Hanoi

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Today was Hanoi, I Took a tour of the city which included the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum he was the founder of the Vietnamese communist movement we also visited the presidential palace a museum of Vietnamese ethnicity and an old city palace. Generally the buildings in Hanoi are poorly maintained the main exceptions I saw were the presidential palace and Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. Most of the buildings seem to date back to when the French ruled Vietnam and it seems not much maintenance has been carried out since the communists took over. Most buildings look rather run down. The food in Hanoi was of a lower quality that in china and on average costs approximately 3 times more, The people are not all that friendly and I get the feeling they would rather scam you than help you out.

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Photos

Me Outside Ho Chi Minh
This is me outside Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum he was the founder of the vietnamese comunist movement, his body is preserved inside like Lenin in Moscow.

Presidential Palace
This is where the President holds official engagements although he does not actually live there anymore.

Palace Gates
This is the entrance to an ancient palace in the middle of Hanoi, as you can see it seems rather dilapidated...it gives a good impression of how most of Hanoi's old buildings are maintained

Comments

[Sarah]

Parental concern
That's a great photo of you, but I am concerned as you appear to have lost a lot of weight, the food's not that expensive is it??? I don't suppose they have soup kitchens do they? Best not hang out there for too long, take care x

[sarah]

It's a trick
I bet the President does live there really!

[Julia]

Han-annoying
How annoying to go from China which you seemed to love, to somewhere you seem to love quite a bit less. Still, on the bright side, it seems to be getting warmer, as you've shed your jacket.

[Granny]

Move on
Well, it's good to compare and contrast, I guess. (I have a friend with son and family in Vietnam and she gives a completely different rose-tinted view of it) The general public don't peer at the preserved bodies, do they? x