Hanoi Scenes (I)

Ah, it was in March when I had a short holiday with the family in Hanoi, but heh, heh, I've just only "processed" the pictures we took ;) So here's a selected first set of photos of the scenery in and about Hanoi. The next set will have more pics of me and the family. Enjoy ;)

Legend has it that in the mid-15th century, Heaven gave Emperor Ly Thai To
a magical sword which he used to drive the Chinese out of Vietnam

Thap Rua (Tortoise Tower) in Ho Koan Kiem (Lake of the Restored Sword)
where a tortoise restored the sword to its divine owners

Hanoi Old Quarter, or 36 Pho Puong (36 Streets), with over a thousand years of history
remains one of Vietnam's most lively and unusual places, where you can buy anything
from a gravestone to silk pyjamas

Ho Chi Minh Residence

The neo-Gothic St Joseph's Cathedral (1886)
takes you back to medieval Europe

Buddhist devotees praying at a quaint little temple sandwiched
by a little path between 2 shops along P Nha To. Blink and you'd miss it.

The busy and crowded streets of Hanoi Old Quarter

A dragon-guarded incense holder at the Temple of Literature

The renown Halong Bay was just a tad too far to travel for a short trip to Hanoi,
especially with a 2-year old, so we settled for a day trip to Tam Hoc.

While Halong Bay has huge rock formations jutting out of the sea,
Tam Coc has them jutting out of the rice paddies.

The best way to see Tam Coc is by row-boat on the Ngo Dong River.

A villager tends to the paddy fields. Tam Hoc is a.k.a.
Halong Bay on the rice paddies.

It was a great day for 3 hours of boating as well!

Tam Coc means "3 Caves". The boats actually rows
through the caves, the longest being 127m.

Village houses by the river

Children playing by the river. Tam Hoc is a village near the
town of Ninh Binh, 2 hours south-west of Hanoi.