You will be happy to know the storm was a bust here in Hanoi. It did hit the coast really really hard. All of the Ha Long Bay trips were cancelled this weekend. We only got winds and a little rain. Apparently we still have chance of thunderstorms for the next few days.
We got up this morning and I chatted with Randy, Claire and Gma on gmail. We also saw more videos of the pups. Randy has now built a 8ft x 8ft wodden playpen in the basement for them. They are climbing out of the whelping box regularly. They were born June 25 so I think that makes them 2 1/2 weeks old now. Their eyes did not open until day 10 0r 11. They are really cute. Claire has some nice pictures on Facebook. We wish we could be there. We will be there in a few days. We leave here Tues July 20 and fly into Newark July 21 about 3:30pm
Today Allison and I ventured out to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We had seen it on the second day with a mini bus supplied city tour; however, we did not get to see his body. It was closed to visitiation on Mondays and Fridays. We walked about 45 minutes with our map and newly found Vietnam street crossing skills. We successfully crossed many intersections on foot!!! It is still humid, so we were tired till we got there. We had to go through security and they took my water bottle, flashlight from my purse, and Allison's camera. The line actually went very quickly. We walked along the outside and up into the mausoleum. We were not sure what to expect. We passed many guards with some sort of long weapon. I did not want to look too close. One must be properly dressed to enter the musoleum. We both had on skirts to our knees and I had a jacket to cover my shoulders. Allison had a sleeved T-shirt. The guards pulled an 8 year old boy and his mom out of line in front of us. I am not exactly sure why, but it may be becasue his shorts were not quite to his knees or his sandals were floppy and unsecured in the back. We walked in and around a corner and up more stairs, wondering what to expect. We entered the room where the preserved body is in a glass case so one can see him, like at a funeral viewing. The room was darkened, but a light was on inside the case on his face. We walked three sides around his body and exited, no stopping; the line was continuous. The whole process is very efficient...we were a little worried when we saw the long line outside the mausoleum as we approched. It did not take more than 10 minutes in the line outside and inside. Apparently he wanted to be creamated, so it is interesting his body continues to be on display. We did walk throgh the remainder of the palace grounds 2 weeks ago, so we did not do it again. They were pretty but not elaborate.
Next we set out for Smile Cafe. We found it in the Southeast Asia Lonely Planet book. It is a cafe that is run by disadvantaged children. Isn't that a cool idea??? It was small, like most cafes, only 4 tables. We had very good friendly service starting with a cool mint washcloth. Allison thought she was getting chocolate cheesecake, but it looked like cheesecake but was only bi colored cake. It was good. I got pumpkin and shrimp soup. They must have cooked the raw pumpkin after I ordered because it took 20 min to come, but it was very tasty. I could tell it had natural flavorings.
Next we set out for Bookworm bookstore that was also described in the lonely planet. I must compliment Allison on her map skills. We did not get lost and these streets and not all symetrical. The bookstore was disappointing, since it was only used books and not very big.
Now we are whimpy. We took a cab back to the hotel for 30,000dong-1.50$ We took a little nap and then went back to the Best Burger in Asia restaurant. Al got smoked chicken salad and I got nachos with black beans and salsa....I have been missing cheese in my meals here. I think the nachos were home made. The salsa was a bit hot for me, but it was good. Now we are back at the hotel for a mid afternoon longer siesta. Hopefully Al can get some pictures on our blog today.
We will be home soon....pupppies are missing us, and I think Randy wants some help too!! Ben is almost finished with his internship at Long Beach Island. He says it was good.
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