Hanoi, Vietnam - Day 2

Today was an early start, not really by choice though as we are still really jet lagged. We changed rooms, no rooster, but we were still up around 5am. Our room is much smaller, but still nice, besides a funky noise the bathroom makes when you flush the toilet...

So we had an early breakfast of jam and cheese with bread ( a bit more Western), and headed out of the Old Quarter on foot. We get hassled a lot for taxi and cyclo rides (which are like a cart pulled by a man on a bicycle). We always hear "YOU-WHO...One Hour...One Hour" and despite shaking our heads no, they keep following us. Eventually they give up though.

Outside of the Old Quarter is really different, much more space, less tourists, and less pestering from vendors and drivers. There are HUGE palace like houses surrounding the city's citadel. We took in quite a bit, and being up so early we saw lots of kids biking to school, often 2 to a bike, no helmets, and motorcycles whizzing around them.
Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum

We got to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum fairly early and got to go through the compound. They told us cameras were not allowed, but once inside it seemed like everyone had a camera, which was kind of frustrating. Anyways, we got to go through the Mausoleum, which houses 'Uncle Ho's' embalmed body. It was wild. There were so many armed guards. Matt got instructed to keep his arms at his side because he had them behind his back. We got to walk around the glass caskett and take a good look at Ho in his favourite Kahki outfit.

Afterwards we went for a walk around the compound and saw his house on stilts and the one pillar pagoda near by. It was nice and quite, lots of beautiful trees and flowers. We didnt really have time to go to the Ho Chi Minh museum because it closed at 11am or so. Not too upsetting though...

We had a few hours to kill before the War Museum opened so we went back to Hoan Kiem Lake and enjoyed people watching and wrote a bit in our journals. We got gawked at a bit, and some guy took our picture/filmed us. It was weird. There was also a sweet old man listening to the radio just across from us, and he came over to take a look at our hand writing. We then headed out for lunch for some comfort food, to a little italian place where we had pasta and wood-fired pizza for lunch. The Military Museum

Next up was the Military museum housing all of the vietnam-american war relics. It must have been a tour day, as there was a bus load of elderly vietnamese people, who obviously experienced the war. I also assume they were not from Hanoi, or from anywhere where they would see tourists. As soon as they saw Matt and I they swarmed us! They all loved touching us, me in particular. One lady was pinching my cheeks and touching my hair. She was so excited to see me and was trying to talk to me in Vietnamese. A little boy translated a bit for me, telling me she was asking me how old I was, saying how tall I was and asking why I wasn't married. It was quite the experience! All of them were so friendly and smiling...with the blackest teeth I have ever seen! Matt says it is from the tabacco or (something similar) they chew.

So tonight we are off for dinner (last night it was at a place called Bun Bo Nam Bo, where they only serve one dish - Bun Bo, and you order by saying how many bowls you want). We are going to a place which books tours to Ha Long Bay, so that way we get two birds with one stone.

Will write again soon!