Since we chose not to do the optional tour to Tho Ha Countryside we had most of the day to explore Hanoi on our own. So after breakfast we took a cab to Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton), constructed by the French in 1896 mainly to house political prisoners, and then taken over by the Vietnamese in 1954. It was then used to house prisoners of war. From 1964-1973, it was a major POW detention facility occupied by many US pilots shot down during the Vietnam War – among them US senator, John McCain. In the west room there is a guillotine with original equipment and the female & Vietnamese political prisoners’ quarters. There are 2 courtyards – one with a bas relief depiction of male & female prisoners on a marble wall. There was serious, detailed documentation provided by powerful photographs and personal letters. It made it seem as if the war just happened yesterday.
Entrance to Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton).
These wax figures depicted the horrible conditions
the Vietnamese men had to endure
while imprisoned during the Indochina war.
This was so very powerful in its
emotional display of the horrors of war.
The original guillotine.
After decapitation, the heads were placed
in baskets & put on display to remind
people of the result of revolution.
Senator John McCain's parachute,
flight suit & other personal items
accumulated when he was shot down
& imprisoned.
The bas relief sculpture in one
of the interior courtyards depicting the torture methods
used on both men & women prisoners.
When we finished touring the Prison, we walked over to Hoam Kiem Lake to begin the walking tour of the Old Quarter we found in the Frommer’s Guide. Since we had arrived in Hanoi 2 days ago we have been mesmerized and entertained by the incredible chaos & craziness of the motor scooters. We have seen everything from soup to nuts being piloted through this insane traffic. We have seen children of all shapes and sizes squished between adults, carried with 1 arm, in standing positions between the driver and dashboard. And all of us wondered, do they ever crash? In a word, yes Virginia, they do. Just as I saw a young girl whiz by in front of us I said to Iris, "Isn’t she going the wrong way on a 1-way street?" No sooner had the words left my lips that that girl darted into the path of another oncoming scooter, sending them both spinning on their sides across the pavement. At first neither of them could pick themselves up, and the guy’s scooter was badly damaged. Lots of pedestrians came over to help – at least to clear the highway so someone else could trigger another accident. Eventually the girl limped off on her scooter several minutes after the boy left. In less than 10 minutes, everything and everyone picked up where they left off and chaos was once again restored. AND Iris filmed the entire incident!
So we resumed our walk with 2 goals in mind: (1) eat, drink, drink some more; and (2) photograph as much local color as we could capture. So, we spent the next 5 hours dodging traffic, eating & drinking, photographing interesting sights and laughing till we hurt. Our first break for lunch was about 1:30 at Bun Bo Nam Bo for bun bo – fresh rice noodles topped with crisp fried garlic, bean sprouts, peanuts, basil & beef. On your way in you indicate with your fingers the number of bowls you need and how many bottles of beer. Then you maneuver to a very short stool at one of the communal tables & wait for the server to bring your bun bo. You pay cash on the way out - $7.50 total for our 2 bowls + 4 beers! You can’t beat that with a stick!
Barb & Iris get down very low like the locals
to devour their bun bo.
(I needed Iris' help to get off
that kindergarden-height stool).
I'm being supervised to make sure I clean up my bowl. (ha ha)
This little girl was an absolute cutie!
More photography, more laughter and a few traffic vs. pedestrian close calls before we took another break at the bia hoi stand & restaurant where Iris mistakenly walked into the men’s room, realizing such when the metal trough she mistook for a toilet was way too high to sit on to do her business. I volunteered to find out where the women’s room was once I stopped laughing. Turns out it was way up on the 3rd floor (we needed a head start to reach it before it was too late). It was Japanese style toilet that you had to squat down on to do your business – so glad my knees held up for the challenge. On the way back down the steps, I saw a leg sticking out of a sleeping bag on the 2nd floor – best to keep my head down & keep walking. (ha ha)
We finally completed our loop and celebrated at the last stop, Highlands Coffee, with a Vietnamese coffee for Iris and a mint chocolate milkshake for me. I told Iris I felt like we were in the Amazing Race, trying to find our clue (with it right in front of us), and not having much luck. We looked at all the shops in Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square, in all 4 directions and were just about to give up, when we glanced back in the Frommer’s guide to learn that the coffee shop was on the 4th floor of one of the corner buildings. DUH!
When we came out of the building, we ran right into this cyclo-rickshaw driver who had earlier bugged us about giving us a ride in the rickshaw while we were exploring the Old Quarter. (We believe he must have been stalking us). He wanted to give us a ride back to our hotel in the worst way. We did not want this to happen for many reasons: (1) we wouldn’t get back in time to meet the rest of the group for dinner – after all, we didn’t want to miss a meal! (2) He was too expensive, but of course he would need to work harder than a taxi driver; and (3) We just ate & drank our way through the Old Quarter, probably gaining at least 10 pounds in the process, and there was no way we were going to make that poor man work so hard to pedal us back to the hotel.
The day ended with another Hanoi Vietnamese dinner at the Pink Lotus Restaurant. Multiple courses included noodle with chicken soup, grilled fish with noodles, fried egg with mince port, fried battered chicken with 5 spices sauce, stir-fried fish with mushroom & onion, stir-fried vegetables, steamed rice and fruit.
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