It was only last year when I got to experience much of what Vietnam had to offer with a 3 week visit to Hanoi & Halong Bay. Lucky enough for me, I'm back to the capital of Vietnam with a little spare time to explore more places that I missed out on my previous trip. I wandered through a couple of places, the more significant ones, I'll detail a little bit more below.

When you do a quick search of places to visit when in Hanoi, the Temple of Literature will always come up on that list. It was a sunny day when I decided to check it out, and there were a lot of tourists that day, too. There's an entrance ticket that you need to get for 10,000 VND to enter this Confucian temple, but that's a very small price to pay to see one of the most historic cultural sites in the city. The temple occupies a big lot, most parts being filled with grass and trees (which offer a good shade on hot days.)

After walking around the temple grounds, I headed on to my next destination - St. Joseph's Cathedral. One will immediately notice the neo-gothic style of this Roman Catholic place of worship. It also faces a small plaza where one can get a good vantage to take in the beautiful details that adorn the structure - notice the stained glass windows and tall bell towers. Here's a tip: You can even get a good view of the cathedral, and some authentic Vietnamese coffee along with your brunch at a quaint café called La Place just like I did!