Glimpse of Vietnam - Hi Hanoi!

Our second week in Vietnam was spent in Hanoi, cited by Frommer's travel guide as one of the Top Destinations of 2010. Not much prepared on looking out for a hotel before leaving Saigon, that we hurriedly checked in a low budget hostel for backpackers in the Old Quarter. Unknowingly without a lift, ended up stucking our tounges out in exhaustion as we carried our luggages up to the 4th floor where our room was located. We checked out and changed hotel the morning after, got in Sunshine Palace 3 hotel (http://hanoisunshinehotel.com/) up until our last day of our stay in the Old Quarter. If you have more money to spare for hotel for about 30 USD per night stay, i rather choose here than the previous hostel we had, with all the comforts and very good buffet breakfast they provide.

Since its a business trip, we hadn't got much to go around. Most of the pictures are from my companion E with her very nice and so damn expensive (and heavy) SLR camera haha.Thanks!

We had our first dinner in a filthy looking Chinese restaurant in front of the hotel but nevertheless satisfied us with their grilled beef and fried rice combo.

Grilled beef with lots of onions and onion leeks, most of the diners have them with their own French bread. But since me and E are so dead tired and hungry from the day's work, we ordered rice, raising an eyebrow to a couple next to our table. Pakielam nila, tse!

A not so-good week of work was what he had in Hanoi, and I dont want to reminisce them again, but not of the bonding I had with E, with lots of worrysome moments but we managed to get through within the week. On our last night we walked around the Old Quarter, haggled with a fare from our hotel to ride on this Tuktuk.

About a 15 minute walk from our hotel was the Hoan Kiem Lake where the popular landmark of Hanoi was located - the Ngoc Son temple.

We got lost on our way back to the hotel, wandering around the Old Quarter for an hour, before finally found our route. For a relaxing savoring of our last night, we had their Vietnamese coffee and ordered them cold.

The morning after, with about a 4 more hours to spare before catching a flight back to Ho Chi Minh, we return to the lake park and took some more pictures.

A photo of a local woman still wearing their traditional conical hat. Old Quarter is a busy place of local stalls and restaurants. Most of the tourists visiting Hanoi stay in hotel and backpacker's hostels in this area.


Entrance to the Pagoda temple near the lake.

View of the Ngoc Son temple at the day.

Traffic is light on weekends, still mostly with motorbikes though, but i find it better using a bicycle like that of the lady in sraw hat like below.

I'll definitely go back to Hanoi if time and consequences allow to me, and I'll tag again E if you ask me for a companion. :)