The aim this morning was to head out and walk to the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh who lies in state for public viewing. That was going well until we headed down the street completely in the wrong direction!
A nice young uni student who spoke english then befriended us and showed us the way. Once in we found ourselves part of the procession past the glass coffin with many of the Vietnamese people with us visibly moved. It was very surreal but felt quite an honor
We spent the afternoon cruising the old quarter and ended up at Hoan Kiem Lake where some old Vietnamese men were playing mahjong or similar. We also managed our second viewing of a body lying in state - that of the lake turtle that died some 10 or 12 years ago! Off to Halong Bay tomorrow.