A Farewell to Ted, and We're Back in Saigon

Ted left last night from Hanoi, and Rachel, Jason, and I have returned to Ho Chi Minh City on a long, noisy two hour domestic flight. Our last day in Hanoi was as hot as all of the other days in the north. We woke up early to have breakfast before taking a taxi to view Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, which is supposed to be free.

The Vietnamese take great pride in their “Uncle Ho,” who helped reunite them against the Americans and reunify the country into the communist, I mean “socialist” republic it is today. People from the countryside make the pilgrimage regularly. There are thousands of Vietnamese, and even a few tourists here and there, in a long line, winding around the streets. Luckily it moves continuously. Once you reach the front entrance, everyone is supposed to check their purses, bags, cameras, etc. There is counter for Vietnamese, though I think these rules weren’t really enforced with the locals. It is strictly enforced with the tourists; there is even a separate counter to leave behind all of your things. One woman at the counter tried to sell Jason brochures. He was confused and pointed to the sign that said the mausoleum and luggage/ bag check was free. She then proceeded to tell him that those were free, but he should buy the brochure. She seemed offended when he told her we didn’t want the brochures. But, we were in…

There are a lot of strict rules. For starters, there are armed guards in bright white attire everywhere watching the crowd. The public must follow a strict dress code, no shorts or short skirts and no tank tops. You aren’t allowed to take any pictures, talk, or even put your hands in your pocket. There can be no disrespect for Uncle Ho. After walking sometime on concrete, under blue tented walkways, we approached the rubbery red carpet that led up to the mausoleum. We were still moving at a pretty steady pace, and we finally entered. We continued around a couple corners and up a few steps until we had finally reached the room where his embalmed corpse lay in a glass box lit up in the center of the room. Uncle Ho is surrounded by 4 motionless bodyguards at all times. He looked almost too perfect with his wispy, white beard and arms crossed. Apparently his body is returned to Russia a few months each year for touch-ups, but there is also some discussion and doubt as to whether it is really him or some wax figure. The old, Vietnamese woman in front of me couldn’t get enough. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Ho Chi Minh. One of the guards on our level had to eventually shuffle her along in the line.

Upon leaving, we were ushered to a yellow house, fishing pond, the house on stilts that Ho Chi Minh supposedly spent some time in, and a one-column pagoda. This was free for all Vietnamese, but 10,000 dong (about 70 cents) for tourists. We were irritated to pay -- not because it was super expensive, but because the visit was supposed to be free. And we were getting nickel and dimed to continue the tour to get out. It was just another of many scams. After that we went into the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which was another 5,000 dong (about 35 cents). The museum was strange. It had more anti-American, pro-Communism sentiment, and weird lighting. There were some paintings of Ho Chi Minh on the wall, and Ted and I saw other old, Vietnamese ladies rubbing the hands and touching one of the paintings of Uncle Ho.

We spent the rest of the morning relaxing at the air-conditioned hotel before we had to check-out. After lunch, we did some shopping and met some of Rachel’s friends at a nearby café.

It’s nice to be back in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s been an exciting and tiring two weeks. We did a bit of American Idol karaoke on Playstation 2 last night, and I hope to return a bit to the spas. Tomorrow and Tuesday Jason and I will take some day trips if the weather holds up. It’s sunny today!