Day 77 – Hanoi, Vietnam – 10:58 PM

As with anything in life, the more time you devote to a subject or situation, the more comfortable you become with it.  The same can be said for foreign countries.  What seems to be chaotic at first becomes second nature as time progresses.  My time in Hanoi is a perfect example of this and I only arrived sixty hours ago.

This past Monday, I awoke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the city that challenged me the previous day.  My first hours in Hanoi left me overwhelmed and questioning my motives for traveling around the world.  However, by the end of Day 1, I had a renewed sense of self-confidence.  After getting out of bed, I descended a staircase to the lobby of my hostel, City Backpackers.  Complimentary breakfast is offered to paying guests.  Meals range from toast to eggs to pancakes drizzled with chocolate syrup.  I ordered an egg omelet accompanied by two slices of toast, jam, and a small plate of fruit.

After breakfast, I returned to my room and pulled out a local map of attractions and planned my attack for the day.  There were multiple points of interest both south and west of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, yet within walking distance of my hostel.  In the meantime, one of my roommates from the United Kingdom returned from breakfast and saw me examining the map.  We began to discuss things to do.  Our tentative itineraries were similar so we decided to explore the streets of Hanoi together.

We turned left out of our hostel and walked south along intertwined roads for 15 or so minutes until we reached the entrance of the Hoa Lo Prison Museum.  This former prison played a significant role in the history of Vietnam.  It was originally built by French colonists in 1896 during their occupation of Indochina.  Once completed it was one of the largest prisons within their area of occupation covering nearly 139,000 square feet.  The prison housed Vietnamese citizens and military officials who were apprehended while trying to liberate their fellow countrymen from French rule.  A renovation in 1913 increased the inmate capacity to 600.  However, it was often overcrowded and the inmate population swelled to close to 2000 by 1954.  French jailers used a variety of tactics to ensure inmates did not share communistic views with each other nor establish groups that could overthrow the prison and later the French occupation.  Metal shackles adorned each inmate bed and applied when the inmates were sleeping. The walls of the prison were lined with glass to discourage inmates from escaping. Even with these deterrents in place, a number of escapes occurred over the years.  The most notable occurred in March 1945, when over 100 prisoners escaped through an underground sewer pipe.  Once outside the prison walls, many of these individuals became Government leaders after Vietnam declared independence. 

In October 1954, Hanoi was liberated from French rule and the Vietnamese government took control of Hoa Lo Prison.  From 1954 to 1964, the prison housed Vietnamese lawbreakers that needed to be separated from society.  The role of the prison quickly changed at the outset of the Vietnam War.  From 1964 to 1973, American POWs were in prisoned at Hoa Lo after being shot down or captured by the enemy.  Hoa Lo Prison quickly earned the moniker “Hanoi Hilton”.  John McCain spent a portion of his 5 1/2 years as a POW inside Hoa Lo.  Charles Boyd, imprisoned for nearly seven years, became the only Vietnam-era POW to reach the four star rank.  William Lawrence, a naval aviator, was imprisoned at Hoa Lo until 1973.  He went on to become the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.

As I walked through Hoa Lo reading the placards that lined the walls, I could not help but notice the dichotomy between how the curators described the conditions of Vietnamese political prisoners during their fight for independence as opposed to American prisoner’s of war.  According to the placards, Vietnamese prisoners had to endure severe brutality and torture at the hands of the French.  However, there is no mention of the deplorable conditions that American POWs had to withstand.  Pictures of American POWs playing basketball, volleyball and decorating for Christmas are all that is on display.  But, I guess that should be expected when visiting a Vietnam War Prison.

After spending over two hours in the Hoa Lo Prison museum, we walked in a northeasterly direction.  Our destination was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museum.  Approximately the same size as the Lincoln memorial, construction began in September of 1973 and completed midway through 1975.  The mausoleum is the focal point within a large green, grass-filled park.  Surrounding the mausoleum are gardens that hold nearly 250 different species of plants and flowers from across Vietnam.  Two honor guard soldiers from the Vietnamese military stand at attention at its base.  Unfortunately, both the museum and mausoleum were closed when we arrived.

By now it was close to 2 PM and lunch was on order.  We walked ten minutes north to the banks of West Lake and into a lake side restaurant.  We were led upstairs and took our seats within the open air patio.  I flipped through the menu and a couple items piqued my interest.  I ordered a plate consisting of fried squid, noodles and an assortment of vegetables.  Although mildly nervous to sample my first Vietnamese meal, I am open minded and awaited my lunch.  It arrived and I grabbed my chop-sticks.  I made quick work of my lunch and contemplated ordering a second plate but withheld the temptation.  I was thoroughly pleased with my first native meal in Vietnam and eager to consume more.

That opportunity occurred later that evening when I joined two roommates, one from the UK and another from Sweden, for dinner at a nearby street side food stall.  I ordered soup with noodles, vegetables and beef.  Over our meals and Tiger Beers we discussed the day and what our plans were for our durations in Hanoi and Vietnam.  After dinner, we ventured to Hanoi Rocks, a combination bar and hostel, to sample a couple more local brews.  We met travelers from Australia, Germany and Denmark.  Over a couple more beers, we discussed our backgrounds along with our past and future travel aspirations.

My second day in Hanoi was much less overwhelming than the previous.  I am continually getting accustomed to the traffic and the sensory overload.  I have one final day in Hanoi before I check out of my hostel and discover some place new.