Vietnam- Part III

Before heading to the Da Nang airport we arranged a ride with our hotel. At this point Vietnam has been great. The only downside to the country is that they do try to ripoff tourists. Even our hotels. For example the hotel tried to charge us $15 to the airport according to the South East Asia on a budget book we knew the cost would be cheaper finally settling on $10. The same thing happened in Hanoi. The hotel started at $20 we bargained them down to $12. A warning before traveling is to know what services cost so you have an idea of what you should pay. Luckily we researched and did not lose out on a lot of money.
We arrived in Hanoi and were shocked by how cold it was in the low 60s. After speaking with many locals they said this was the coldest it has ever been but it was funny to see them dressed up in hats, scarfs, and gloves. We took a mini shuttle bus into the city due to traffic it took almost 2 hours. The driver also tried to scam us from a ridiculous $6 to $2 dollars each. Motor bikes were all over the road. We could not decided which city was worse Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi.  
We walked to our hotel from the shuttle drop off point. It only took about 15 minutes or so. Our hotel was in the middle of the Old Quarter. The quarter consisted of small streets with lots of action. There were motorbikes wizing past you left and right, while rickshaw drivers hollered at you..."ride..ride", and the locals squatted at curbside resturants watching passers going by. Hanoi was a rather large city with a few good sights to see. The main attraction for us was the Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh's body is persereved in a floral wodden carriage covered by a glass case. Just like Lenin and Mao, anyone can visit just no talking or pictures. Security was obviously pretty tight.  I have alreay seen Lenin I knew what to expect but Latanya did not. It was an eerie experience, the body of Ho Chin Minh was well preserved with an extremely pale face looking like he was in a deep sleep. Next door to mausoleum was Ho Chin Minh house on stilts, where he lived and worked from 1958 to 1969.    
The other must see was a day trip to Ha Long Bay. The bay is famous for it's dramatic natural wonder. It consists of around 1600 islands. All of which are absolutely beautiful. The islands had dramatic cliffs and caves. We took a four hour tour by boat. The weather was quite overcast however as we went out to the bay we were able to see perfectly. We visited a floating village and went into a couple of caves. The day trip was great. The sheer sight of Ha Long Bay made us just fall in love with Vietnam even more. 
While in Hanoi we definitely only needed the two full days we had there. We were getting a little tired of the fast paced streets. They take a lot out of you. Our next stop is a short trip to Singapore.