After a healthy breakfast we were picked up at our hotel by our tour guide to start our first day touring Hanoi. It was indeed a busy day.

Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where you can see Ho Chi Minh’ s body. Ho Chi Minh, was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Vietnam. Hồ was also Prime Minister (1945–55) and President (1945–69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (NLF or VC) during the Vietnam War. He is known as the Father of Vietnam. The mausoleum is not open every day and there is always a long queue to get in. Ho Chi Minh is a highly revered and respected man in Vietnam. There is tight security. You can’t take bags inside and you have to go through an X-ray machine. You are not allowed to talk inside the Mausoleum building and have to walk single file around the adorned perspex box which houses Ho Chi Minh’s Body. You cannot take photos. There are Military security guards everywhere.

After going to the Mausoleum we went see where he lived and the Presidential Palace which is now used as a government office building. The building is yellow and beautiful and has a French architectural influence. His cars are also on display. The palace has a lake nearby and beautiful gardens.