Hanoi (pt II)

Silly me, I did not look up the hours for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before I went, so I missed it. It is only open for a couple of hours in the morning, and I made my way over after lunch. Ho Chi Minh’s body has been preserved for about 40 years and is housed in a huge Romanesque complex that is similar to Lenin’s in Moscow. Ho Chi Minh was the Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader responsible for founding the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the People’s Army of Vietnam, and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. He was loved and respected by his people.

Since I was already on Ho Chi Minh’s Memorial Complex, I toured the Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Minh’s House on Stilts, the One Pillar Pagoda, and Ho Chi Minh’s Museum. In the museum I walked through a twin exhibit dedicated to Lenin’s life; the other twin is in Russia. It was very interesting to see because Americans believe communism is a “threat to peace and freedom” (Richard Nixon, 1960), while some other nations celebrate it.

Presidential Palace

Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Museum

One Pillar Pagoda