Day 23: Thu 21 Nov - Hanoi

-
18-27 deg C, a little windy so it was cooler today, especially around the lake
Walk: 12km (G); 6km (W)

We slept in a bit this morning which was a nice change. After a hearty breakfast, we retreated to our room to clean a few items and do an interim pack. It was then off to the Hanoi Opera House for a visit.  Unfortunately, not much of it can be seen as they are setting up for a youth concert/festival on 24 Nov. We walked around the side and back and took a few photos, but the most interesting sight was two tortoises that were wandering the back street, together with a dog and their owner. The funny little dog was sort of playing with the tortoises! 

We wandered some more and found a few other things to photograph before bumping into Glen and Carmel. We all sat on the edge of the lake for about 10 minutes before making our way to Maccas for a pre-arranged mornos meet. The coffee was good, as was the banana muffin Wendy had.

Glen and Carmel then took us to see The Note Coffee building. The coffee must be good, as the queue was out the door and along the footpath. Or maybe it was just the ability to leave a note once you've ordered your coffee that was the attraction?

Back into 'tourist trap' street to buy a few gifts then home via CircleK for drinking water. After a while in the room, Greg developed cabin fever and went out for another walk with Bob to find lunch - Phở or pho - a popular Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat – usually beef, sometimes chicken. Even Wendy likes it.

A little rest was had after lunch, then Greg went out again. He and Bob did a bit of retail therapy, which was very tiring, but successful. Wendy tidied up some loose ends. We decided to dine at Joseph Restaurant at our hotel. Greg had stir-fried rice with seafood, and Wendy had spaghetti carbonara. Both meals were substantial and tasty. Greg went for a walk with Bob after dinner for another gift purchase. 

And so ends our last night in Vietnam.




Outside the Hanoi Stock Exchange

Hanoi Opera House



Photo courtesy of Bing.com


The tortoises, they moved pretty quickly

Opulence on steroids



No explanation - just a sculpture in a park


No explanation

Mosaic outside a ceramics shop

On the footpath

The lake today - surf was almost up

Pretty flowers around the lake

Coffee & pastries served in a warm café known for colourful, customer-written notes lining the walls.

Greg's lunch

Hanoi Old Quarter

A cute little laneway leading to a restaurant








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 14: Tue 12 Nov - Hoi An to Hue

-
Image
25-27 deg C Ride: 0km "Transfer beyond Danang to take on Hai Van Pass and climb 500 metres over 10 kms. After lunch, turn off the main highway and take a coastal side road for 44 km almost all the way to our destination. Energetic riders will make it all the way into Hue. Climb the Hai Van Pass, ride along the peninsula to Hue. Overnight in Hue. Hotel: Duy Tan Hotel. Cycle: 60km+" We were at breakfast early than usual as we had a 7:30am start. We were supposed to ride away from the hotel for 20km, however, it was still raining quite heavily, so we opted for the bus. We arrived at Danang Beach, and five brave souls rode away about 30 minutes later; they were keen to ride the Hai Van Pass. Alas, the rain gods were not listening, and about 7km later the riders had to stop and take shelter in a coffee shop. By this time, however, the bus had gone straight past them as the driver did not know they had stopped. We did a u-turn about 10km up the road and caught up with the riders, b...
Read more

Day 9: Thu 7 Nov - Nha Trang

-
Image
24 - 28deg Walk: 8km "A day with boat trip to islands. Experience the coast of Nha Trang aboard a boat as we set out in the morning, for our first stop at the aquarium. We then head out to Hon Mun Island where we have the chance for swimming and snorkelling in the crystal clear waters. From here we continue to Hon Tam Island where you have the choice of relaxing on the beach or for the energetic – there is a choice of water sports. Our lunch stop is at the fishing village of Lang Chai where we have time to explore before boarding our boat back to Nha Trang harbor. Overnight in Nha Trang. Cycle: 0km." Unfortunately Wendy was not up to getting out of bed today due to a rather nasty lurgy. We're hoping that a day of complete rest will help her recover. After breakfast the remaining nine met in the foyer to decide if the weather was good enough for a boat trip. We decided to take the chance, which turned out to be correct. So it was onto the bus for a short ride to the harbou...
Read more

Day 6: Mon 4 Nov - Ho Chi Minh City

-
Image
30-39 (feels like) deg C Ride: 19km "After breakfast, transfer out of the bustling city Ho Chi Minh to Tan Phu Trung village; ride through rubber plantation to Cuchi tunnels site and visit the most famous tunnels in the world, dug by Vietnamese during American war. Overnight in Saigon. Cycle: 25km." We set off from the hotel at 8am, heading for the Cu Chi Tunnels. We stopped about an hour out of the city and the bikes were waiting for us opposite a Vietnamese roadside coffee shop. After getting re-acquainted with the bikes, we headed over to the cafe for a comfort stop and an iced coffee that was strong and delicious. We finally hopped on the bikes and rode away. About 10km up the road we stopped for a drinks and snack break; hardly earned it.  9km later we arrived at Cu Chi Tunnels, parked the bikes, had another cool drink then headed into the tunnel complex. First up was a 20min film about the Vietnam war and how the VC used their ingenuity to overcome the superior technolo...
Read more