Hanoi, Ho, Pho & Egg Coffee

Wednesday 5th July
Final day in Vietnam and lots to do before leaving Wed night.
First off we went to see Ho Chi Minh - his body has been preserved and is on display for 3 hours a day. So we joined the thousands of other people in queue, and after leaving our bags at the bag room, we walked here and there, following instructions until we came to the mausoleum where we were herded in single file into the heavily guarded interior where Ho Chi Minh is lying in state, in a big glass & wood cabinet. Despite his wishes to be cremated, he is kept on display permanently except for each year he is sent to Russia to get "refurbished". There is no loitering with Sue being pushed along by the guards. Pretty impressive anyway.
From there we took a walk through the gardens and living quarters, where supposedly Ho lived & worked while he was in charge. The rooms are decidedly modest, obviously portraying him as a humble and modest man. The gardens however were elaborate and immaculately groomed with every shrub and tree in fine condition and no yellow leaves / weeds / rubbish anywhere. Plus plenty of military types everywhere making sure no-one wandered into un-authorised areas.
That done we found a nearby coffee shop and enjoyed an iced coffee, the men chose to up the strength to 4 (out of 5) and very nice it was too. Justin and Ross changed back into shorts, needed to be covered up to visit Ho.
Sue & Justin went back to the hotel & the rest of us visited the War Museum, which was fairly modest with artefacts from many of the wars that Vietnam have been involved in (and won them all, according to the writings). The highlight was the remains of a US bomber that was shot down and crash landed in the lake in Hanoi.
Time was getting short so we quick marched it back to the hotel to have a quick shower & packing before noon checkout.
We lined up for our final Pho at the corner Pho shop which was rated No 1 in Hanoi. It was packed but pretty soon a table came free and we squeezed in. As we waited we witnessed a local man go into the shop and tried to sit down only for the staff to tell him to get out as others were waiting. He was not at all happy and started yelling at the staff and continued it outside where upon this old chap leapt up off his little stool & pushed the man away, was the shop security guy. Still yelling the old guy got on his scooter & roared away.
Within a few minutes of ordering our Pho arrived and luckily we tried the chilli or chilli sauce before loading up the Pho because it was SUPER hot. The Pho was very good and we left as soon as finished to let others in.
Then embarked on our next culinary landmark, walking about 1km to Giang Cafe, the original home of Egg Coffee. This is where the Vietnamese coffee is poured through a mixture of whipped condensed milk and an egg yolk. Was delicious, almost a dessert rather than a coffee.
Spent some time shopping / looking around before we eventually wandered back to to the hotel where they supplied a special bathroom & towels for us to freshen up before leaving for the airport.
Took a taxi / van to the airport, arriving earlier than expected, then having to wait an hour before check-in.
Easy passage through, although papers are checked by govt people before immigration, at immigration and after immigration.
Enough time to spend the last of our Dong, have some dinner then all aboard Nok Air for our 9pm flight to Bankok.
Very pleasant flight in our now expected "justin Seats" the Emergency Row so lots of leg room. About 2 hour flight to Bangkok arriving about 11 pm, the same time as about 4 other planes so we spent over 45 mins in queue for immigration. So our bags were dizzy from going round & round on the carousel before we got there. Hired a taxi van and straight away we were speeding into the city, getting to our hotel, the Park Plaza 18, on the east side of the city. A much bigger hotel than those we have been staying in but very nice rooms & facilities. A quick check-in and we were ready for sleep.

Weather was overcast, very warm and very humid, 32C & 70% RH

Highlights
* Visiting Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum;
* Seeing the remains of the US bomber;
* Pho lunch & the ensuing disturbance;
* Egg Coffee;
* Wandering the streets of the Old Quarter;
* Having a freshen up before leaving for the airport.Read more