Take Me Back To Hanoi, Vietnam.
A continuation from the last Hanoi article, the people and places of Hanoi, Vietnam, hold with them, by-far, the greatest dispelling of misconception one could possibly expect from, not only a communist, but recovering war-torn country.
The Vietnamese people are certainly no strangers to hardship, having been on the receiving end of both French subjugation and unwarranted victimization during the infamous Vietnam War. Though, you would not know it now, given Vietnam's increasingly high rates of torurism and push towards more Westernization.
Undoubtedly, the biggest remnant alluding to Vietnam's not-so-distant rule by the French can be found in its architecture. Though one would expect Vietnam to present an exclusively oriental feel, various places around Hanoi can be found to exhibit a more French-European design.
Notwithstanding, visitors of Hanoi will also find many publicly funded museums dedicated to Vietnam's pride and previous leader, Ho Chi Minh, alongside various other dedicated spaces highlighting the horrors and atrocities sustained during the French occupation and Vietnam War; primarily outlining the detrimental effects caused by America's most lethal chemical weapon: Agent Orange — a weapon co-produced by Monsanto.
Even to this day, many victims of Agent Orange and their affected offspring can be seen strewn about the city, protesting for greater reparations following the devastation sustained by the Americans during the war. Altogether proving that, though we are but one species, we often go to great lengths to horde what little we can over what we consider "our own"; despite the inhumanity and neglect left along the way.
