All packed up and waiting for our shuttle to the airport.

There was a nice lake about a 10 minute walk from our hotel, the Hilton Hanoi. Judy went running here the next morning where she saw>>>

VIDEO: One of the intersections in Hanoi. There are better videos of the traffic later (in Ho Chi Minh City), but this one's kind of funny because>>>

A cyclocross was the first part of our guided tour.

VIDEO: First-person perspective of the cyclocross experience - it's pretty relaxing, so much so that Judy almost fell asleep! Of course, the jet lag>>>

Along one of the roads of the cyclocross route, there was a whole line of badminton courts set up.

Waiting at one of the intersections.

That evening, after having dinner with Huy, our trip coordinator, we went to see the Water Puppet Show. Vietnam is known for this unique type of show.

VIDEO: Some clips from the water puppet show. It was actually a neat show, but the dim lights coupled with bad jet lag made it very hard for us not to nod off!

We had lunch and then breakfast the next morning here at the Ciao Cafe. Here's a nice view of a busy intersection by the lake.

Hung, our Hanoi guide, took us to view Ho Chi Minh's embalmed corpse. There was a huge line for this; it's a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike. The strange thing is>>>

We chatted a bit with an English couple in line right in front of us. We'd run into them again later while visiting Hue.

Cameras aren't allowed inside so Hung took my camera and took these pics. We're almost there now!

He snapped this shot of a bunch of soldiers marching in formation.

Here we are coming out. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the building. It was kind of a strange experience to view an embalmed corpse, especially>>>

This is the building where Ho Chi Minh first lived. He was not an extravagant individual, however, and requested to be moved to a smaller and more modest house nearby.

A collection of Ho Chi Minh's cars were available for public viewing.

Hung took this pic of Judy and I in front of a temple.

During the Vietnam War, U.S. Senator John McCain's plane was shot down and crashed into this lake. This was where he crawled out of the lake and was captured.

A close-up of the text.

Judy at a temple.

The Temple of Literature. There were lots of these big stone turtles (which symbolize longevity).

More stone turtles.

Still in the Temple of Literature. There was a pool near the entrance of the courtyard.

Another shot of the pool.

Judy and Hung cruising down the Old Quarter in Hanoi.

VIDEO: Judy walks by a line of outdoor restaurants.

Continuing to walk through Hanoi's Old Quarter.

VIDEO: Clip of the dense traffic moving down this busy street in the Hanoi Old Quarter.

Mmmmm... snake and scorpion! It turns out we would see these things over and over. I never found out whether you just drink it or if you eat the snake and scorpion too.

At the train station ready to board our overnight train to Sapa. This is where we bid farewell to Hung.

The hallways in the train were pretty narrow as you can see here.

Here was our room which we had to share with two others.

The Chau Long Sapa Hotel where we stayed.

We ate at this cafe a couple of times. The food was great!