Ho Chi Minh Mauseoleum Complex

I got up early yesterday morning from noise on the stairwell. This was good in the long run, because I was able to walk around a bit and finally find a place that rented bicycles and leave for the bike ride to where Ho Chi Minh's body is housed and displayed. The plan was going well, until it started raining...but I powered through. I stopped at Lenin Park and took a couple of pictures of the giant Lenin statue in the park. No, I am not turning into a Communist.

When I got to the complex, I ended up on the wrong side of the entrance and had to walk all the way around. The KEEP OFF THE GRASS signs apparently also included the sidewalk that ran through the middle of the grass, so there was no taking a short-cut for me, which the guards strictly enforced with whistles and motions of their hands. I was also motioned to remove my left hand from its pocket when I finally made it to the inside of the tomb, which was after about thirty minutes of waiting in line.

The air was really cold inside, befitting a tomb, I thought. Ho Chi Minh was a handsome man, but it was difficult for me to figure out how tall he was because his body was laid horizontal. Once we exited the tomb, we could visit the palace and house where HCM used to live. He had some really stylish used cars, and we could walk around the house he had built on stilts that overlooked a small pond. Here it really started pouring, so people were in a hurry to get back to the main gate to stay dry.