Good Morning Hanoi

Our first full day in Hanoi so it was time to learn about Vietnamese history. First stop was the Ho Chi Min Mausoleum where we body swerved the queue waiting to have a look at his embalmed remains and head for his house on stilts and the One Pillar Pagoda. Lunch was traditional Vietnamese in a back street restaurant that was surprisingly tasty, fast and filling. Back on the tourist trail we next visited the Museum of Ethnology and were herded in to a Water Puppet Theatre where  we sat with other bemused westerners amongst giggling and clapping Chinese tourists whilst skilled puppeteers put on a show on a stage two feet deep in water. Bizarre but "typical" we were told. We made it back to the hotel by bicycle rickshaw which took us through the back streets of the old city. We now know where to go to get our bamboo scaffolding, our silver jewellery and the best selection of street food. We will be back there tomorrow no doubt.