Xuan Huong Lake

Today was a lazy day – well deserved after the arse-numbing ride the day before. We opted to make use of our legs for a change and took a wander around the lake. The guide books reckon it’s 7km, but it didn’t seem anywhere near that far as we ambled around in just over an hour.

The Peace Cafe was so nice the night before that we just had to pop back in for a passion fruit juice. Simply DO NOT miss out on this beverage. Best ever.

Hundred Roofs Cafe

A short walk away found us at the 100 Rooftops Cafe where we had ice cream. The commemorates a building torn down by the government for its failure to meet planning regulations. Or for being ugly. Or something. Either way, the cafe itself if a work of complete, utter, mad raving genius/lunacy. It’s as if someone’s given a schizophrenic full license with the world’s supply of plaster and paint – more like a funhouse then a restaurant.

After a quick email check we tenderly popped our bums back onto the bike and headed through the rain to the seamstress art village a couple of kilometres away.

Seamstress Art Village

This is a very strange yet serene place. There are many examples of local art, both traditional and contemporary. Check out the prices on some of the paintings, though. They’re pricey even by western standards.

Fortunately the restaurant has a cheap 10,000D option where you can sample a variety of foods and guzzle green tea. It’s just round from an artificial stream and forest and several installations.

There are some lovely photo ops here, but do watch for the weather as a fair amount of the village is outdoors. One downside is that a lot of the information is in Vietnamese with no translation available for Johnny Foreigner.

Hundred Roofs Cafe at night

Back in the city, we picked out HNL for dinner. I had a lotus root salad and chicken which was very nice indeed. I also pinched some of Thao‘s chicken hotpot and indulged in another passion fruit juice. In fairness, just as good as the Peace Cafe’s offering.