Woke up around 08:00, up to breakfast.
Weather today was a bit hotter and not raining, the sun was out.
Went looking for the Starbucks hoping to get a decent cup of coffee (by overseas standards), found it but the coffee was awful.
Song wanted to go back to the jewelry street so we wandered around and stumbled across it more by accident than design. I spotted a place selling fake watches so asked the price. The old guy in the shop told me the watches were owned by US military during the war, and had a US army mark on the strap. They looked completely genuine if you overlooked the fact that the war ended 50 years ago and the watches looked as if they were made last week. Plus I’m pretty sure the model wasn’t made until later. He wanted $860 USD so was trying to pass them off as genuine.
Saw an army surplus store, I asked if they had any camouflage jackets and he said yes but they couldn’t find them. Ah, the old ones are the best.
Carried on walking, eventually found the market so I sat down while Song went shopping.
Back to the hotel for a toilet stop then out to lunch at the place we’d had dinner the night before, and had the same thing.
Walked to a shopping mall, around the lake with more young women in traditional dress having their photos taken. We asked if this was a normal thing or a special occasion, turned out it’s for an upcoming holiday.
Stopped off at a coffee shop and had a couple of pastries then back to the hotel to cool down and watch TV before going out for dinner.
Went around and found a pho restaurant, I had chicken, Song had a combination. Both were ok, but actually not as good as what we get in Melbourne, although at only $6.50 for both we couldn’t complain about the price.
Song wanted to buy a small backpack to take home all the stuff we’d bought, mainly gifts for other people, so wandered around. We came across a street that was the busiest we’d seen, tons of people walking, tons sat on small stools and tables eating and traffic everywhere. It was unbelievable.
Kept going and I found a couple of places selling fake watches, this time there was no messing about whether they were fake, they were selling them for between $80 and $100 USD. You wouldn’t be able to tell they were fake if you didn’t examine them up close. I decided not to bother.
We went looking for a Catholic Church that was in the city, followed the map and turned a corner and there it was, a huge Cathedral with a small place in front. The place wasn’t big by European standards, but big for Hanoi. The cathedral was big, we went inside to look at the stained glass windows. It said no photos but other people were taking them so Song decided to as well. I walked away because I didn’t want to be struck by lightning or divine power or something but nothing happened. It was almost as if God didn’t care, or even as if he didn’t really exist.
Carried on walking, bought a bag then went back to the hotel and up to the rooftop bar for a free beer, then retired for the night.
So this was the last day of the holiday, tomorrow is travel to Singapore, staying overnight near the airport and then back home, so probably not much to write about.
