A fistful of dong

Xin Chao!

This morning prepared with a fistful of dong which equals about $20 we leave the hotel for one of the oldest sights in Hanoi, the Temple of Literature. The most striking thing to me while visiting this site were the number of Communist guards standing around watching our every move.

Next was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where our bags had to pass through an x-ray machine to enter the gates. The mausoleum was closed, but we did see the changing of the guards, all dressed in white and high-stepping.

The One Pillar Pagoda is in the park behind the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, but after the many pagodas in Thailand it was ho-hum.

Then we each climbed into a rickshaw (cyclo) and paraded through the Old Quarter for the amusement of the locals.

Last, but not least was the traditional water puppet show, where most of the group promptly fell asleep. I wandered around the Old Quarter and found some scarves and pillowcases embroidered with a lovely lotus flower.