Vietnam 7 : An Organic Farm

Our coach allowed us to stretch our legs and explore an organic farm for a few minutes, as we headed away from Hanoi.

We also stopped at a place where they did various handicrafts, I took a few pix of the statues.

Vietnam 6 Rickshaw Rides and Bikes in Hanoi

We were quickly allocated a rickshaw and a 'driver' that couldn't speak English, who kept jabbing me in the back to take photos as the battery died on my camera. It was hair-raising, seeing the street life, the traffic, the world just whizzing by, yet I felt like one of those kids in a pushchair, whose mum just thrusts them into the road in front of all the moving traffic. I had to sit tight and enjoy it, as there was no escape, and the guy did seem to know what he was doing.

Just a group of people having coffee, relaxing on the very familiar chairs seen throughout Vietnam.

Another common sight, a barbers shop on the pavement. A quick haircut, or even a shave...

An example of Vietnamese wiring.

Vietnam 5 We go to prison!

We had a visit to a Vietnamese prison, it was a bit bleak, showing the conditions that the prisoners were kept under with models for the prisoners. Interesting, but maybe this level of brutality was why I never saw a drunk person, or a person walking the streets looking like they were on drugs, anywhere in Vietnam, the entire holiday. I don't think there is a European city free from that.

Vietnam 4 Vietnam University

We visited the National University, which seemed to be full of young men and women photographing themselves. A lot of lovely buildings and gardens too. Maybe someone can tell me what these say?

Vietnam 3 Hanoi still

The view from room 404 in The Sunway Hotel, Hanoi.

We stayed here for 2 nights, sort of gave time for the jet lag, or was it the lack of sleep on a packed aeroplane for 12 hours and then a second plane for 2 more hours... I lost track of days about here. The first afternoon, we went for a wander, looking at the 'traffic', finding coffee, with almost solid condensed milk in it.

We went for a city tour, the one pillar pagoda, Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, and where he had lived. We gathered on the hotel steps, awaiting the coach...

I took a few photos of our party, listening to the talk from our guide...

Ho Chi Minh lead a simple life, these were his cars.

The guy with the musical instruments was my first meeting with the Vietnamese monochord, an entirely new instrument to me with a very unusual sound.