On our first full day in Vietnam we were taken around the city of Hanoi under the guidance of Nam, our guide in Hanoi. Unfortunately many of the places we were supposed to see were closed for Monday! Nevertheless we enjoyed visiting Van Mieu – The Temple of Literature – akin to a university founded around 1000AD. Inside were temples to Confuciousas well as a former director, Chu Van An.

Following a visit to the grusome old Hanoi jail known as the Hanoi Hilton by captive US airmen including John McCain, we had a great 8 course lunch at a very pleasant garden restaurant. We then saw Ho Tay lake with the city’s oldest temple, the Tran Quoc Pagoda.

The city’s oldest market, Dong Xuan, was next with us struggling to make our way passed the crowded market stalls selling mainly food of all descriptions.

We the had a break whilst we watched a performance of the Thang Long Water puppet Theatre, followed by a rickshaw ride around the crowded streets of the Old Quarter weaving in and out of evening peak hour scooter traffic.

A pic that I included shows how large pieces of building material are carted around on two wheels – amazing!

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