After a good night's sleep, life seems a lot easier. We slept for twelve hours before getting up at 7:30 today, and although still quite tired, we've been able to do Hanoi some justice today. Went down to breakfast and had my first banana pancake breakfast. I guess the trail gained it's name for a reason, but it still tickled me that they are still on the menu all these years later. I had to choose it, but not sure banana pancakes are my thing on a regular basis.
First on the list of sights to see was the final resting place for Ho Chi Minh. He's a popular hero judging by the size of the mausoleum (photo shown). Unfortunately, he's also a tricky chap to see in person as the opening hours turned out to be 7-10.30 only and guess what time we turned up... yup, 10.30 exactly. Making the most of it, we went off to find his stilt house, but couldn't find it in the end. Third sight lucky though - we did get to see the one pillar pagoda. Began to wonder if entire day was going to be a wash-out when this turned out to be as underwhelming as the guide book warned. Lesson for the future - it pays to do your research in advance.
The rest of the day has turned out great though. We went to see the Temple of Literature, and those five courtyards and ornamental gardens were the saving of my sanity. For 10,000 dong (about 40p) it was well worth it. Lunch at a pho shop and then off round the french and old quarters, before back to base to get freshened up for the evneing.
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