Happy in Hanoi.

Goodbye galoshes.

We arrived in Hanoi on Christmas Eve feeling grateful for the dry weather. The temperature was a bit chilly but the sun was out and shining. It turns out that we picked a pretty great hotel. The room was a good size but felt cozy, the bed was large and comfortable, and the DVD player and computer didn’t hurt either. The only weird feature was the glass wall separating the bathroom from the rest of the room. Decorative etchings served to provide a little privacy, but it wasn’t much. Did I mention the toilet and the computer were right next to each other? If one person was on the computer and the other person was on the toilet, you’d be facing each other with only a slight blur of glass for separation. Thank goodness no one got the traveler’s d.

Moving on.

After a little rest we ventured out to Hoan Kiem Lake and visited Ngoc Son Temple. It’s not obvious from these photos but the temple is on an island in the lake. Visitors reach the temple by crossing a bright red bridge.

First and last time I was asked for a photo by a stranger.

After the temple, Mike and the Lonely Planet led us on a walking tour throughout town. It was fairly fast-paced for the most part so I took most of my photos from the hip and on the move. A few still managed to turn out.