Visiting the Ho Chi Minh Complex in Hanoi, Vietnam. (12 photos)

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has plenty of interesting places to visit. Whether you are interested in the revolutionary history, the museums that displays exhibitions from the Vietnam War or even much older history going back to Imperial Vietnam. One of the places I found interesting was the Ho Chi Minh Complex. The whole complex consists of the mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, the Stilt House, his car collection and the Ho Chi Minh Museum. We started at the mausoleum.

The Presidential Palace

Ho Chi Minh was a humble man who lived more simply than one would expect from a president. The mausoleum itself is built in the same style as the mausoleums of Mao, Stalin and Lenin. Ho Chi Minh was a humble man who lived more simply than one would expect from a president. What he had wanted was a simple cremation, so this building was not at all adjusted to his wishes. When it was to be built, materials were collected from all parts of the country. It was done in the period 1973-75. He died in Hanoi, but wasn't burried until 18th of July 1995. He lies embalmed in a glass sarcophagus, so that he can be seen.

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1967)was a revolutionary and the founder of the Communist Party. He spent a few years abroad, but returned home to Vietnam in 1941 to lead a liberation movement. In the year 1946, he proclaimed himself president. That happened after he had led the "August revolution" against Japan. He also defeated the French in 1954. The result was a divided Vietnam into communist North-Vietnam and anti-communist South-Vietnam. He also played a key-role during the Vietnam War (1955 -75) and the reunification of South Vietnam. What he did in the 1960s was to provoke and infiltrate in av way that led to riots in the south. I don't know from which year the city of Saigon changed name to Ho Chi Minh City. But it was done to honor Ho Chi Minh.

From 1958 and until his death, the president was living and working in this rather simple Stilt house. Is situated by a small lake. It gives a good idea of how he lived. He was a modest man. In a way this reflects who he was. It still looks exactly as he left it. The Presidential Palace is closed to tourists, but the Stilt House is open. If interesting in the revolutionoary history of Vietnam, it's worth visiting the Ho Chi Minh Museum. You can easily spend a day here if you want to visit everything within the complex and dig a little deeper into Vietnam's recent history.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh