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Night shopping in Hanoi

Hoan Kiem Lake (after the puppet show) -- Aside from the famous tourist attractions, people also flock the shopping areas in the district. I tagged along as the GQNPC people went shopping for pasalubong and for souvenirs after the IRC wrapped up for the evening.

They mainly concentrated on the bags... and there was a huge selection! For my group, North Face backpacks proved to be popular. After a few hours into the shopping expedition, they ended up with bags of similar designs but of different colours. On the way back to Hong Kong and then to Manila, they were already breaking in their bags. Crumpler wasn't as popular with this group as many of the bags on display were not backpacks. Kipling bags and wallets proved to be elusive; apparently, we were in the wrong place (the shops might be somewhere further off the lake).

I wasn't too keen on buying a backpack because my luggage was already filled to the brim with my suits and the heavy-duty tripod. However, I did get some trinkets for the nieces (it's much harder to buy for the nephews, sorry) and a messenger/laptop bag for my sister. 

A trip overseas won't be complete without buying a stuffed toy for me... from the night market, I got myself a turtle doll. That's in honour of the turtle of the lake. =)
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