We didn't have to be up early for once so we took advantage and didn't get up until after 8am which felt quite late to us. We went for our complimentary breakfast and then chilled out in our room for most of the morning as we still felt tired. We then went to enquire about renting a moped as we had seen a sign directly opposite our hotel but when we stepped outside there was nobody around. It was typical as whenever we didn't want a moped there was always an offer for one. Anyway, we found a place called 'Little Saigon' restaurant and had a bowl of soup that was super cheap before trying our luck again with a moped. This time there was somebody waiting by a moped for rent so we asked how much it would cost. We were told 150,000 dong if we brought it back before 7pm but it was already 2pm so it was a bit of a rip off. We managed to agree on 100,000 dong instead and so we set off towards a petrol station. We were once again almost ripped off for being a clueless Westerner as we were short-changed but Andrew stood his ground and in the end we were handed over the rest of our money. We then set off driving to 'Tu Duc's Mausoleum' but we had no luck in finding it as it was tucked up a little alleyway yet every one we went up was a dead end. The sky had also started turning black, which was typical, so we decided to not waste any more time by heading to the citadel instead. The traffic was pretty crazy in the city, though nowhere near as bad as what it was like in Hanoi. However, I did feel a little nervous on the back of the moped so I was glad when we found the entrance to the citadel whose massive ten kilometre long perimeter wall remained intact despite war, fire and flooding. We parked our moped and then entered the 'Imperial City' via the 'Ngo Mon Gate' which was opposite the prominent 'Cot Co' flag tower. We paid the entrance fee and then walked underneath another defensive wall and lotus-filled moat before reaching 'Thai Hoa Palace'. This was the most important building within the 'Imperial City' since it held the throne. The interior was mainly red and gold lacquer and it had a strong musty smell! The palace was first constructed in 1805 but it was left to rot even though it was the only building to escape bomb damage. It wasn't until 1991 when restoration work began which involved applying twelve coats of red lacquer paint to each ironwood pillar. It took one whole month for each layer to fully dry! We then looked inside the 'Left House' and 'Right House' which faced each other across a courtyard where we bought an ice-cream. There was a grassy area behind the 'Right House' and we spotted an elephant taking shade beneath a huge tree. We strolled around the rest of the 'Imperial City' which was mainly grassland as the rest of the buildings had been destroyed although a great deal of restoration work was taking place. We spotted the odd floor tile and stonework amongst the grass as well as the remains of a staircase. It was such a peaceful place to wander away from the moped frantic streets of Vietnam so we took our time. We then returned to 'Ngo Mon Gate' where we went upstairs to a giant pavilion called the 'Five Phoenix Watchtower' which was a good viewpoint across to the flag tower. We sat for a while before making our way back to our moped where we were asked to pay a 10,000 dong parking fee! It had started to rain so we returned the moped and then walked to 'DMZ Bar' for something to eat. We spent the rest of the night drinking all manner of beer!