I woke up with the best intentions of following the guided walking tour, but after making it one step out of the hostel I decided that the hangover had defeated me once again and I went back to bed! Eventually I made it out, the weather was gorgeous - so hot and sunny and suddenly I remembered I was in Vietnam! I decided to follow the walking tour myself after having been told it wasn't worth having the guide in any case. I walked down the old quarter and around the entity of the Hoan Kiem lake, passing the water temple on the way which literally sits in the middle of the city on the lake. I walked through the streets and took in the culture, passing landmarks and feeling happy and touristy. For lunch I tried the Vietnamese baguette "Bahn" which was absolutely incredible!

After bumping into Natalie we spent the rest of the day chilling and went up to the roof with a bunch of people, lay on bean bags and watched some movies, chatting and relaxing which was so nice.

Natalie and I went for dinner at a little street food restaurant with no menu, plastic tables and chairs and just two dishes to offer. We had Beef Fried Noodle which was the best meal I have had so far. It was so delicious! Vietnamese food is great. It was nice seeing how lively the streets of Hanoi are at night - with a different vibe to the day time and street food restaurants absolutely packed full with young Vietnamese locals! I had a few beers back at the hostel but didn't go out and got an early ish night in preparation for leaving for castaways the following morning.