A Laid Back Day

We were happy to have a "less hectic" day today!  We left at 8:00 am for our optional excursion.  First we went to the Tu Duc Tomb.  Tu Duc was the emperor from 1847-83.  The walled complex was a beautiful, tranquil area of quiet waterways and pathways.  We saw the Imperial Palace and his tomb.  It was very peaceful here (but hot!).

Then we visited the  Khai Dinh Tomb, which was much more ornate! We also had to climb over three hundred stairs to get to the actual Tomb!  In spite of the heat, we made it!  We made sure to take a group picture with the "Rider" flag to make it all worthwhile!!

After the excursion we returned to the hotel and had some down time, which was really welcomed on such a hot and humid day!

We went to the "Royal Park Restaurant " for lunch and we were definitely treated royally.  They brought dish after dish until we could eat no more!  Each dish was adorned with a different form of food art (see pictures).

After lunch we walked through a local market, another interesting experience!  We were packed in like sardines with ladies yelling "Madame, Madame, come to my shop"!  I pondered as to where they get all of this sh*t from and how they keep track of whose sh*t is whose!!

We are now back at the hotel, having a relaxing time in the air conditioning.  We will head to the airport in a bit for a 7:20 pm flight to Hanoi.  We will arrive at our hotel around 10:00 pm so straight to bed it will be!!

We have a really great group of people on this tour. There are 15 in my group, two couples from BC, six Americans and two Europeans.  It is a great mix!