Day 355 - Hanoi Hilton

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Our last day in Hanoi today, which was our only chance to visit the superb Museum of Ethnology. Neither of us would qualify as a big fan of ethnology, and to be honest we skipped most of the information on the countless different ethnic groups that make up Vietnam, but some of it was brilliant. One section in particular was all about living under classic socialism, where the state decides what you want down to the very last detail years in advance. There was a lot on rationing and the corruption that goes with it, and some colourful examples like the bureaucratic nightmare that one man went through when he moved cities and had to transfer his radio permit (which also qualifies him for new batteries once a month). The country must have spent half its money on paper for the forms that the system needed. Outside the museum they have constructed some typical buildings that villages in various areas would have had. One in particular was quite something, and was a communal building that looked a bit like a Swiss chalet made out of bamboo.

We returned to the amazing Metropole Hotel for lunch, yet again reconfirming that we have had enough of the backpacker lifestyle and are ready to move up the scale a little. And then we walked to the Hoa Lo prison, previously the notorious ‘Hanoi Hilton’. It’s just a museum these days and naturally focuses on the dreadful conditions that Vietnamese rebels were held under during French rule. Some of it is pretty graphic too, with photos of severed heads being held up after the on-display guillotine had done its work. There is also a small section on the American War (what we know as the Vietnam War), and the clear message here was that whilst US forces were brutal in their treatment of VC that they came across, the US pilots imprisoned in this place were treated well because the Vietnamese character means they can rise above provocation and don’t need to resort to torture. John McCain’s flying suit was on display, but whether he would agree that photos of American pilots smiling whilst playing ping pong gave a fair impression is doubtful. He broke both arms when he crashed and the prison guards kept him away from treatment as extra punishment, so that he hasn’t been able to raise his arms above his head ever since. This didn’t get a mention.

At 7pm our overnight train departed for Da Nang and since we were sharing a compartment with a couple of western backpackers, who have manners, it was uneventful and a smooth and pleasant ride… (June 26th was a bit different.)

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