Horner travels ... Of all the pages in a book, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport...

In the morning we wlked to the Temple of Literature which was a few k's but I'm glad we didn't opt for the taxi as it is when walking that you find the interesting alleyways and 'real' sights of the city. So many tuorists get taxis everywhere as they are heap and miss what's inbetween the tourist site and their hotel. I believe it would be the same on the train in a sleeper- all the foreigners locked away in their cubicles and not iteracting with the locals in the seated carriages. Saying this, we will have our share of taxi rides and sleepers when we're feeling a little lazy or tired. We must have walked up hardware street as there were numerous miniscule shops selling hardware items while others were dedicated to only paint or powdered paint pigments - see the photo as they were gorgeous. The Temple of Literature was quite interesting as it was the first "University" in Vietnam and was established in 1070 for the children of nobles. Later, entry was based on a number of tests. The grounds including large ponds would have been beautiful in their day but haven't been maintained now. Photos from 1800's show the testing which resembles a tennis match with the markers perched high on bamboo structures like a tennis umpire.