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Off for an early morning stroll by the lake to watch the locals (mainly ladies) in their morning Tai Chi or musical exercises. Very well attended!
Despite Hanoi being bombed during the war, some pockets of older buildings have survived, as have lots of trees
After breakfast, it was off to see Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and wartime home as well as the gardens surrounding the former French Governor of Indochina's mansion. (Ho Chi Minh said he wanted something simpler than this residence.) They are all in the same grounds. No photos allowed of Uncle Ho's body lying in state; cameras were confiscated until you exited the mausoleum. He purportedly gets a trip to Russia each year for a 'makeover', the same as Lenin.
The French Governor's residence...
... and appropriately Imperial set of gates
Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum
Ho Chi Min's 'fleet'. A Russian Zit (most unfortunate name), a Standard Vanguard, and...
... my pick, a Peugeot 404
The pond outside his house
Ho Chi Minh's house with visiting delegation of dignitaries from (???)
The One-Pillar Pagoda
The One Pillar Pagoda is built of wood on a stone pillar 1.25m in diameter, and 4m high. The original was built in 1049 but was destroyed by the French in their retreat of 1954. This replica was built in the late 1950s. More Info: One Pillar Pagoda
Next stop was the Confucius Temple of Education or Temple of Literature. This isn't a religious temple but more of a university. It was built in 1070 and has been reconstructed a number of times. More Info: Temple of Literature
Main Entrance - The Great Portico
Entry into the Third Courtyard
The Fourth Courtyard
The Man himself - Confucious
I'll bet Australian garden gnomes don't play Go
Final stop this afternoon was the infamous 'Hanoi Hilton' (officially the Hoa Lo Prison), used by the French for political prisoners, and subsequently by the North Vietnamese for Prisoners of War. It was built somewhere between 1886 and 1901. While there was a lot of graphic depictions and tableaux of the horrors that the French visited upon Vietnamese political prisoners, when it came to American PoWs, most were shown in photos enjoying Red Cross packages and playing table tennis.
More info: Hanoi Hilton
The facade is about all that's left of the original building
A memorial wall. The writing on the right translates to 'Unwavering, Undaunted, Eternal Glory '
This evening's entertainment was the celebrated Water Puppet Theatre - no pics, sorry. After dinner, it was off to the station for our next overnight leg to Lao Cai and on to Sa Pa and the mountains.
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