Bordering the old quarter of Hanoi is a lake, containing an island on which a temple, Den Ngoc Son, dedicated to Confucius.
It features some nice gardens, carvings and statues, and interestingly to me, a dedicated place to burn offerings to ancestors, a tradition influenced by Chinese beliefs.
As usual, the tourist hordes detracted from the enjoyment, but it was a place of worship still in use by many, so I tried to stay unobtrusive as possible.
That night I had dinner on Beer Street, with people strolling past my low table as I tucked into my rather tasteless vege noodles and drank my beer.
A short stroll after dinner and I watched some traditional theatre. I lacked the language and the cultural background to fully appreciate it, but I did like the exaggerated style and minimal set design all the same.
This experience was mired by the local pimps, who took the opportunity to try to show me pictures on their phones of the ladies who, for a liberal application of currency, would provide me with a short massage followed by a happy ending. This I found as appealing as a rotting fish to the face, and I returned to my dorm bed, mildly drunk and mildly sexually frustrated.
Adrian's Got The Moose 