2014/15 Biking Southeast Asia Daily Snippet

17 December, Hanoi
Hoan Kiem Hostel 225,000VND

Oh, happiness – the sun is out and the skies blue for the first time in many days. We paid a visit to Ngoc Son, Temple of the Jade Mountain, located on a small island at the northern end of Hoan Kiem, Lake of the Returned Sword. Legend tells the story of a turtle reclaiming the magic sword given to Emperor Le Loi to defeat the Chinese Ming Dynasty and disappearing with it into the depths of the lake. Seeing a soft-shell tortoise in Hoan Kiem is considered very lucky. An attractive scarlet bridge, the Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge, links the Old Quarter to the island temple, which offers a great place to chill out away from the noise and mania of the city streets. Provided you have your ducks in a row, applying for a Chinese visa is relatively simple. We spent yesterday afternoon preparing all our paperwork and this morning took scooter taxis (xe om) to the embassy arriving just before they opened. There we completed additional application forms, queued very briefly at Window 2, handed in our documentation, and were told to return tomorrow morning to find out whether we have been approved or rejected. Our friends from South Africa treated us to a truly superb dinner at the excellent La Badiane ... a perfect end to a lovely day.