Hanoi
Hanoi is in the north of Vietnam and compared with Ho Chi Minh was a bit colder as well. The atmosphere of the city was also different. It was a lot more like China than I expected. There were a lot of Chinese temples, writing, and food around the city which was actually very clean and nice.

Here is Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. It was very much like Mao Zedong’s mausoleum in Beijing. Practically nothing was allowed inside, there were guards with guns everywhere in and around it, and the guy looked like a wax figure.

Yet another war museum showing off its collection of captured and destroyed American vehicles.

New Years in Hanoi. Many many people gathered around the small lake to celebrate with music, food, and friends. The lake glowed with floating candles, and the sky was filled with sky lanterns.

Ha Long Bay
A beautiful world heritage site with over a thousand islands that stick out of the ocean like pillars. It was a little more touristy than I expected, with everyone getting on a Chinese junk and taking the standard tour to the caves and some inlets. Yet, the size and grandeur of the bay was still quite an amazing site.

One of the many ships. Tourists usually eat lunch on the ship on the way to the caves.

Some friends I met on my ship.

There were many of these types of formations all around the bay.

View from Cat Ba island, one of the larger islands in the bay.