Another great breakfast at the Hanoi Palace Hotel before packing up and heading out.
But wait! My eyes hadn't had a chance to gaze up on the beloved, entombed Ho Chi Minh! With two hours to spare, it was a mad dash to see him, in the drizzle.
A minor taxi-cab accident and a mad dash three blocks to the rear of the building itself, and I was minutes from seeing the great man himself.
It was quite surreal seeing the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh, and I can totally understand why he would not have wanted to be memorialized this way. I'm glad the effort was made to go see him, but it truly was one of the most odd experiences of my life. He looked waxy, and not much more real than a statue at Madame Tussades.
The hotel staff was alarmed that the flight back to Hong Kong was going to leave on time, but I wasn't.
Everyone else in this line was going for the same flight, and it was 20 minutes before it was due to depart, so there really wasn't anything to worry about.
I believe this flight was one of the few times the transportation system in Vietnam was on time - of course I am sure this had more to do with the airline having to be in Hong Kong on time or face consequences from the orderly HK Airport than anything else. Goodbye, Vietnam, I'll be back soon.
Back in "civilization" as it were.
