Day 3 - Hanoi

Well, our first full day in Vietnam began bright and early with my alarm clock that seemed to find a way to turn itself on even without power at 5:30am. Must be time for tai chi down by the lake =] After several failed attempts to get back to sleep, we finally gave in and got up to face the day. Definitely a wise decision - what a beautiful day! After a delicious breakfast here at the hotel, we headed out into the bright sunshine to park ourselves lakeside and watch the world go by. After a few false starts caused by the wandering "shopper's eye" (a common ailment to both Tracey and I) we made it to the Ngoc Son Temple, a gorgeous temple in the middle of the Hoan Kiem Lake, connected to land by a long red bridge (which we later found out lights up at night - beautiful!)


Tracey and Milla outside the temple


The bridge at night

After the temple (which was gorgeous inside but somewhat overwhelming with so many golden statues, tucked away shrines, and strong incense) we headed back to the mainland for, what else? more shopping! It's not that I want to be a rabid consumer, it's just hard to resist when, for the first time in my life, I can actually afford the things I really like. But even more than that is the culture that takes place all around you while you shop, people chatting, little children playing, merchants hawking their wares, it's just so busy and alive, it's a joy to watch! So this time out, we found ourselves in the bag district (after having stumbled across the shoe district, the jewellery district, the clothes district, and the plastic toys imported from China district) which suited both Tracey and myself just fine.


Milla enjoying the shoe district

Finally, after copious amounts of $$ had somehow made their way very definitely out of my wallet, we headed towards Vietnam Airlines to wade into the world of Vietnamese bureaucracy, which we were surprisingly adept at - three tickets to the beach region of Nha Trang are now securely in my possession. Sadly, we're no longer going to Hoi An (no flights available) but hey, more days in Hanoi can only be a good thing!

On our way back to the hotel, we happily stumbled across some "official" culture - a statue of someone who lived from 974-1028 (or some ridiculously long time ago like that). Admittedly, the cultural aspects would probably have more effect if we know who the statue was, but still a statue's a statue right?



Upon arriving back at the hotel we were taken up to our new room which they're allowing us to have for two extra days as well - thank you Salute Hotel! - and our second winds suddenly blew in like gale-force hurricanes. The room was gorgeous! Two large rooms, a balcony, a separate living area and a spa. We could have died happy then and there. I have yet to try the spa but so far it definitely has Milla's seal of approval.

After a scrub up and a distracted game of cards (rummy when you're tired is never a good idea) we headed out to see the water puppets - a puppet show which tells the story of life in rural Vietnam - it absolutely blew me away! I understood none of the words but somehow the visual image of figurines attached to long sticks moving about on the water while a small band and choir perform live music is something that goes beyond language. We went primarily for Milla but I enjoyed the show so much I wanted to go in again directly after. Sadly, it was sold out... ah well, next time we're in town right?