Saturday - Old Hanoi

After a largely uneventful transit day flying from Da Nang to Hanoi, today after breakfast we set out for a walking tour of Hanoi's old quarter.

After the quiet of Hoi An and Hue, we were straight back into the hustle and bustle of Vietnam, though Hanoi is noticeably less mental than Saigon, and a fir dew degrees cooler as well, so was a much nicer place to wander round.

We started at Hoan Kiem lake, where we walked over the Huc Bridge to the Ngoc Son temple. We then walked through the narrow streets of the old town, passing the Memorial House (an old Chinese merchant's house), all manner of shops and markets, a preserved gate to the old city walls and St. Josephs cathedral, before finishing up with a drink and slice of carrot cake overlooking the lake for lunch.


After lunch we went to see a performance at the traditional water puppet theatre, before heading back to the hotel to prepare for dinner and more fresh beer.

Tomorrow we leave for a three day trip into Halong Bay, which promises to be the highlight of the Vietnam bit of our trip for both of us !!