The breakfast was big alright! - a baguette (or is it French roll?), 4 slices of ham, a sunny side up egg, a small bowl of sweet peas, french fries... i can hardly finish it. the coffee was really strong, wide eyes opened!! and also there goes my diet plan! hahaha. i'm sitting here thinking to myself what am i doing here having English or part French breakfast in Vietnam? i should be going out, have pho bo (beef noodles) by the roadside, fruit juice, half sit half squat instead... i think i will just do that from tomorrow onwards.
It is hard to start a conversation here with the locals, they are generally shy ppl, a bit cold, and don't speak that much of English too...
The plan after breakfast was walking all alone around Hoan Kiem Lake. I took my steps slowly, observing ppl and snapping photos. i've made a round surrounding the lake and it has been quite rewading. i've seen the red bridge, the temple although i didn't pay the 2000VND entrance fee, i think i'll just wait for my travel partner San to join me later. i also found out the location of Trang Luong Water Puppetry show locale, the way to Opera House, the Turtle Temple in the middle of the lake. Then i made a detour to the St. Joseph Cathedral, joined in the morning mass, some kinda ceremony was going on and the church was a fullhouse. i stood beside all vietnamese, listening to prayers and hymns sang in Vietnamese, it is really a weird and surreal feeling.... However, the church interior and exterior are really stunning! it lives up to its nickname as the little Dome in Vietnam. the glass painting depicting catholic (or christian?) story, the structure of the building is simply grand and cool. Around the cathedral, i've also found many restaurants that's worth exploring later, eg La Salsa and Moca Cafe. I will definitely return to have a meal here, especially Moca, heard so much about it. also saw the famous Bobby Chinn's restaurant, but i just think it is too pricey for me! :( Bunch of school boys and gals surrounded the church area, i'm not sure why, but their uniforms are just so... weird... mmm... okay maybe i'm just not quite used to them...
then again i made a round back to the Vietnam airline office where minibus can be taken to the airport for only USD2, that's probably a good option for me to go to airport when i want to go home.... hehehe.... poor mah... surprisingly the Old Quarter 36 streets and districts are not at all far from each other, and it's actually quite easy to navigate. i walked from 8.30-10.30am, my feet were a bit sore but can be tolerated. so i decided to visit the nearby Temple Le Guo Shi (or something like that, to be corrected when i return to m'sia later). it is small and nothing really to see. i then walked to Hang Gai to search for the fruit milkshake stall but to no avail. it should be there... but couldn't find... argh... i gave up...
About 11am, i went back to my room, took a rest, took a dump, wrote a bit journal, did whatever, and it's already 12pm. sigh time flies... without wasting time, i made my way to the famous grilled fish dish at Cha Ca La Vong. Cha Ca means grilled fish, and the street Cha Ca La Vong is named after the dish!!! so it must be good then. The famous one that recommended by everyone, lonely planet should be no. 14 on that street, but i supposed there are a lot of restaurant aka copycats that put up "14" sign to con ppl eventhough the shop is not located at no.14. everyone is to be warned, everything here can be copied in Vietnam, especially famous names... you will have tons of shop with the name Sinh Cafe, Hapro, Little Hanoi, Kangaroo cafe, Camellia hotel, Prince Hotel... even Cha Ca!!! unbelievable!!! bollocks! hahahaha...
