,000 dong! I suggested 10,000. He declined so we started walking. A few metres later he agreed to take 10,000. I gave him 15,000 because, I don’t know, I felt like it.

Off to Beijing tomorrow.

Photos taken today: 101
Photos taken to date: 2714

A long day today. We woke at a reasonable time in order to make the pilgramage to see “Uncle Ho”.

The walk to his mausoleum was eye-opening. Although Ha Noi feels like Paris, with it’s tree-lined wide streets, it feels unique as well.

When finally we made it to the public square where we were headed, we noticed uniformed guards swarming all over. I gestured to one, then another trying to have them show me the way, they were useless. Using our phrasebook I tried to find out how to get in. That didn’t work either.

After wrong turns number almost in the dozens we entered the complex. It was no easier to navigate. We and numerous other non-tour visitors tried to figure out how to enter. Instead we ended up following a large group to see where they went. They went to the mausoleum! But it was closed for maintenance until after we leave the country. Bugger.

The complex offers more to see so we still saw Ho Chi Minh’s multiple houses, and also the famous “One-Pillar Pagoda” and the “Stilt House”.

We bought some bean curd sweets flavoured with lotus flowers, almost buying cigarettes by mistake. I had an ice cream which tasted like a biscuit. Justine had an ice green tea with ants on the lid.

A bit annoyed, we left for the Temple of Literature.

Crossing the street in Ha Noi is an experience. We’ve done it in Paris, Rome and Cambodia, but here is another league altogether. Traffic whizzes by at insane speeds and is clustered so tightly they’re almost touching. The few cars that are on the roads are constantly using the horn. To cross, one has to turn off their brain, but keep instinct on. You walk out, and watch as traffic envelops you. Watching others, it’s like watching a raging river washing around a rock.

The Temple of Literature is decidedly Chinese in design, tranquil and lifted our spirits a great deal.

Lunch was at “KOTO”, a Jamie Oliver-style restaurant which aids disadvantaged kids. The food was OK—definitely Vietnamese—but the place feels a bit overpriced. Compared to Australia it’s still a steal.

From here, we walked to the Hoa Lo Prison (aka “Hanoi Hilton”), via a number of insanely busy back streets. Half of the time we walked on the road as the skinny paths are filled by shops or parked motorbikes. Having hundreds of vehicles loses it’s impact eventually and you become numb to it.

The prison was built in French Colonial times and used up to and including the Vietnam War (called the American War here). Although the conditions displayed were atrocious, the whole place feels like Vietnamese propaganda.

Leaving the prison we were treated to more propaganda in the form of a tiny van with massive speakers.

More back streets lead us to the Ha Noi Cathedral, which looks like a plain (i.e. no carved decorations) Notre Dame, except it’s filthy. Bit of a letdown.

Sinc e our hotel was nearby we rested for a few moments before venturing into the Old Quarter. Unlike the wide open French Quarter, here it’s narrow houses and streets that rule. The same traffic as elsewhere is squished in here and is even more insane.

Walking in virtually the middle of the street we ended up at Bach Ma temple, the oldest in Ha Noi. Quite pretty but undergoing some renovation. Of note were cans of soft drink left as offerings.

Down a nearby alley is a man who carves custom stamps. We sat in his tiny shop and I ordered a few custom ones. Our phrasebook was amazing here but when the guy replied with streams of Vietnamese I had to hope we were on the same wavelength.

Still in the Old Quarter, we visited a famous restored house—“87 Ma May”—which is about the size of a 2-bedroom flat and in the 19th century housed five families!

We bought tickets for a Water Puppet show and checked out the Ngoc San Temple on the lake, but it was closed.

Dinner was at “iBox”, which despite the name is a funky bar/café with large lounge seats. I had a seafood hot pot slash fried rice. They wouldn’t accept a slightly torn 100,000 dong note. Dessert was at “Fanny”, it was crap.

Later, we saw the Water Puppet theatre. It’s both creepy and hilarious. We couldn’t stop laughing at the silliness of the whole thing but most of the audience just looked bored.

A bamboo sheet hides the performers who wiggle the puppets with their slasher movie eyes and grins. There are also dragons and “spit” fireworks from underwater. Cool but short lived.

Early to bed, as we’re off to Ha Long Bay tomorrow.

Photos taken today: 527
Photos taken to date: 1740