Vietnam and Thailand '08 day 4

Vietnam and Thailand '08 day 4
Took a day tour of the city, 20 of us + 3 driver/guides in a minibus. They have fold up seats in the aisle. Visited the Garden House, a Mandarins private residence built for him by the Emperor. Got a fellow tourist to take a photo of me shaking the hand of the Mandarins Grandson, now 78. Next to Tu Ducs tomb, very impressive, then to the An Phouc Restaurant for lunch - soup followed by a selection of meats and vegetables presented on separate plates for you to take which you want with your boiled rice I tried them all, a delicious meal. I sat with a couple from the Blue Mountains behind Sydney, a couple from Kiev (U kraine) and an Indian lady from Surrey, all very pleasant to chat with. Next to the Palace and tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, an early 20th century King of the Nguyen Dynasty controlled by the french. Then to P & T of E Minh Mang a long raining early 19th century 2nd king of the Dynasty who, our guide informed us, pushed the country into great advances in agriculture. Next the Pagoda in honour of the Heavenly Lady. In Vietnam, 70% of the population are Buddhists who worship dead kings and heros in Temples and Tombs and Buddha in Pagodas. (They have 3 Buddhas, past present and future). From this Pagoda, in 1963, former Monk Thich Quang Duc drove to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and set himself on fire to protest against the South Vietnamese regimes treatment of Buddhists. The whole world saw it on television. TQD is now revered for turning the tide against Buddhism in the South. He was burnt to a cinder but his heart was undamaged so they have got that on show somewhere. Back to the Pagoda, I was fascinated to watch and listen to 30 monks chanting and singing in front of their Buddha. Aged about 8 to 30, they wore robes of different colours and haircuts according to their seniority. I was quite entranced and almost late for the last bit of the tour, a boat trip up the river. This was slightly more exciting than a bus ride up the M4. And that was the end of the tour which actually was very good. The chief guide was a university graduate in english language so spoke it quite well but with a strong accent. The Vietnamese I suspect are taught english by other Vietnamese, a bit like the french learning english from Inspector Clouseau. They pronounce the words as they would in their own language. Fair enough and by listening carefully you can follow most of it quite well. It is more difficult for other nationalities however, who often have to accept the double whammy of having a guide speaking foreign language (english) being spoken with a strong local accent. I remember my Danish friends on last years tour having some difficulty. Just been introduced to Peter sitting next to me in the Internet shop. He is dutch and lives in Thailand working as a tour guide for groups from the Netherlands.
Sorry, have I droned on?
Best wishes to everyone,
John