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Published: March 28th 2011
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After enjoying a free breakfast in our hostel, Tom, Edward, and I went out to book our tickets for the next parts of our trip. We needed to book tickets for the bus in a few days and we needed to book tickets for a special trip we're taking. But we needed to do it right away since Tet is coming soon. With the New Year, I suspect many things will be closed or operating at a minimum, or even sold out. (In China, the New Year always brings sold out tickets.)
After securing our tickets at slightly inflated prices we stopped for lunch at a Pho restaurant. Pho is sort of a national dish, a delicious soup; it is usually made with pork, but can also be prepared using beef or chicken. On a cold, blustery day, a hot bowl of soup and some spring rolls hit the spot. Add to it the incredible price (I think I paid less than $2 for the whole thing, including Vietnamese coffee.) and I was one satisfied woman.
Based on reading Edward and I had done from our various guidebooks, we set out in search of the infamous Hanoi Hilton.
The luxury accommodation
But they got an Xmas tree, too, "how lucky they were to be prisoners of the Vietnamese". We had a good idea where we were headed, and Edward's guidebook had mentioned that half of it was torn down and a highrise built in its place; in a land of not-so-tall buildings, that was valuable information.
We arrived at the yellow brick building, grateful to be out of the wind. The museum was really well done with its displays and not too heavy on the propaganda. Of course, there were times it was a bit over the top, too; the propaganda was either unbelievable or non-existent, there was no in-between. They told the history of the museum under the French with ominous music playing in the background. It felt really creepy to walk through, even though it was a nice, warm building. They also had photos and videos about American life in the prison, minus the music.
According to signs, the Americans were treated much better than the Vietnamese had been under the French. The "American Imperialists bombed the peaceful northern people," or something to that affect. The Americans were fed good food (see photos, dear visitors!), and even had an Xmas tree and presents! Okay, so prison life was dandy .... what about the other
364.5 days of the year? My favorite movie line, though, was, "How lucky they were to be prisoners of the Vietnamese!"
We four wandered around a bit looking for dinner, but I think we wandered in the wrong direction; it was nearly impossible to find restaurants! In Hanoi, it used to be that each road had a specialty item that it would sell, like rice noodles, tofu, shoes, silk, etc. We managed to find the silk and tailor streets and purse avenue. We walked around the lake again, enjoying its lights. I really do wonder what it looks like when they're not celebrating two holidays.
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