Hanoi - rookie error. 26th July 2010

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As always, first stop in a new country is a bank or ATM to top up on the local currency. After a stroll through the very hot, humid and noisy old Quarter of Hanoi, we emerged at the oasis of Hoan Kiem Lake and thought we deserved a drink. Having found an ATM that accepted VISA, we then had that discussion about how much to take out, always confused by uncertainty of the actual conversion rates.

100,000 Vietnamese Dong seemed to be a reason able sum to keep us going, so duly cashed up we went for tea at a likely place overlooking the lake. Scanning the menu, we realised that 100K Dong was only just enough to cover the tea and coconut we had ordered.

Later on, with a couple of million in our pockets, we felt we could swagger around town with the best of them.

1,000,000 = about 30 GBP.

The lake looked good though!

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Photos

Hoan Kiem Lake
Dusk goes down over the Turtle Tower on Hoan Kiem Lake.
Hanoi, 26th July 2010