Back to Hanoi: And Now For Something Completely Different

During our first stay in Hanoi, our daily plan was to wander around the city and we didn't take in any of the sites, besides the Hanoi Hilton.  Returning to the city from Halong Bay, we decided to focus on the sites, especially those in the Ho Chi Minh Complex.  I don't want to sound culturally insensitive, but it was a bizarre experience.

The centerpiece of the complex is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.  Vietnam wasn't content to just bury Uncle Ho's body here - they preserved it and display it in a glass case for all to see.  And plenty of people do in fact come to see him.  We went on a Tuesday morning and there was a long line snaking out of the building, and from the length of the covered walkway, it appears that on busy days the line is much much longer.  The line moved slowly but steadily, and as we approached the mausoleum, we saw more and more soldiers stationed, observing the crowd.  I tried to read the pamphlet I was given at the ticket counter, but one of the soldiers told me to put it away.  Behind me, a man was rebuked for having his his hands in his pocket, and ahead of me a different man is prodded to keep up his pace.  Once inside the mausoleum (pictured top left, it is supposed to resemble a lotus flower but is actually just a typical austere Soviet concrete monstrosity), we felt the cool blast of air conditioning and continued our pace.  The building was completely silent, as the soldiers were more than ready to enforce the "keep a serious attitude" rule posted outside.  We entered the room where the body was on display and everyone's eyes remained glued on the case as they shuffled their feet forward.  I've never seen a dead body before, and I have to admit that it creeped me out a bit.  In front of me, a young Vietnamese boy was wearing a military-style camo outfit covered in letters spelling out "USA COMMANDO", adding to the surreal scene.  One minute later, we were back outside.  The first thing I said was, "well, that was weird."  I can't blame Uncle Ho, though, as he requested to be cremated.

We continued our walk through the complex and took in some of the less macabre sites dedicated to Ho Chi Minh.  In the garage of a building where he lived from 1954 to 1958, the most popular attraction was a garage that contained three of his cars (shouldn't they be the people's cars?  I can never remember when communism's rules of commonly controlled property are applied to the rulers and when they are not).  Also popular was Ho Chi Minh's house-on-stilts, where he lived from 1958 until his death in 1969.  The modest building is supposed to be a demonstration of his ascetic liftestyle, although there are doubts of whether or not he actually lived there.

A crowd gathers to admire Uncle Ho's three cars

House-on-stilts

After thirty minutes of normal, it was back to weird as we entered the Ho Chi Minh Museum.  The first floor had standard museum fare, with a range of documents and photos from Hi Chi Minh's life, the second floor was more of a modern/post-modern art exhibit than a museum dedicated to the life of a historical figure.  There were explanations next to the art pieces that attempted to tie their meaning to the purpose of the museum, but they all seemed to be a bit of a stretch.  They reminded me of discussion in literature classes in high school and college, when everyone is trying to find allegorical meanings to everyone, but they ultimately just like to hear themselves talk.  I don't think I learned anything from the museum I didn't already known about the man.

A sculpture of Ho Chi Minh, or something.  I don't know.  I have no idea what this has to do with him.

A Ford crashing through a wall, which I think is supposed to symbolize the demise of capitalism - which has clearly happened judging by the number high end boutiques in Saigon and Hanoi

I forget what this erupting "volcano" is supposed to represent

Leaving the complex, which was incredibly busy for a Tuesday morning, we visited the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university and a Hanoi landmark.  It was founded in 1070 and most the architecture dates from this year until 1400.  Its peaceful courtyards where a good place to decompress from our odd three hours at the Ho Chi Minh Complex.