[28.2.2012] Hanoi Day 1 Pt 2

So when we left off the other day, we had just checked in the hotel and made arrangements for the cruise on Ha Lon Bay.

So whats next for us to do? Well we decided to walk around Hanoi and see whats up.

We were given a map by the hotel and located some of the nearby attractions (involved alotttt of walking)

and decided to walk along to see the lake nearby. Along the way there are lots and lots of shops selling shirts and other  knock-off stuff.. But we just kept on walking.. I was eyeing the jackets but thought its not that bad... its cold but manageable..

The lake is called Hoan Kiem Lake and legend has it that 

"emperor Lê Lợi was boating on the lake when his magic sword, Heaven's Will, was grabbed by a turtle who quickly disappeared into the depths. All attempts to find either the sword or the turtle failed. Lợi concluded that the Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) had come to reclaim the sword that it had given Lợi some time earlier, during his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty. Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, it was formerly known as Luc Thuy meaning "Green Water"). The Turtle Tower (Thap Rùa) standing on a small island near the centre of lake is linked to the legend."

The travel mates being touristy and IN JACKETS!

So nearby the lake is the famous water puppet show. We decided to catch the show after we got back from the Ha Lon Bay cruise... The timings werent right when we were there.

Apparently Running Men from the show went there recently when they did their asian race.

Heres a picture of me. No jacket... Cool right? 

In the middle of the lake there was a temple which had some touristy things.. You have to pay to get in but I cant recall how much it was but it wasnt that much...

Hellow there...

After we visited the lake we decided to go walk around and have lunch.... The lunch was pretty 'meh'.. nothing to talk about as I didnt really feel like squatting down and having Pho and with all the halal issue I just ate something simple...

However.... After sitting down for lunch in the open air... and you sit and chat.. slowly the feeling of coldness started to creep in.. I was feeling like WHAT THE HELL ITS FREAKING COLD HERE... haha..

and being me.. I am HUGE for vietnam. hahaha finding something was difficult. So struggle struggle struggle I managed to find something for myself and despite it being totally un-planned,  I decided to go for it..

So we had decided to go visit uncle Ho Chi Min at his mausoleum.

We took a cab since it was kind of far from where we were and it dropped us across the square from where the mausoleum was.

It was closed by the time we arrived but we took some pics... 

Nearby was some of Ho Chi Minh's museum and then a single pillar pagoda was there too. The place had lots of honour guards in all their regallia and also some soldiers practising their marches.

Now i feel warm...

The museum

We didnt feel like going to a museum about a guy and just took some pics outside.. We then proceeded to the Hanoi Military Museum and decided to see what was there.

It costs about 30,000 dong (about RM 5) to enter and about another 20,000 dong (about RM 3.5) to bring in a camera.. But when we entered the guy didnt really care about the camera fees so.. I took pics but was slightly worried about it.. haha.. I dont understand the language and all...

What to expect in the museums? Well as I recalled from my Ho Chi Minh trip, there will always always always be a lot of propaganda about the war and how they won and how badly they were treated and such. So... please expect a lot of it.

Me outside of Malaysian Embassador's residence which we saw along the way. 

The citadel inside the compound of the Military Museum

After the museum stint, we decided to get some coffee before calling it quits and go back and rest. I couldnt resist having the chocalate brownies (they give you hot melted choc syrup to pour on top of it) and some of the coffee in vietnam.(You should always always always try the coffee in vietnam)

So basically thats it for the day... after we got back to the room, we went off to dreamland and slept.... later on we walked around the old quarter again and found some dinner and packed for Day 2! The Ha Lon Bay trip!