What bittersweet emotions!

The flight, customs et al were relatively hassle-free, and Bob and I are sitting in Qantas Club where I am shocked at my unbridled delight at the speed of the internet connection! I can do more in a few minutes than I could do in an hour or three in the emerging technology of Laos and Vietnam.

I will look forward greatly to seeing the Lucy cat, catching up with Aki and Strewth, and getting back into the loop of Coolrunning, but I will miss Vietnam and will certainly miss the warm, balmy weather! Yes, I may have been sweating at times, but I didn't 'feel' the heat - the climate really suited me . . . going back into Canberra winter will be another issue.

Unfortunately Bob and I both came down with colds on Monday, before our early morning run around Hoan Kiem Lake with the supporting cast of tens of thousand daily 'fun runners', walkers, badminton players, tai chi and aerobic exponents and other morning exercisers. I had the 'shivers' not long after I started, the first while away, and although I considered turning back and giving it a miss, I pushed on, not wanting to shirk. Bob's Achilles/calf injury kept his pace to one so pedestrian that even I was slowing down to keep him in sight, however despite this he had to pull out before completing the first lap (of around a mile or 1.6km) and returned to the hotel. I continued on with another, faster lap, enjoying the company, but aware of my worsening throat and blocked sinus'.

We had to take it pretty easy on Monday, effectively our last day in Hanoi, nursing worsening raw sore throats and investing in a supply of tissues. I slept a little in the afternoon, before scouting out a place to eat while Bob enjoyed a final Bia Hoi (fresh draught beer without preservatives) or five with his new best friends du jour, Ernie from Portland, Oregon and Peter from Carlton, Melbourne.

In my still slightly dazed and dizzy state, I wandered from one side of the old quarter to another, first checking out places near the markets, then finding myself, if not exactly lost, then certainly misrepresenting my location. I followed buses to the railway station and found a couple of possible eateries, before getting heartily sick and tired of it all and just wanting to stop. Needless to say, I wasn't wearing my garmin, and while I loved finding new places like "mushroom street" (an offshoot of ginseng street, where, surprise surprise, there were shop after shop selling mushrooms of increasing size and potency, many of truly gigantic proportions), I was keen to just lie down.

We returned to our regular street haunt, and had a final meal in Hanoi blowout of Grilled Pigeon, Eel with citronella (sic) and chilli (no flies on me), stir fried mustard greens with five kinds of mushrooms, and crispy noodles. With a bottle of Tiger Beer and iced tea the bill came to 87,000 Dong, about AUD $7.50 for more food than two people should eat. Despite this, we made the short trip to the laneway near the musical instrument shops to visit 'our' lady and her fruit cups for desert - tall glasses filled with chunks of fruit including avocado (it works), with some coconut cream and condensed milk poured on. One then helps yourself to a bowlful of crushed ice with which to stir and make your own delicious and generally-good-for-you drink/fruit salad. The cost - 12,000 Dong (AUD $1) for the two.

We visited Ho Chi Mihn's mausoleum on Sunday morning, quite a slow, but rather moving experience. While there were quite a few western tourists there, they were dramatically out numbered by the number of Vietnamese paying their respects, most quite young. Uncle Ho is only able to be visited for quite restricted hours, never on a Monday or Friday, nor in the afternoons or after 11:00am. With an elaborate guard of honour, it made a little more sense, and we quietly filed through past his embalmed body with atmospheric lighting.

On 'the other side' - and it felt like that - everyone grabbed their cameras and took photos and chatted excitedly, so different to how it was a short time earlier while queuing. We did went through the complex to the Presidential Palace, and were attached to a local guide, Quan, a student of English and dance. He was quite the showman, and pushed us ahead of most others, especially foreign tourists who he would advise were not allowed in this area! The perspective on Uncle was enlightening though, and we saw far more than would otherwise be the case.