Continued from Hanoi Day 3.

Last day in Hanoi!! Even though it’s our favorite city in Vietnam, we are ready to move on to other places. There are still just a few things that we need to see today in Hanoi though.

Our hotel called a taxi for us, hopefully it’ll be a honest one.

A statue of Lenin. Communist Comrades, Unite!

Passed through areas of amazing mansions.

These amazing mansions are all embassies. Must be nice to be a diplomat.

The taxi dropped us off and the meter was fair. Cool. We are here to see the One Pillar pagoda and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

In order to get into the grounds, we had to check in our water bottle. I think there is often a giant waiting line here to head into the mausoleum…but the crowd doesn’t seem to be here today.

Ho Chi Minh Museum.

Found the line, and it is very very short. We also had to wear pants today because no shorts are allowed in the mausoleum.

We waited about 5 minutes and then we were all gathered up and started walking.

After this photo, we visited another office where they made us check our camera and electronics or to put it away in a bag. Absolutely no photos inside the mausoleum…and this is one place where I wasn’t going to fuck around in and try to sneak a photo. I am sure they would have me arrested or fined heavily…after they break my camera with my own face.

Went in and out of the mausoleum, which is quite an accurate description. We were ushered up into the entrance, where nice COLD AC blows out of the doorways(it’s quite hot out here). Entered into a dark walkway and into a cold large dim room with something like 10 soldiers all in uniform standing guard. In the middle of the dark room is a glass coffin which contains the embalmed remains of Uncle Ho. You are ushered to walk around the coffin without stopping and without talking, in 20 seconds you are out of the room.

How did Uncle Ho look after so many years of being embalmed and…dead? He looked pretty well preserved, other than a strong hint of paleness. When you’ve got a cult of personality, you’ve got to keep the personality alive, even if in a glass, now his causes can continue long after his death.

Still looking for the One Pillar Pagoda. I think we need to walk around in this hot weather to find it. Ugh.

NO SHADE!

We were just about the last group, if not the last group, of visitors to visit the tomb today. It only opens in the morning hours.

Where the One Pillar pagoda is supposed to be…

Damn, it’s under renovation.

Found a way in.

Only in Vietnam will they let you into a construction site of one of their nation’s treasures.

Literally a working construction site.

There she is, the beautiful majestic One Pillar Pagoda.

RL is stoked to see the pagoda in all its glory!!! Super Happy!!!

This is what the pagoda is supposed to look like. Along with the Japanese Bridge, it is the other stamp that we needed for our postcards. By the way, the pagoda was originally built almost a thousand years ago…yeah, think about that.

Ho Chi Minh Museum. The AC at the entrance was nice, but we didn’t go through the doors. I’ve had enough propaganda for the day.

OK taxi, take us to lunch and don’t try to rip us off or my wife will scream obscenities at you.

Back to my favorite place to eat in Hanoi!

It’s been a really hot day. We are drenched.

Got a table inside this time.

Why do I look so creepy? But look at the line of sweat from my man-purse.

Yum.

Yum.

I was coveting the egg pancake thing with bean sprouts on the table next to us.

Pho. I would say this Pho tasted the most like the Pho in America, as far as the cuts of beef used. Yum.

Back in a taxi after our very delicious lunch. Yum.

We walked by this coffee shop almost everyday during our time here in Hanoi, it’s time to give it a try.

Mosquitoes and postcards. I hope the postcards reach America. Gotta send off all these postcards with them Vietnamese stamps before we leave.

Quite nice except for the DAMN MOSQUITOES!!!! DIE DIE DIE!!!

We had started watching Game of Thrones on the laptop…We are addicted to it already, so that’s what we spent the heat of the afternoon doing.

Too lazy to go out for dinner, so we ordered in from the menu at the hotel lobby that gets delivered from a nearby restaurant. The food was actually really good, and we didn’t have to leave the comfort of our room! Speaking of room, I think this is the best hotel we’ve stayed at so far this trip as far as service, location and room. All for under $35!!!

Time for bed. Wake up time is 4:45am tomorrow…

To be continued at Yangshuo Day 1.