On our third day in Hanoi, we walked some more...

By this time we have seen most of the Old Quarter, so we weren't in that much of a hurry to go out and continue our walks. We knew that there was more to see in Hanoi, but decided to stay within the vicinity as it was our first visit to Vietnam. Thought it was best for us to be conservative as we had a flight to catch the day after...



After having another hearty breakfast at our hotel, we proceeded to explore the other side of town. The following are more snapshots of the soi's in the Old Quarter.






































Again we went to visit St. Joseph's Cathedral in the Old Quarter. We wanted to go inside but it was closed that day so we just explored its perimeter.





































Next, we visited Hoan Kiem Lake once more. We only went here briefly the day before and thought we could now take the time to explore the museum inside. This lake is also called "The Lake of the Returned Sword". It is the subject of one of the most popular legends in Hanoi.


























































The lake is also formerly known as "Luc Thuy" meaning "Green Water". It smelled funky too! ;)
























We purchased tickets to cross the bridge so we could enter the Turtle Museum and Ngoc Son Temple, which is located at the Northern part of Hoan Kiem Lake.


















But wait!!! We must be lucky today as we chanced upon some baby turtles while crossing the bridge. It is unknown how many of them still survive in the lake, as they are deemed already endangered.
































Inside, we saw the Hu Guom tortoise. It was HUUUUGE!




















And further on, incense smoke was billowing inside and outside the Ngoc Son temple. We didn't stay long inside.




















































The very picturesque bridge on Hoan Kiem Lake:































This is the Turtle Tower or "Thap Rua", which is in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake.


























































Then it was time for lunch... We were still craving for some comfort food, so we stopped at Al Fresco's...


















These are probably the yummiest burgers in town. We ordered our own burger and realized we must have ordered too much seeing that one serving could actually feed both of us.



















There were crayons on the table and giant sheets of paper were used as table covers. So D proceeded to draw his own Hanoi masterpiece :)
































It was more beautiful than the paintings we purchased!!! I promised to get them framed when we go back home to the Philippines.


















By late afternoon we continued our exploration. Another fact that we noticed in Hanoi was that establishments were built on smaller expanses of land, thus making the buildings narrow and high, just like this one:
























One of my favorite shots in the Old Quarter -- a balloon vendor on the way to the town center...


































It was time to end the night, so we sat down in the middle of all beautiful chaos that is Hanoi...























and ordered a cup of Vietnamese coffee...

























Then said goodnight and goodbye, till next time!

















Chúc ngủ ngon!