Hanoi: Day 2

Today, we started our day with a delicious breakfast of avocado and scrambled eggs in a French baguette along with a tomato, watermelon, and some Vietnamese coffee - all served daily for free by our hostel.

Then, we headed out to walk over to Hoan Kiem Lake. Honestly, both the lake and the red bridge crossing over it are not very impressive, but the surrounding park is very lively and full of artists, souvenir vendors, and families. This is a nice place to take a walk around and catch a breeze, which is rare in muggy Vietnam.

Next, we took a Grab (Uber of Southeast Asia) to the Temple of Literature.

Tip: Slip the ticket vendor any form of ID (I used my driver’s license since I didn’t have my Penn Student ID on me) to get a student ticket, which is 50% of the regular price.

The Temple of Literature is a picturesque attraction but can be walked through pretty quickly. We donned robes to walk through the actual temple at the end of the courtyard.

---

Next, we walked to the One Pillar Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and the Presidential Palace. This was once again a quick walkthrough, as there is not much to see except the structures themselves. It was interesting to watch fully clothed guards (in 95 degree weather) strictly keep tourists from getting anywhere close to the mausoleum, so we snapped a couple pictures and kept moving.

On our way back to our hostel, we walked by the Thang Long Citadel, but didn’t think it was worth going inside and were exhausted from the heat.

After stopping for some yummy Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich with pate, vegetables, BBQ pork, and coconut sauce) and some egg coffee, we relaxed for a bit inside our hostel and watched the World Cup.

Vietnam is famous for its cheap massages, so we decided to spend our afternoon getting one. After scouring TripAdvisor for reviews, we ended up at Wonderfoot Massage. Despite explaining that we wanted the cheapest option, our masseuses would try to give us the more premium treatments during the massage. I stopped my massage twice in the middle to remind my masseuse that I was not going to pay more for extra treatments, but the language barrier really made this tough.

Tip: It's a given to be careful of scams in Vietnam, but I realized this applies even to simple things such as massages.

We refused to pay more than the treatment we had asked for, much to the disappointment of the owners. While this was a good massage, I would caution against most massage parlors to any tourists who do not speak Vietnamese.

Hungry once again, my friend and I decided to find some bun cha, and were delighted to find a hole in the wall place that sold just that. This was our favorite meal to date, with the beef being extremely tender, tasty broth, rice noodles, and vegetables.

Overall, Hanoi is an extremely busy city, with motorcycles constantly zooming by and a hustle and bustle that never ceases. The attractions are not too exciting and can easily be finished in a few hours. The rest of your day can be spent eating the cheap, delicious food or engaging in activities such as cooking classes or massages.