I think we forgot to be tourists in Hanoi. Whilst we rolled our eyes when Shannon sent us a message telling us we were going to spend Saturday in Hanoi at the Aussie Big Day Out, once we were there we loved it. More of a trade fair than a rock concert, it was hosted by Auscham, and was a place for the Australian/Vietnamese business communities to come together and watch the Dream Team AFL Match (which was a crock concept, and result,) eat hotdogs, and drink a lot of beer.

We were pretty novel as three tourists rather than expats, but Lizzie spoke to economists, Steve chatted to importers about wine, and I kept busy speaking with media and NGO's. By the end of the night we all agreed that after a fortnight of non-stop travel it was good to have a day off from thinking.

Lizzie and I caught a cyclo and went to see Ho Chi Minh lying in state in his Mausoleum, and though I found the concept slightly weird, to see the complex and the regalia attached to it was fantastic. That was seriously about it for Hanoi; bought some DVDs, ate KFC, yes, KFC (none of us woke up 100% after the BDO), and then caught a lift with Shannon to the airport in his Australian Embassy Landcruiser, complete with Chauffeur.

Note to anyone flying Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi - pay the $10 'fee' and relax in the Business Class Lounge. We did, and ate and drank far more than it cost us to enter. There will be no receipt issued though, and we're pretty sure it didn't go in the till!

I'll update with a few happy snaps from the weekend later today.