LittleSandyBeach

The bus journey from Vientiane to Hanoi was surprisingly pleasant. Taking 22 hours and 30 minutes however we made it to the border at 1am and had to wait until 7am for the border to open… When it did open let’s just say it was a free for all to get stamped out of Laos!

You then walk through to the Vietnam side of the border through no man’s land which was an interesting experience!

We first went to check out Hanoi Zoo which is in a city park with a massive lake so very scenic. It was much bigger than we thought and for 50,000 VND (£1.41) to enter, we thought it was amazing.

Just next to the zoo is a very large shopping centre called Lotte. A good place to cool down in the air-con and was extremely nice.

Hanoi has the most mopeds we have ever seen and is extremely busy. Walking down some of the roads and especially trying to cross them is interesting! You need about 10 pairs of eyes and the sound track to the city is ‘Beeep’!

We’ve had some great food here. Lots of Phở (noodle soup) with Quẩy to dip in (fried dough sticks) and also Bánh mì (Vietnamese filled baguettes). Also the coffee here is amazing, a lot stronger and sweeter than normal.

In the centre of Hanoi next to the Old Quarter is Hoàn Kiếm Lake which is also known as Sword Lake. It was home to Yangtze giant soft shell turtles which are critically endangered with only 6 remaining in the world!

An island on the lake houses the Ngoc Son Temple which you reach by crossing the famous red bridge, Thê Húc Bridge.

The temple is considered to be a symbol of traditional Vietnamese beliefs in Northern Vietnam. It has two specimens of the famous turtles which are preserved in climate controlled cases.

Today we went to the St. Joseph Cathedral which is a Catholic Cathedral built in Neo-Gothic style and completed in 1886. It was completed by the colonial government of French Indochina and is the oldest church in Hanoi.

Our next stop was then the Hoa Lo Prison which was used to detain many Vietnamese revolutionaries during the Indochina war and American pilots during the Vietnam war. It was very moving to see the original grounds and cells.

We have been surprised at how pretty the city is. There are tons of lights in the trees and bunting of the Vietnam flag along the streets.

There is so much to do and see here that we have extended our stay for an extra week. The hotel was kind enough to share some of the popular walking routes so we are definitely planning to take advantage of that. We will see how we manage as temperatures are to reach up to 35 degrees next week!