Hanoi

In Hong Kong the boys and I said goodbye to Robert. He returned to Anchorage for business and we went to Vietnam for some R&R.That may sound funny to you since our adventure may be viewed as a 10 month vacation however, sightseeing, exploring, jet lag, packing and unpacking can take it's toll.

We spent one day in Hanoi before flying down to Hoi An, a quaint coastal fishing town. The taxi dropped us off in the middle of a busy intersection and pointed down an alley to say that is where we would find our hotel. We were all a bit unsure but with the information I had it seemed right. As we turned the corner we spotted the sign for our Splendid Star Hotel and the bellman standing out front waving us over. Yeah, we found it!

We checked in, settled in, ventured out for dinner, then woke the next morning to a delicious breakfast and headed out for five hours of exploring. Hoa Lo Prison aka "Hanoi Hilton" was high on our list so we started there. Two rickshaw-bike taxis took the four of us on an hour long sightseeing trip around Hanoi then dropped us off at the prison.

Oustide the Prison

The prison was built by the French in 1896, when they occupied Vietnam, to house political prisoners. Then Vietnam took it over in 1954 and also used it to house POWs. From 1964 - 73 it was nicked named the Hanoi Hilton by the U.S. POWs that were detained there. The first part of the self-guided tour told of how horrible the conditions were for the Vietnamese prisoners under French occupation. The later part of the self-guided tour told of how wonderful the Vietnamese treated the American POWs and nothing of the torture or solitary confinement that took place. It was sad to see the propaganda put forth by the Vietnamese but then again as I asked the boys "would you expect any different?"



Propaganda



From the prison we headed to the lake, Ho Hoan Kiem, in the center of town  for a leisurely constitutional,  lunch then to the airport for our flight to Hoi An.



On the Bridge



The Japanese Bridge over the Lake



Local Street Vendor

Cute Vietnamese Boy