9/4/16 Sat: Back to Especen Hotel at 5+am, and I was very tired. Think we slpt for a while before gg out for breakfast at Dac Kim, 5mins away whr thr was Bun Cha (grilled pork and noodle), kinda similar to五香it looks. Ordered Nem Cua (fried rolls) too!
Met this American guy who was teaching in Hanoi. Oh well it was too oily for me, and needless to say, we had quite a bit of leftovers. Aft breakfast, we cabbed over to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the final resting place of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Leader Ho Chi Minh, whom many called dearly as "Uncle Ho", in Hanoi. *The last leader I went to pay respect to was Mao Ze Dong I think.*
We had to queue to put our bags and cameras in two different places due to elevated security. Then, we queued with lots of locals and foreigners for an hr, waiting for our turn to go in.
Had iced Viet coffee in a cafe cos the weather was hot... thick and yummy! We went to find One Pilar Pagoda (一柱寺) next.
We bought some souvenirs at the roadside stalls. We then walked some 20mins to the Temple of Literature, whr I got really lethargic. And it doesn't help with the big crowd either. Some students were taking their grad shot thr too. Costed us VND30,000 per pax to go inside.
The ones below are doctors' stelae set up to honour the talents and encourage the study of contemporary. Works of literature were engraved on these stelae to praise the merit of the Kings and cite the reason for holding Royal exams. Names of successful candites were thr too. The stelae of doctor laureates were placed on tortoise shells, as they are long life animals, which signify everlasting respect to the talent.
Walked into the temple thr too and made a small sum of donation.
I guess I was too tired to walk on, and went to KOTO, a training sch and restaurant for disadvantaged kids, to eat and rest. 3 of us had lunch, but I don't think I had much appetite, but liked the shrimps though lol.
Can't rmb what our initial plan was, but I told them I had to cab back to slp cos I was feeling so unwell. LL and Jess were understanding and accompanied me back. I knocked out for a few hours, and woke up on time cos YB's dad wanted to meet us for dinner. He was in Hanoi visiting his old friends and colleagues from Tiger Beer. His friend Mr Tu drove us to Quan An Ngon, kinda a famous Viet food place for local delicacies! Uncle's treat thanks! *I was alrdy feeling much better aft the nap!*
Got to know Bich Du Nguyen from thr too. 3 of us took a cab to Dong Xuan Weekend Night Market which Mr Tu helped us communicate with the driver. Long stretch selling food, toys, shoes, accessories etc, but we were too full for even snacks lol. There was a street performance too.
Decided we shld cross over the road to see Hoan Kiem Lake's night scenery as recommended by YB's dad. Man the traffic was crazy packed. *Risked my life to snap a photo neh.*
Used my selfie stick to take wefies! Legend has it that Kim Quy (Golden tortoise deity) appeared to claim back Le Loi's sword after his victory over invaders and while he was boating on a lake in Hanoi, hence the name Hoan Kiem Lake (还剑湖). We went over to the bridge's side and saw Ngoc Son temple, but it was closed for the day alrdy. We strolled along the roadside, and saw some locals dancing to their music, and many couples by the lake too.
Dunno why but we waited until the third or fourth driver whom was then willing to drive us back to Tho Xuong area at 9+pm... mayb cos they dun wanna pass the crazy crowd, or it was too near and they won't earn much? We wouldn't want to be stranded in Old Quarter for the night leh.
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