The non-secret diary of Dennis Thompson aged exactly 39 1/4, it was the day of the equinox and I had a lie in until 7, then got ready and went to get a banh my for breakfast but I couldn't find the place as I hadn't added it to my map. After a bit of walking I did find it and got an egg sandwich and a pate sandwich and ate the egg one. I went a different way to the Chinese embassy and managed not to pass any banks as a result. I wanted to exchange into dollars at a better rate than they would do so I looked around and found a bank which meant crossing a busy main road which took a while and then they would only buy dollars not sell so I crossed the busy road again and went to the embassy. The man there told me I needed to go to a bank, ICB which was 2.8km away so I headed there and listened to some music on the way. I saw a big shopping mall so I had a look and they had an expensive viewing tower but also a supermarket. I went in a bought a few things but had to rush a bit as it was getting onto 9.50 and the embassy closes around 11. I went to the ICB bank nearby and they recognised that I was a visa person and I had another form and got sent to a counter where I needed to pay in dollars so they sent me off to get some. A few minutes later I was in a currency exchange place and bought $40 for 920k Dong, a 1.5% markup. I went back to the bank and they stamped my visa receipt to say I'd paid so I could collect my passport from the embassy. First though I walked the short distance to the city zoo and walked in without anyone noticing. they had some cages with Lions and bears pacing around not looking very happy and there was a lake as well. It didn't look so bad and it was only 10k entry, but it was getting on so I went to the embassy where I gave in my form and got my passport back. I didn't want to push my dreams too far but I opened it up and there was a visa for China in my hand, I was going to make all of my travel plans happen. I walked back and packed up in hostel so that I could try to get a bottom bunk or maybe a different hostel. I went to find somewhere to get laundry done for less than the 30k the hostel charges and the first place charged 40k. I walked a bit further and found somewhere for 15k which said it would be ready by 10am the next day. I went back to the hostel and asked if they had a bed but they were fully booked so I went out and looked for another place. There were 3 hostels nearby but they all charged 7 USD for a night. I went on Agoda and booked Hanoi Rock backpackers for 3.70 USD for the night and then went off to see some places. I went to the citadel north gate but there was no entrance there, apparently it was round to the east. I walked to cathedral which was also shut and then the temple nearby was 10k entry so I skipped it and went to the other temple on the lake but it was closed for lunch. I walked West along the lake on the south shore side and there were people fishing and the sun was out but I had forgotten my sunglasses as I'd put them in another bag. I got to the supermarket I'd been to earlier and bought a few things including a bird nest soup flavoured drink with 0.52% birds nest, an ice cream and some noodles and rice. I left and ate the ice cream which was very runny already and it tasted of Durian - not bad at all. I went to the zoo from there, paid my 10k and went to see the island section which had monkeys. I was looking for somewhere to sit and eat and eventually chose the Ostriches further along. I wondered if humans had their knees bend the other way would we be able to run faster and also would we still be human. I walked round the rest of the zoo, first birds where there was a white peacock type bird, then more monkeys, some deer and zebras, the elephants, tigers, lions and bears and I left and looked at where to go next on the map. There was a yellow, visit me dot to the west and it was the museum of ethnology so I went there. I tried the birds nest drink on the way and it was a bit like an iced lemon drink, but not unpleasant. The museum was 40k entry and the descriptions were good, the layout was quite good but ultimately it was about various ethnic groups of the country and how they live which didn't interest me much. It did make me wonder what it would be like if we had the same in the UK. The Scousers like to perm their hair, wear shell suits and talk with a strange high pitched voice. Seriously though it showed how all of these people kept to themselves somewhat and kept their traditions which the natives of the UK didn't really do as much. I left around 4.30 and went across the road to a park which had a lake, annoyingly though there was only the one entry and exit so I wasted time. I planned to go round the north shore of the lake I'd been along earlier and first headed to a museum as it was a small diversion but it was dark and someone who didn't speak English came to tell me it was closed but couldn't tell me what it was. There were tanks in front so I think it was a military museum of some kind. It was now past 5pm and the lake route could take a while so I headed back instead. I went past the B52 museum which had a lot of planes in front, past the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and got back to the hostel after 6. I had a rest before moving my things to my new hostel where I had a top bunk (naturally). The place had breakfast and some free cask beer and was a bit dark downstairs in the club area, but it was big compared to the Hanoi party backpackers. I did a few things before checking on the beer (all gone) and they didn't do food so I headed out.
I went round a few restaurants and it was the tourist area so prices were a bit high although 40k for a fried rice is not terrible. I got a 10k pork kebab from a street stand and then some pineapple from a shop. Next I tried a banh xe which turned out to be what I'd had in Hoi an and it seemed I wasn't supposed to eat all the salad since they reuse it, whoops. After that I got 2 banh my's from my favourite place although the woman there never looks happy. I went back to the hostel and ate it there and discovered my shorts were ripped so I changed them and sewed them up. I went back to the bar which had free pool and one of the worst fussball tables I've seen. The free beer turned up at 10pm with a long queue.
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