Tam Biet Viet Nam

Well, after a quick walking tour route of the Temple of Literature (oldest university in Vietnam), the One Pillar Pagoda (big swizz - the one pillar is now made of concrete!), a view of Ho Chi Minh mausoleum (not going in on principle - they supposedly love this guy, he wanted to be cremated and they pickled him!) and the presidential palace we treated ourselves to another crumble for lunch so we could sit in the cafe and sort the rest of our Vietnam photos. All organised now and ready to load up if we ever get the time/bandwidth!

And now we are sat in the plane awaiting the 'next bit' again!

On reflection we rather like Viet Nam. Ours is not a Vietnam of beaches, conical hats and highway one cities. Ours is a lush, fertile Vietnam, a verdant, vibrant green land growing a multitude of crops; a place of waterfalls and lakes, of mountains, limestone and hard work. A country of backroads and alley ways, of noise and flavour, of miniature plastic chairs on street corners. A fiercely independent nation of battlers. Of bikes (motorised or not) and boats. Of 'bo hai bee zoooh', of 'haallooooh' shouts and high fives. A place of history and lessons. Ours is a Viet Nam of memories. So goodbye for now to the land of the soaring dragons and the people of the south but I think we might be back!

Ooops, take off.. Next bit!