Looks like we are unable to go Halong Bay in this trip. Halong Bay is a like a must to visit as a tourist attraction However, due to torrential rains on the first 2 days and knowing that it was a 3 hour drive to the destination before even taking the boat, we gave it up. Therefore, we visited the Ho Chin Minh mausoleum instead. Nothing very special about it except to see how the ruler, Ho Chin Minh, actually looks like on death bed. His house was like our president's Istana.
What gave us surprise was the long queue of Vietnamese waiting to see Ho Chin Minh. Despite the mausoleum being there for a long time, there were still so many Vietnamese queuing in the early morning to see him. We saw many young kids too. It seemed like visiting the place was like a date out. I felt like I was re-visiting Mao Ze Dong's body in Beijing.
There were security checks but I can say, it's not tight enough to be almost foolproof. It does not even pass the 50% mark in terms of security. This is one area called quality in which I feel that Vietnamese can improve largely on. Be it service in restaurants, security or doing anything.
So, we had the chance of walking around the president's old living area. Huge piece of land with lots of garden, lakes and old buildings.
His car in exhibit
His building by the lake
His garage
I think this was the mausoleum building, I don't quite remember what it was.
