And from the rice fields of Tam Coc in Ninh Binh province, we boarded our bus to head back to Hanoi, a four-hour journey. While the trip was quite restful and was quite a non-event, the pit stop for a coffee and loo break was quite interesting, as though we were stepping back into the yesteryears, the heydays of communism...
On the way to Hanoi, we pass by quite a few small towns and the industriousness and entrepreneurial spirit of the Vietnamese, an attitude that will resonate with any Indian too...
But then there were these signs that told me that I was in a "red" country, a communist country...
Ahhh yes, this is a communist country, one of the 5 that still exist besides Mainland China, Cuba, North Korea and Laos...
And so despite being a fervent supporter of capitalism, it suddenly dawned on me that I have visited 40 percent of the communist world as it exists today - Mainland China and, now, Vietnam...
And if you include visiting the conference room of Joint Security Area of the Demilitarised Zone, yes, I did, technically stand in North Korean territory, albeit for a few minutes, even though I didn't get stamp on my passport - that would make it 60 percent!
That seems to be a usual communist billboard - intellectuals, farmers, workers and soldiers to unite for progress under the hammer and the sickle...
And the sun sets on Vietnam...
Another propaganda billboard, but it doesn't seem to impact the ordinary Vietnamese - it's only in theory that communism exists here, for all practical purposes, Vietnam is quite vibrant...
A charming little town that we passed by on our way to Hanoi...
Uncle Ho, or as Ho Chi Minh was called, watches the traffic pass by...
And we reach our interesting pitstop...
The cafe at the pitstop had a lot of Marxist propaganda material on display, the ones honouring Ho Chi Minh and others...
And how could Vladmir Lenin not be there?
And Uncle Ho smiles through, smiles on the dawn of vibrant Vietnam!
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