Sightseeing pt. 1: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and more
Hello and xin chào! After a nasty bout with I'm calling not-strep-throat-but-basically-strep-throat, I'm slowly returning to the world of the living. As promised, I'll be catching you up to speed with the sightseeing I did during my one-person orientation three(?!) weeks ago. As much as I like Hanoi (and perhaps part of why I like it), there aren't many tourist attractions per se. That said, what I've seen has been integral to understanding the city and its people.
Up first was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which is likely the strangest tourist attraction I've ever visited. Against his wishes, Uncle Ho's body was embalmed upon his death in 1969, and it has been on view to the public ever since.
The visit involves all sorts of pomp and circumstance. The walk from the entrance to the mausoleum itself is long and hot—it was here that my eyelashes first failed to protect my eyes from the profuse sweat of 90°F and 80% humidity. Military guards line the tightly regulated path, and shrill, patriotic music follows you the entire way. Finally you reach the blissful A/C, head up some stairs, round a corner, and there he is in all his orange, waxy glory.
There's a steady procession around the edges of the room, so you don't get too long to look. And of course, no photos—I actually had to hand my camera over to security. Nonetheless, I took every possible second to look and attempt to wrap my head around the fact that this was the literal Ho Chi Minh. In the literal flesh. (Nearly 50 years of embalming makes this difficult to comprehend.)
I should also note that the other visitors there were far more respectful than any church or temple I've ever visited. The Mausoleum is popular with foreigners, of course, but for the Vietnamese, it is hands down the number-one sight in Hanoi. Though Ho Chi Minh is the object of an officially sanctioned cult of personality, it's hard to dispute his importance in the history of modern Vietnam. After declaring Vietnam's independence in 1945 and successfully leading the nascent country through wars against France and the United States for 24 years, he easily lays claim to being the father of the nation.
As such, the rest of the grounds revolves around where Uncle Ho did this and that. First, there is the Presidential Palace, which was originally the residence of the Governor-General of French Indochina. Upon the expulsion of the French in 1954, it is said Ho Chi Minh refused to live here because, well, communism.
Instead, he lived in a stilt house elsewhere on the grounds. While on my way in, I got to see the ceremonial changing of the guard, which was really cool until I was chided for holding up the line.
Next was the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which was less of a museum and more of an incoherent, neo-Cubist nightmare. Seriously, the layout was basically a Braque painting. and the only things I looked at that I even remotely understood were letters written to various communist parties and congresses in French and Russian. And some random American war artifacts. (As a side note, the memorialization of the war with the United States here is a really strange but fascinating experience—you'll hear about it in an upcoming post.)
So like most of my time in Vietnam so far, this was certainly… an experience. Super interesting to see the most revered figure in modern Vietnamese history is commemorated today. Here's a link to more photos if you'd like to check them out—though there are spoilers for future posts! Keep an eye out for sightseeing pt. 2.
Till next time,
Gray
Up first was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which is likely the strangest tourist attraction I've ever visited. Against his wishes, Uncle Ho's body was embalmed upon his death in 1969, and it has been on view to the public ever since.
 |
| The back of the mausoleum. |
The visit involves all sorts of pomp and circumstance. The walk from the entrance to the mausoleum itself is long and hot—it was here that my eyelashes first failed to protect my eyes from the profuse sweat of 90°F and 80% humidity. Military guards line the tightly regulated path, and shrill, patriotic music follows you the entire way. Finally you reach the blissful A/C, head up some stairs, round a corner, and there he is in all his orange, waxy glory.
There's a steady procession around the edges of the room, so you don't get too long to look. And of course, no photos—I actually had to hand my camera over to security. Nonetheless, I took every possible second to look and attempt to wrap my head around the fact that this was the literal Ho Chi Minh. In the literal flesh. (Nearly 50 years of embalming makes this difficult to comprehend.)
I should also note that the other visitors there were far more respectful than any church or temple I've ever visited. The Mausoleum is popular with foreigners, of course, but for the Vietnamese, it is hands down the number-one sight in Hanoi. Though Ho Chi Minh is the object of an officially sanctioned cult of personality, it's hard to dispute his importance in the history of modern Vietnam. After declaring Vietnam's independence in 1945 and successfully leading the nascent country through wars against France and the United States for 24 years, he easily lays claim to being the father of the nation.
As such, the rest of the grounds revolves around where Uncle Ho did this and that. First, there is the Presidential Palace, which was originally the residence of the Governor-General of French Indochina. Upon the expulsion of the French in 1954, it is said Ho Chi Minh refused to live here because, well, communism.
 |
| The Presidential Palace. |
Instead, he lived in a stilt house elsewhere on the grounds. While on my way in, I got to see the ceremonial changing of the guard, which was really cool until I was chided for holding up the line.
 |
| The guard about to change underneath Ho Chi Minh's stilt house. |
Next was the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which was less of a museum and more of an incoherent, neo-Cubist nightmare. Seriously, the layout was basically a Braque painting. and the only things I looked at that I even remotely understood were letters written to various communist parties and congresses in French and Russian. And some random American war artifacts. (As a side note, the memorialization of the war with the United States here is a really strange but fascinating experience—you'll hear about it in an upcoming post.)
 |
| No idea what this was or what it had to do with Ho Chi Minh. |
So like most of my time in Vietnam so far, this was certainly… an experience. Super interesting to see the most revered figure in modern Vietnamese history is commemorated today. Here's a link to more photos if you'd like to check them out—though there are spoilers for future posts! Keep an eye out for sightseeing pt. 2.
Till next time,
Gray
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