Worth a trip if, like us, you have plenty time on your hands, is the Army Museum which hosts a great collection of weaponry captured during many years of warfare.  The centerpiece was a Soviet-built MiG-21 fighter jet, for me it was the HU1 helicopter (aka ‘the hue’).  Having seen it in movies and on the news so many time it was great to see it up close – shame we weren’t allowed to sit in it or even take it for a spin.

As expected, it gave a one sided view of the war which was very interesting. A great collection of photographs showed the destruction and devastation caused by the American bombings. 

My favourites were the last two: (1) un-deterred by the war, a lady happily watering her flowers amidst the wreckage of a B52 bomber, and (2) a self-made short gun made by Vietnamese guerrillas – how did the Americans ever expect to defeat an army that had the skill to whittle their own weaponry.

This scenario is so far removed from what we are used to, it made us chuckle so we though we would share it with you. We were walking through Hanoi Botanical Gardens and seen what we thought was a wedding reception.  Having walked closer, another wedding couple appeared and another and another.  When in the heart of it, there were as least 50 couples posing for their wedding photos.

Having chatted with a few couples, it appears that it is tradition to go to the gardens a month before the ceremony to have their whole album completed so it can be displayed at the reception.  It was like snow drops on the grass from a distance.  The whole process looks rather laborious. Only the bride, groom and bridesmaid attended – so much for seeing the dress before the big day!