The traffic drove me nuts and sometimes I just didn't want to step out of the hostel. May De Ville is perfect, there's a room for pool, another for movie and an affordable restaurant. It kept me in for 4 movies! I was put in the hostel room at the highest level 9th storey, with a few long-termed occupants. One of them, a Singaporean uncle, he was a bit too chatty, a little weird yet harmless but he snored!! A friendly American old man and a New Yorker who was teaching English in Hanoi. I wonder if this Japanese girl stalked me! LOL. Kidding. But she ended up at my hostel, after I told her where I was staying. So she got put in the same room as me, I didn't mind since we could go out together despite the communication barrier. She and the Singaporean uncle seemed to have a mutual dislike for each other as they both were talking bad of each other. What a joke!
That day after check-in, I went for a quick bite at Countryside restuarant recommended by the Belgian couple I met earlier. I didn't manage to get my perfect fresh prawn springrolls, apparently the fried ones are everywhere. Maybe it's not a norm in Northern Vietnam?? They did good cheap crepe with ice cream though. The rest of the day, I just lazed in the hostel watching movies (One Night Stand, parts of Black Swan and most parts of 72 hours) and having dinner at the restaurant. They do really good carbonara pasta :)
The following day, I decided to venture out with the Japanese. She's quiet, polite but has a quirky temper (I saw it when she was cursing the Singaporean uncle), quite a character. We had breakfast, then off to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is open daily till 11am, so get there early. There was tight security and a long queue but it was very smooth and orderly. It was cold, dim and very secure, and there his body laid there peacefully under the glow.
We skipped the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Residential Palace, and went to the One Pillar Pagoda which the Japanese was fascinated with. A wee little temple sitting on a pillar, crowded with tourists. I paid my respects, took some pictures and overheard a guide explaining that people came here to pray for fertility. We stopped for a cake and coffee on our way back. The Japanese being very budget conscious would order only a drink or dessert whenever I ate. Sometimes for dinner, she would just buy a 7000 dong bun. Along the way, we chanced upon the Citadel and Flag Tower of Hanoi. I love the yellow and green of Citadel, and it was very peaceful and tourist-free.
It was a long walk back. Then it was movie time for me... I watched Hunger Game with a Singaporean girl, Hui, who managed to get a DVD off the street. By the time it finished, I was starving. We went out to hunt for the famous Bún chả but failed, so we settled for a nice posh dinner at Little Hanoi near the hostel. After the dinner, I stayed up for another movie, Letters to Juliet! Lovely one. This Russian guy whom had chatted me up a few times joined me, but I rejected his over-friendliness and he left (oops). The next morning, I bumped into Hui again at breakfast, I bid farewell to her as I left for the airport. I decided to try my luck again to find Bún chả , but the infamous shop wasn't opened till 10am... What luck! But on my way to the airport shuttle, I found a stall!! I bought it and had it at the airport but it didn't do my tummy any good :(
My flight back was horrible sitting in front of loud misbehaving Vietnamese kids. Thank God I could change seats and found my peace and quiet. I was really glad to be home, away all the chaos in Hanoi.
p.s: In 2010 the citadel was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi". (Quoted from Wiki)
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