While walking around small Trúc Bạch Lake, we had the chance to visit a couple of Hanoi's most historic temples: the Đền Quán Thánh, on the southwestern corner of the lake, and the Chùa Trấn Quốc, found on a small island between Trúc Bạch and the larger West Lake. Đền Quán Thánh We started at the Đền Quán Thánh, which was built in the 11th century, making it among the oldest temples in this very old city.…
Thank you, Uncle Ho: our hero! Leader of the struggle to free Vietnam from foreign influence! As a humble token of our gratitude, we honor you inside this mausoleum, where your corpse will be injected with embalming fluid and displayed eternally to generations of patriots ... Uncle Ho? Why are you crying?
Who would win between a gorilla and a cheetah? A cheetah and a giraffe? A giraffe and an elephant? An elephant and a tiger? Well, if you had been alive during Hue's golden age, you'd know the answer to that last one, at least. We visited the arena where Tiger-Elephant death matches were a semi-regular occurrence.
