HANOI:

Originally we had intended to take another overnight train ride from Hue to Hanoi but that one would have been more than 12 hours. So we treated ourselves to a 1-hour plane ride instead.
We arrived around midnight in Hanoi and started our sightseeing trip early the next day. Hanoi, which is supposedly the most European city in Vietnam, is a pretty city with a lot green spaces and lakes. The main part of the city wraps around fairly large Hoan Kiem Lake, which creates a nice atmosphere. The Old Quarter of Hanoi is largely influenced by French colonial architecture. The quarter was developed around small streets, each dedicated to a trade, such as blacksmiths, tailors, temple accessories, jewelry etc. Those structures are still pretty evident and you can do your own walking tour through the chaos of small streets. There is so much to see!
Hanoi also has a lot of pagodas and temples but as we were pretty templed-out by that time we limited our visits to the great Temple of literature and the One-Pillar-Pagoda. We also visited Uncle Ho (that's how Ho Chi Min is still called by the Vietnamese), who is in a glass sarcophagus in his mausoleum. We have to admit, for somebody who has been dead for thirty something years he looks pretty good! We also visited his former house, his stilt house and the Palace and enjoyed a show of the famous water puppet theater. I have to add that shopping in Hanoi is pretty good, too!