Probably not the worse I have seen but quite interesting anyway – outside of our hotel.

I hope our Power at home stays on !!!

Pam wanted to see Ho Chi Minh in his Mausoleum so we caught a taxi from the hotel to the gate where we found what looked like hundreds and hundreds of people queued up waiting to get in. Our taxi drove past the gate a bit and we paid him 50,000 VND about $4 NZD.

We were wondering what we should do and then a group of people got off a BUS and walked to a gate so we followed them. As we got there the gate was shutting but we got in – we did not know where we were going but we continued as if we were part of that group  (they were all Asian and we are white Kiwis!)

We found after a while that we were outside at the HO CHI Minh museum so we went inside 12,000 VND per person.

Looks like we skipped the queues at the front gate.

HO CHI MINH

A lot of the museum was about war and lots of photos and documents of his life over the years.

After the museum we decided to see where all the queued people were going – the length of the queue was about 500 meters long.

We followed the queue and then saw that they were heading towards the Mausoleum. We walked along and were told to not join the queue but continue down the street. We did this and then joined the queue at the other end of the street. A security guard then pulled us out and said we had to go through security scanner. So we had to join another queue – only a couple of minutes and they then said we had to go back to where we had originally came from to put our cameras. They give us a little ticket and we are told to pick it up at the exit.

No Cameras allowed in the Mausoleum or even near it.

So we join the queue again but only about 200 meters from the Mausoleum entrance. We are told to be quiet and hands had to be beside you not behind your back (Pam was told off)

It was a quite regimented process and we are marched in and around Ho Chi Minh in a glass box and then out again – about 30 seconds all up.

So in the end we did not pay to get it ( we think it was 60,000 VND each), skipped the majority of the queues and saw Ho Chi Minh in his glass box, and saw the museum – so all up pretty good.

We went to see Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and after this we went for a walk – we noticed we were not in a normal tourist area, and in fact we were in a food market.

Puppies on a table – not nice – I tried to push Pam’s eyes away but she wanted to know what I was trying to hide her from!

Out flight from Singapore was only just over 2 hours even though it is suggested that it is about 3.5 hours

We saw the Visa on Arrival service and went straight over as there not many people there. Quite a few French people in front of us.

We gave our Visa on Arrival Letter (something we pre-purchased about 3 months ago – I think we paid about 15 USD per person for this). We were told to go around the corner.

We waited and waited and noticed that people after us were getting processed before us.

What they were doing was placing the passport down on top of the other passports after processing so only the latest passport was being given back to the travellers.

Since we were quite early getting processed, we were almost LAST to get ours back. Not too much of a problem.

Note: CASH ONLY – 25 USD per person (or Euro + probably other currency – NO ATM)

In Singapore I changed a $50 AUS to $50 USD (well + a couple of SG dollars)

We we had our visa, we went through to immigration – looked like 2 open places to go through – no queue since we took so long at Visa on Arrival.

They took quite a while to process the request and we noticed that the immigration desk/place next to ours had an immigration officer inside but he just played with his phone and did not want to serve anyone!

We then picked up our bag and went straight to Custom – nothing to declare – probably what they wanted!

We met our driver that we had arranged through the hotel to take us from Airport to the Hotel.

We needed money so we went to an ATM – 1 NZD is about 15,000 Vietnamese Dong – but is only about 12,500 at money exchangers.

At the ATM we thought we may need 20 Million – about $1300 NZD – But no go – said we should take 2,000,000 – we flagged this and decided to get some in town.

We later found out that 2,000,000 is all you can get from an ATM which is about $130 NZD – and they charge you 20,000 VND as a processing fee – $1.30 NZD

So pretty crappy really since 130 NZD really buys not a huge amount - we will be hit for $10 NZD + $1.30NZD per $130 NZD in fees!

So we are off in our ride to the city – about 40 KM or so – about 1 hour – we pass lots of rice paddies

We arrive at the hotel and find it to be pretty much as they describe it on the web site which is nice – we are paying $105 USD + 10% Tax per night.

  

We end up sleeping for about 3-4 hours as we are quite tired and then decide to “venture” out – about 5pm local time on a Friday Evening!

The roads are very busy – the footpaths are by motor bikes and shops – we walk on the road edge

Crossing the road to get to the Lake is a mission – 100’s of motor bikes and cars per minute – but we survive without injury.

   
We get to the lake – called “Hoan Kiem” and it is very green – not inviting at all – but we are Tourists and check it out anyway.

We walk along the edge of the lake and see people doing Thai Chi and generally relaxing around the edge of the lake – did not notice any Mosquitos.

We saw a lady run across the road – she had a basket of what looked like Croissants – just behind here was a Police Man – he caught up with here and they had a dispute about the basket we assume. She held on and more police arrived – she would not let go – we noticed a 3rd police man call in on his CB and then a truck with a tarpaulin turned up. The cop in the end got the basket off the woman and put it in the back of the truck. The woman was not happy still arguing with the police and was not very happy. In the end the cops went away, the truck drove off, no arrest and an irate woman! No idea of what really happened.

It started to get dark so Pam & I walked back to the hotel – we found quite a few people who thought we needed a new wallet – starting price, 350 (we assume thousand) in the end it went down to 100 (again assume 1000)

We did not buy – if it was 100,000 VNG when that is about $9 NZD

HANOI`s ELEGANCE Diamond (Formerly named Hanoi Elegance 5)

Opened in May 2010, boutique in size and style with streamlined service and luxury rooms that meticulously blend elegant decor with state of the art technology, the brand new eco-friendly Hanoi Elegance Diamond Hotel is once again perfectly positioned to be your hotel of choice in Hanoi.

This latest gem in our chain is primarily located in Hanoi’s historic Old Quarter, just 2 minute walk away from Hoan Kiem Lake (the Sword Lake), close to many tourist attractions and the central business district. With price points that speak to your common sense and amenities that are respectful of your time and taste, our boutique hotel ticks all the boxes – great price, great service and perfect location.

Address: 32 Lo Su Str., Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (+84 4) 3935 1632 
Fax: (+84-4) 3935 1636
Hotline: 0936 215 187
Email: res@hanoielegancehotel.com
http://www.hanoielegancehotel.com/he5/