So today was our own day to explore so about 10 of us headed out into the depths of Hanoi. Our first stop was Hổ Hoàn Kiểm Lake which was situated literally in the middle of Hanoi and in the centre there was a bridge leading a little temple. So some compulsory pics were taken and on we went to the next stop which was the Hoa Lo Prison. It was set up by the French when they colonised Vietnam and placed anyone in it that had a problem with that. Was quite an eye opening place to visit actually. Souvenirs purchased by myself (Laura) and we walked to the Literature Temple which was a series of beautiful temples with garden areas. As we entered it was clear that there was a graduation happening and there were about 100 Vietnamese pupils dressed to the nines in their graduation gowns. As we left the temple we witnessed a horrific accident and it made you realise how different the road rules our compare to England. Hit and runs are common out here and happen on a daily basis. Sightseeing complete and it was time for some retail therapy so we headed to what we thought was a mall however on arrival it was evident that it was far from that. It was actually a local mall which contained loads of food and clothes stalls, it was on a whole knew level. Eventually we found the mall and did a bit of window shopping and then headed home to nap before our farewell dinner. We were sadly saying goodbye to 5 people tonight and sadly one of them was the one and only Tommy K who Matt had made really good friends with. However we also welcomed two new comers and the only way to do this is style was to hit the town after dinner and have an epic night and that is exactly what we did.
