Oceanshaft

Day 6 was spent riding in the train, sleeping and observing the people around. The scenery consisted mostly of padi fields; later on limestone outcroppings started to appear, prodding outwards from the fields around them.

It was raining in Ha Noi when I arrived.

Today, woke up early and walked round Hoan Kiem Lake, saw the One-Pillar Pagoda, the outside of Ho Chi Minh's Masoleum, the Temple of Literature, and wandered around the Old Quarter. Traffic here is not as chaotic as Sai Gon, but the streets are narrower and feel older. At least, in the Old Quarter they do. Everything here seems to cost more than in Sai Gon - am I being overcharged? There's a real problem with copycat businesses here, worse than in Sai Gon.

The lake was beautiful in the morning. It's getting hot, I shall retreat to some air-conditioned place soon.