After a fairly decent night’s sleep I ate breakfast at the buffet… Banana filled crepes, made to order omelets, fruit (I am not sure I can live without dragonfruit or guava now), and other goodies.
I then took a leisurely walk to the lake. There was this cute cafe called the note cafe. You guessed it: you write notes and stick them on the wall. There was some coffee that had been recommended: egg coffee. It was awesome. Here is an explanation of it. It makes the coffee rich and creamy.
I window shopped then I met up with a friend of mine to walk around the lake. We saw the turtle tower on Hoàn kiem lake. There is an elaborate story about the turtle that lived there fir a long time here.
We also wanted to see the temple of literature where one of the past emperors ordained wise men who had to pass numerous tests to show their intelligence and be considered wise enough to be counsel. There were many who were not allowed to be considered (besides felons, artists and musicians were excluded).
It was beautiful and serene.
The well of heavenly brilliance.
These row of stone stelae are on top of stone tortoises which represent permanence. The stelae hold the names of the 1304 people who passed the tests.
Afterwards we walked around quite a bit. There are some interesting shops and restaurants including this one :
Ive had guava in pastry and cookies. Love the flavor