nothing is better than Independence and freedom

To walk off the tiredness of the night train ride our first day in Hanoi was centred around Ho Chi Minh. First stop was to see the man himself and so we headed to the west of the city to his Mausoleum. White uniformed guards strictly preside over this part of town and make sure that you are walking on the right side of the street, not putting your hands in your pockets when you walk through the mausoleum and do not talk. Thus is serious business walking past the most revered leader of Vietnam.  His words of "nothing is better than Independence and freedom" are so true. In neighbouring China personal freedom and speech is suppressed and here enterprise flourishes, creating a new Vietnam and very different to the country I visited 16 years ago. The economy here is booming and the younger generation have it all to play for. It's refreshing as the western world is under the shadow of the next generation being worse off.
Then the Ho Chi Minh museum offered more insight into his life before we checked into our hotel for a well earned siesta! 

My daily pho

The streets are bursting with motorbikes, pavements full of mini restaurants and vendors selling French bread, flowers and fruit. The street food here is extraordinary. Every morning I have a pho Bo, beef noodle soup, but the northern dish, Bun Cha, barbecued sliced pork, with noodles, herbs and fish sauce is one of the best things that I have tasted !!!! We're keeping a tally of food, beer and ticket expenditure and so far my half for 12 days is £60 .... For booze, food entry tickets !!!