It showed me a different side to communism

Tour day for the city today! Went to see numerous temples, pagodas, and governmental buildings. The ones we saw centered around Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Not only religion but more so a way of life for the Vietnamese. Inside some of the temples there were monks chanting in a room covered with gold statues and ancient writing.

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was also cool to see. A mausoleum is an above ground building that holds a deceased person’s body. In this case it was Ho Chi Minh’s, the «father» of modern Vietnam who everyone respects. He cared about Vietnam very much, so much that he didn’t even want people to build anything after he died because he wanted the money to be used for Vietnam. But the people wanted to honor him so badly that they built one anyways.

Through this and what the tour guide was saying, it showed me a different side to communism. In school I feel like it is taught in such a negative form with strong stereotypes. But the tour guide said that 99% of Vietnamese don’t even pay mind that they are a communist country (and it doesn’t feel like one at all). They go on with their life, happy to be independent and willing to trust Ho Chi Minh’s legacy.

Ho Chi Minh’s body is kept perfectly preserved in the capital, they say it looks like he is just sleeping (and he died over 50 years ago…).

Took a seated carriage/bike tour (I don’t know what to even call it) around the Old Quarter. We were a line of over 10 carts going through the streets, I definitely felt like a tourist 😂. It was relaxing to not have to worry about crossing the road.

Tried Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) for lunch. Honestly, it’s my favorite thing so far. I was even about to not get one but I caved at the last minute. We all got it as a group at a famous shop that has a line out the door at all times. The bread was perfectly crispy.

Later walked around more and I bought a fan to cool myself down, a dressy shirt, and a beautiful silk shawl. The night market was bustling with people and variety. Definitely a cool experience. But I think that the tiredness is catching up to me 😅.