It’s day eight of the big experience and we have already done so much. Today we visited the Hanoi botanical gardens and had a chat with Vietnamese students who were studying english, and wanted to test their skills against us. The students and other locals were very keen to take photos with/ of all of us. The Hanoi Botanical Gardens is a popular place among the locals who come for an assortment of reasons such as exercise, relaxation and to play sports. 
From the botanical gardens we walked to a small lake, where an American B52 plane crashed after being shot down. The remains have been left as a reminder of Vietnam’s strength against the US.
After a lunch of Pho and spring rolls, we visited the Hanoi zoo. Quite a few of the animals were hiding due to the heat and not the greatest living conditions, so we didn’t get a chance to see them, but in the hour we were there we got the chance to visit most of the zoo. A personal favourite of ours were the Northern White-cheeked Crested Gibbon.
To finish off the day we bought food and drink from the Lotte Mart to prepare for our twelve hour train ride later in the day.
Taliesin and Pat