Tuesday, April 18.

Started today by heading to the mausoleum containing the body of Ho Chi Minh. 

Single pillar pagoda.

Sarah, finally found one.

Rear of mausoleum. Obviously no photos are allowed inside, but he looks just like he does in pictures. Not bad given that he died in September, 1969.

Guards who guard the body of Ho Chi Minh.

Ursula with one of her new best friends.

Summer house in the gardens.

 

Presidential palace

Little tackers tagging along.

Parliament.

More of mausoleum.

Question outside waiting to get on.

For all you electricians, sort this lot out.

Back to hotel for a rest where these were parked out the front. What a stark contrast.

Headed out to Bat Tran, a town which has over 1,000 pottery works. Peak hour on the way out.

Bridge over the Red River which was bombed sixteen times by th Americans during the war. Sections bombed have been replaced, leaving the original sections as is.

Main Street in Bat Trang.

Just some of the amazing examples of fine porcelain.

Four new apprentices.

The real workers.

More examples of their work.

This is a real push bike.

Rice wine jars.

Heavy haulage.

Ceramic coffins. Initially they are buried in wooden coffins. Two years later the eldest son is responsible for  digging the remains up, cleaning the bones, placing them in the smaller coffin in the foreground, then placed inside the larger one and reburied.

Cute samples to finish.

Back to hotel for a tour of the underground bomb shelter constructed under the hotel during the Vietnam war. This was only rediscovered in 2009 when installing the pool bar. People knew about it but did not talk about it.

Check out the safety helmets.