at Ho Chi Minh's tomb

at Ho Chi Minh's tomb

at Ho Chi Minh's tomb
     the heavy Soviet slabs

          rest on marigolds


It would be rude to not pay a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Ba Dinh Square when touring Hanoi as American, as the man is very much revered by the Vietnamese in the North. As is the case the world over, though, the architectural legacy of Communism is one of ugliness and that ugliness is especially strong when juxtaposed against the beauty and Feng shui inspired harmony found everywhere else in the country.