Hanoi is regarded as the 'gateway' to Vietnam. This iconic city has been the capital of Vietnam (on and off) since AD1010, when Emperor lay Thai To moved his capital here. Despite war with the Chinese, French and Americans the city still holds firm and much of its bombed splendour has been restored.

With a full day to mwtch about before our flights tomorrow we decided to stretch our legs and see a few more of the capital's sights.

Our first stop was Hanoi's Citadel. I was confused as to what a citadel is, it's a fortress (usually on high ground) which protects or dominates a city. This particular citadel is now, unfortunately, closed to the public and now houses high ranking military officials and their families. The building is still impressive though and its lemon-yellow walls and intricate stone dragon stairway add a sense of grandeur to the ancient place.

We then made our way to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. This can be found in the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex (they really did love this guy) which is a place forbidden to traffic and an important site of pilgrimage where many Vietnamese come to pay their respects.

The mausoleum itself is a sturdy looking cube structure where a thick marble roof is supported by many columns. Past the guards, clad in a white uniform that should be on detergent adverts, you come to the glass sarcophagus of Ho Chi Minh himself whose embalmed body is flown to Russian for two months of the year for 'maintenance'.

Ho Chi Minh is revered by the Vietnamese as he is seen as their liberator from colonialism as well as the founder of the Viet Minh Independence movement, which saw him become prime minister and president of Vietnam, creating a communist rule in which he defeated the French. Vietnamese schools reinforce these ideas through their teaching practices - his methods as well as his body have been immortalised.

After sampling an egg coffee, which isn't as bad as it sounds as the 'egg' is actually whipped into a meringue, we made our way back to our hostel and our last night in Vietnam.