Two days in Hanoi

In the evening, we arrived at Hanoi airport. It's very strict here: when we stood in the group for a short time to exchange money, we were instructed to make way and leave the hall.
The ride into the city was a bit adventurous: Hanoi has about 8.5 million inhabitants and about half as many mopeds. You can imagine the hustle and bustle well. The little racers come from all corners.
People make themselves noticed here by honking loudly, so our room, which faced the street, was correspondingly loud. Nevertheless, we slept well, I with earplugs.

The next day our tour started with a visit to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. However, we had to queue up in pairs for this. Anyone who left the 'lane' was firmly corrected. Hands had to be taken out of the pockets of trousers/skirts.
The simplicity of the apartment and the government headquarters, which consisted of only one room with a table and eleven chairs for the advisory committee, was impressive.

After that, we went to the Natural History Museum, where exhibits from the around 50 ethnic groups of Vietnam were displayed. Very interesting: there were also minorities where women were in charge. Men were only allowed to use the 'side stairs' to the stilt house. The living house was elongated: a room was added for each daughter born. The boys slept in one room. The bedrooms of the girls were strictly off-limits.

Finally, we were led to the Temple of Literature. For centuries, only the best students in the country were admitted there and had to take an exam. The king asked the questions. The top 15 men passed. They received a memorial stone with their names.

On both evenings, we were in the city. There were almost only young people out and about. They played, sang karaoke, danced, and strolled along the street.
For the youngest ones, there were small cars that they drove across the street.

Today (Sunday) we traveled a stretch by train (pictures show the first-class compartment). We continued by bus to a traditional water puppet show.
We had dinner with a local family.

Now we are in Halong Bay, where we will continue by ship tomorrow at 7.10 am.