Stacey's Birthday!

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Geo: 21.0245, 105.841

Happy birthday Stacey!

We had a lvely day today! Got up early and headed out to see Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and his house and museum. The mausoleum is a very strange place ineed. Havinfg never seen a dead bosy (except on CSI), I was expecting it to be more real, or decayed, or something, but he looked like a wax-work. In fact, I think it might have been a wax-work beacuse he looked pretty good for someone who died in 1969. The security there is intense. You have to hand over your bag, your camera and walk through security metal detectors before you queue on a red carpet for about an hour outside the mausoleum (hot hot hot) and then you are allowed inside to queue in silence around a red carpet surrounding the body. As you queue, the security guards eye you nervously as though you are planning to steal the (fake?) body of their great revered former president. They yelled at Stacey for not taking her hands out of her pocket (because, who knows, she may have been storing a body bag in them), and then grabbed me and pushed me onto the carpet when I strayed off by one foot-fall!

After that, we saw his house, his cars, his gardens and decided not to follow the other 10 000 Vietnamese tourists around, but to head staright to the museum. It was fairly interesting, but got a bit arty and pretentious on the top floor.

We then took a taxi to the Museum of Ethnology, which was well worth a visit (thanks for the tip-off Ma and Pa!) looking round the traditional homes of the Vietnamese tribal people, as well as seeing exhibits about their way of life. It was WAAAAAAY too hot though (I never thought I'd be the one complaining about the heat...) Was still great though!

Then off for a birthday lunch for Miss Clifford, in a charming little roof-top terraced cafe. Yum Yum! We then had time to wander around the Old Quarter before our group meeting and dinner with our guide and group. All seems to be ok! Dinner = delicious, but already missing the spice of Thailand in the mild Vietnamese cuisine.

The tour leader had organised a cake and a card for the birthday girl, so we all sang while she blew out her 4 candles. Onto a very nice bar with cocktails for a final celebration, and then to bed. Up early for our trip to Halong Bay. It's the thing in Vietnam I'm most looking forwards to, so fingers crossed for a great trip!

Goodbye traffic and noise of Hanoi. Hello tranquility of perfect Halong Bay....please? xxx

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