Hanoi~Hoa Lo Prison

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We are surviving the craziness of Hanoi. Woke up, ate, walked a bit, and went back for a nap. Back up and we decided to go to Hoa Lo Prison, aka Hanoi Hilton. 10,000 Dong to get in (fifty cents) and in we went. Quite an experience. Originally built by the French for Vietnamese prisoners, mostly political, complete with solitary confinement quarters, leg chains, tools of torture and a guillotine. Moved through the museum to watch a short video of The American War with pictures of American pilots in the prison playing basketball, decorating for Christmas, and putting Vietnamese souvenirs in their packs going home. Two pictures of John McCain were on display, one when he was brought to the prison and the second on his visit to the prison later in life. Feeling over-whelmed you might wonder what our next activity would be after seeing all of that. The answer is find an Aussie bar, Kangaroo Cafe, and order cold beers, a big platter of fish and chips, and decompress in the air-conditioning. Call it comfort food, call it stuffing feelings with carbs, call it whatever you want. Standing in front of a guillotine is awful, yet fufilling experience-insert emotion of choice here.

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Photos

Inside the prison cells
Re-creation of conditions of prisoners