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Ha Long Bay was a pre cruise extension, and there were only a few people who purchased that 3 day package. On the forth day we met the rest of the people, 48 or 50 in all, and we were split into two groups, one to continue the rest of the trip with Ut, and the other to be in Tin’s group. Both Program Directors were amazing characters, with interesting life histories, which they shared with us at various times during our tour with them. We were in Tin’s group, and he always did something a little extra for his group, like giving us a certificate, with our ticket pasted on it. I though that was a very unique thing for him to do. I will show you those certificates when we visit Angkor on DAY 4.

We noticed as we traveled through Vietnam that the homes were uniquely constructed. They were very narrow, tall, and usually 3 or 4 stories.

Ut, our Program Director, told us that the grand parents lived on the first floor, the parents on the second floor, and the children on the third and fourth floors. That seemed to make a lot of sense, considering the stairs to get to the upper floors would be difficult for the older folks.

We were now back at the Hanoi Sofitel Legend Metropole, and here are a couple of views from our room.

We had breakfast, with a view of the pool. Our room was very nice, with perks of fruit and cookies, and a nice desk for us to use with our computers. The bathroom was huge, even bigger than our master bath at home. We were not used to such luxury.

After breakfast we had some time to kill before our next tour, so we relaxed by the pool, which had nice views of the city of Hanoi.

We were soon on our way with another tour, this time of row crops. Well, and a little more as we traveled via motor coach.

I have a lot of respect for people who can grow crops like this. I’m sure it is back breaking work, especially here in Vietnam, since there are no machines to lighten the burden. The farmer working only with his bare hands and a hoe created these scenes. It staggers the imagination.

On our tour we stopped at a lacquer ware factory, and we had half an hour to look around, with the expectation that we would buy something. The lacquer ware was beautiful, but we had no desire to incumber our simple lives with more ’things’. So we enjoyed teas at the shops restaurant, waiting for the call to board our motor coach.

Back at the hotel that night, it was ablaze with holiday lights. We enjoyed dinner in the garden, and yes we enjoyed martinis as well. Our meal was most delicious. One of the things I like best about our vacations is that we don’t have to clean up the dishes after a meal. ;o)

Since it was almost Christmas, the hotel had a beautiful Christmas tree with a million lights on it. The daytime shot shows the scale of the hotel complex. We really enjoyed our two day stay there.

The guy in the red shirt is Tin, the Program Director for our group of 25. He was an amazing guide, very knowledgeable, and he was like a mother hen with her chicks, being very mindful of us, and making sure none of us went astray.

On our tour of Hanoi we stopped at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. While we were in front of the Mausoleum, there was a changing of the guard. The guards were doing the goose step, and it seemed to me that it had to be very hard on ones knees.

The guards were pretty well coordinated. I think they enjoyed putting on a show for the tourists. All eyes were certainly on them. What’s not to like about all that attention?

Seeing these guards brought back memories of my early career in the Navy, when I was a lowly Airmen Apprentice fresh out of boot camp, and going through basic training for air crewmen in Norman, Oklahoma. It was in the dead of winter, and I had to stand my watches at some remote part of the airfield. It was freezing, and even with my heavy wool Peacoat and wool watch cap, I still froze.

Here in Vietnam it is summer, and even in white uniforms, I’ll bet those guards were still perspiring.

Of course we’ve simply got to do a selfie in front of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

We visited the Presidential Palace of Vietnam, a hundred-year-old French colonial building in the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex surrounding Ba Dinh Square. While the Palace remains strictly off-limits to visitors, the expansive garden and pond at the rear of the Palace is wide open.

The Palace was completed in 1906. When Vietnam achieved independence in 1954, Ho Chi Minh was claimed to have refused to live in the grand structure for symbolic reasons, although he still received state guests there. He eventually built a traditional Vietnamese stilt house and carp pond on the grounds.

A pretty humble dwelling for a humble man. Ho Chi Minh lived in this house from 1958 until his death in 1969.

These two cars were given by the Soviet Union to serve President Ho Chi Minh, the one on the left in 1954, and the one on the right in 1955. Gee, 1955 was the year I graduated from High School. ;o)

Part 2 to follow.