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Hanoi - Free To Have Fun

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Wander through a flower village

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Just minutes from central Hanoi, off the dyke road, you'll find fields planted with colorful blooms - a perfect place for a stroll. As land prices soar, the flower vendors are being pushed further from city, although many residents in Tu Liem Village continue to grow the blooms that beautify Hanoian's homes and ancestral altars. Driving out of Hanoi, take a right some 500m after the West Lake Water Park. Tu Liem Village lies behind the new Flower Supermarket. Orchid enthusiasts will want to pop into this showroom to marvel at the exotic blooms on offer.

Befriend some students

Are you alone in a strange city with extra time on your hands? Students at universities and foreign language schools throughout Hanoi are more than eager to chat. Whether you choose to sit in the schoolyard or actually venture indoors and attempt to give a language class, you're sure to meet young people who will increase your understanding of the local culture. Good places to try include the Allianz center at 23/167 Tay Son Street and the Anglo Center, 3 Dong Nhan Street.

Visit a pagoda or two

Hanoi boasts dozens of pagodas and temples, most of which (exceptions include Ngoc Son temple on Hoan Kiem Lake and the Temple of Literature) may be visited free of charge. Quan Thanh Temple on Thanh Nien road is one of the city's most famous sites, dating back to the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225). Bach Ma, the colorful Chinese style temple in the Old Quarter at 40 Hang Buom Street, dates back even further, to the ninth century.

Witness the changing of the flag at Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

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In the early mornings and evenings, the vast lawn in front of president Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum draws scores of locals out for a stroll. Each morning at 5 A.M., all eyes turn to the guards who solemnly raise the giant Vietnamese flag that flutters over the marble edifice until 9 P.M., when it is lowered for the night. The sight of these guards, marching past the imposing mausoleum in their immaculate white uniforms, creates a lasting impression.

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