The 4km walk there and back was really enjoyble, we enjoyed watching children at a local fair and families living in their boat-houses docked to the shore where their gardens present a livelihood over and above what the river itsef can provide.
We also passed the Citadel we explored a couple of days ago, but today it seemed that those living outside the protected walls continued the theme by hiding themselves behind stone gates that in a past time would have been difficult to penetrate but now many lie in such a state that even a child could knock them down.
The Thien Mu Pagoda is one of the most famous in Vietnam and is perched over the Perfume River. The pagoda itself is 21m high and was originally built in 1601 for prosperity, although the current pagoda was built in 1844 - after falling victim to war, like many others. Other than the pagoda and surrounding temples, this complex is famous for being home to the car that monk Thich Quang Duc drove himself in before his famous fire protest in 1963. 
After touring ourselves out yesterday it was nice to take charge of our own day and its direction again, and we managed to revive ourselves by wandering around the grounds of this tranquil place.
On the way home we managed to catch a group of kids sneaking into the carnival - they were extremely pleased with themselves and gave us lots of smiles and waves of success!
After a early dinner, we went back to our hotel to wait for our bus to Hanoi - but for the first time in Vietnam our bus was early and we were rushed to the bus straightaway.
Adlibing the pagoda our way.
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