VIETNAM - Hanoi - Part 1

So a quick flight up north to the capital wasn’t that bad. But boy was it colddddd!!! I hoped on the local bus to the city center where my hostel was. Felt pretty badass being able to figure out the local bus network already to be honest. I got dropped off and took a motor bike ride the rest of the way to the hostel and my face was frozen by the end of it. The hostel was the best one yet! The roof top cafe was so cool and it overlooked the old cathedral. I decided to use the rest of the day to walk around the famous Hoan Kiem lake where the Ngoc Son Temple lays on a small island in the center. It is also called the Temple of Jade Mountain. Legend has it this lake is where a giant turtle swims with a sword on its back. After that I went to go find some street grub and I stumble upon a secret roof top cafe hidden in a dark alley that happen to over look the entire lake! Inside were a bunch of young adults smoking some joints and eating fried spring rolls. So I grab a chair and ordered some rolls myself. And the sweet and sour sauce they gave me was so good I literally drank it. After that I wanted to check out the huge city market which was very large and crowded and to be honest horrible. But I treated myself to some fried donuts on a street vendors cart which were over priced but really really good. I had a seasame one, spicy pork one, and a glazed pork one. Sweet but savory? Not sure but still enjoyed it. After that I went to a roof top cafe and enjoyed the view of the sun setting around the lake and then the night life come alive with the lake temple all lit up. I walked back to the hostel and had some really really good Pho, best one yet so far in Vietnam. And my hostel was so cool, can’t get over it. Would have enjoyed the free beer but my stomachs still was hurtin.