The French influence is evident in Hanoi, especially in the architecture and food. The street scene is lively, but luckily, the traffic in the French Quarter is not as crazy as it was in Saigon.
To a large extent, life is lived outdoors on the street.
The area around Central Lake or Hoan Kiem Lake is closed to all but pedestrian traffic on weekends, which made it a lovely area to stroll. The red bridge leads out to an island pagoda (under renovation).
Several large stages were set up for music in the evening (techno rock).
A display of ancient carriages.
The Museum of Ethnology is a huge modern building that exhibits the cultural heritage of over 45 ethnic groups in Vietnam, each with their own language, dress, and customs. Most are patriarchal societies, but some are still matriarchal, which means the bride’s family pays a dowery to them groom’s family and after marriage, he belongs to the woman’s family.
This bicycle is loaded down with hundreds of wooden and bamboo fish traps. 
The displays of native costumes (each woven by hand) was truly mind-blowing.
Outside, the garden is filled with examples of traditional houses and burial structures from ethnic minority groups.
The Girai burial structure is the most elaborate, with statues around the periphery, a painted roof and a tin cut-out frieze along the ridge.
The Cotu tomb is elaborately carved wit water buffalo and other animal figures.
The sound of the cicadas was deafening (as it has been in many natural areas).
Next, we visited Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, closed on the weekend. On weekday mornings, thousands of people line up for hours to see his body. We were lucky enough to see the changing of the guard.
Across from the mausoleum is the modern party headquarters. We learned that Ho Chi Minh used hundreds of names when he was evading capture by the French and other anti-communist governments. He took the name Ho Chi Minh in honor of a Chinese prisoner who volunteered to be executed in his place when he was sentenced to death by Chiang Kai Shek in China.
Not far from the mausoleum is the one-pillar pagoda, originally built in 1049 but rebuilt in 1955 after it was destroyed in the French war.
The interior of the pagoda is dedicated to a female Buddha.
Just behind the one-pillar pagoda is another lovely pagoda.
We had a lovely lunch at Maison Vie, a French restaurant not far from our hotel, The Ann. We had a five course dinner there last night, the most elegant meal we have had so far.
In the evening we saw the water puppet show at the Lotus theater, which is mid-way down of the lake. 
Water puppets are a traditional Vietnamese show with music.
We left the water puppet show a few minutes early to walk down to the Four Palaces Show, recommended by a Vietnamese colleague of Steve’s. The show was first presented in 2016 in Cong Nhan Theatre, which is three-minute walk to Hoan Kiem Lake.
The show lasts for 45 minutes and depicts a journey into spiritual world of Đạo Mẫu (Mother Goddess). There are three parts to the show. Each features elaborate costumes, traditional music, and dance. The first is the reincarnation of the forest mother goddess. We watch as the elaborately dressed actress is transformed into the the forest goddess robbed in green with lots of bling. The second features the reincarnation of a young prince, depicting him first in battle, then writing poetry. The last depicts the reincarnation of the Little Girl of the Highlands, a playful and elaborately dressed figure who distributes candy to the audience as flower petals fall from the ceiling. If you are in Hanoi, you should try to see this show. We had a chance to have our photos taken with the actors after the show. 
We walked back to the hotel past the Opera house. The streets are bustling. Even after dark it was warm, but nothing like the high of 97 today. The sidewalks are for parking scooters.
Most shop windows have some sort of altar. Another wonderful, full day.
