Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

We have been hanging out in Hanoi for the last couple of days and will be here for another 3-4 days while we wait for our Chinese visas to be authorized.  I'll do a Hanoi post in another couple days once we've seen more of the city.

Today we went to the Ho Chi Minh amusement park - I mean memorial park.  Ho Chi Minh led the North Vietnamese in the war with the US and is credited for bringing communism to Vietnam.  Being in Hanoi has reminded us that this is a communist country, whereas the south does not feel communist. (Side note - we have not been able to use Facebook here because it is blocked by the government.) We've seen far more soldiers here and there is a more confined feeling to the city, especially being around the memorial park. The memorial park is set up with distinct paths where you can walk and the guards are quick to alert you when you've strayed.

I knew nothing about Ho Chi Minh before walking through the memorial park and I still know very little, but thankfully wikipedia has helped me out.  Ho started the communist party in 1945, helped defeat the French rule in 1954, and lead the Viet Cong until he died in 1969.  His face is on all the money here.  His body has been embalmed and lies available for public viewing.  It was easily one of the most bizarre experiences of my life seeing his embalmed body.  It looks more like the work of Madame Tussaud. The guards rushed us around his body (no cameras allowed) and even asked Jeff to not cross his arms behind his back but have them at his sides. We also walked around to see the presidential palace and the house on stilts where Ho lived.

The mausoleum

No communist memorial complete without Pepsi and trinkets

A "beautiful" fountain at the entrance

The long lines to see where Ho lived

More lines around the memorial park

His house

It was a very interesting experience and definitely worth walking through the long crowds and being shuttled from one spot to the next like a ride at Disneyland.  Tomorrow we are off to Ha Long Bay for a two-day cruise, then back to Hanoi to wait for our visas.  We will be in China in about a week!