There are a couple places that all the tourists hit while they're in Hanoi, the prison museum is one of them. It's also known as the Hoa Lo Prison (translates to Hell Hole). It was about a twenty or thirty minute walk from my hostel. I went because it was something to do and Bart and Christiaan said it was interesting enough to go to because it's where the American POWs, including John McCain, were kept.
All my life, I've heard stories of how John McCain and others were tortured while they were prisoners of war during the American/Vietnam war. It's fascinating to see the story of the war and of the prison told from the other side. Everyone is the hero of their own story in the end, and Vietnam is no exception. My visit was a good reminder of how easy it is to see America as the center of the universe when you are born and raised there and rarely leave it.
This is a room where Vietnamese political prisoners were kept from the 1930's to the 1950's. They opposed French Colonialism. They held political discussions in this room, while shackled. I read online that messages would be thrown over the wall to the street, and messages (and opium) would be thrown from the street into the prison...
While I was in this room, a Chinese family was taking pictures of it as well. Their daughter, who appeared to be nearing adulthood was gently stroking the feet and arms of one of the creepy statues. I thought to myself, "What is wrong with that girl, what a weirdo. Is she that dumb?" Then I saw more strange behaviour from her later on in the museum and came to realize that she is not a dumb weirdo, she has an actual mental disability. So I felt like an asshole.
This is something that has always struck me as deliciously hilarious about our society, and taboo to bring up. If we see someone acting stupid, we look down on them, concoct derogatory thoughts, and think (silently without voicing it) that they deserve ridicule for polluting our world with their stupidity... up to a point. If they tip the scale into mentally challenged (I can't remember if that's the most up to date correct term), our derision suddenly turns on a dime to sympathy and we feel like an asshole. I always wonder what that exact tipping point is. BTW, whenever I've shared these thoughts with anyone they've looked at me with derision.
The blurb in this pic explains the pic after it...
I don't have a picture of the almond tree...
But I do have a picture of a section of the sewer the political prisoners used to pull a Shawshank Redemption and escape. I don't think a Rita Hayworth poster was part of their scheme though...
They had to be small dudes...
And now here's the part I found the most interesting. The American POWs from what the Vietnamese refer to as the "Anti-American Imperialization War."
This is where it became comical for me. From reading the captions under these pictures you'd think that the POWs had won free tickets to an all inclusive, open-ended stay at the finest of year-round summer camps. Enjoy...
Wait, there's more fun to come!
Here are the prison rules. The second rule is "You DO NOT talk about fight club!" Really, I swear, read them...
Here's John McCain making a visit a few years ago to the ol' summer camp...
Interestingly, one of the American Pilots who spent time at the prison became the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.
Also, I've learned from other backpackers who have been to more museums in the region than I have that America did some really shitty things to S.E. Asia in the fifties and sixties. We dropped so many bombs on Laos and Cambodia that much of their land is uninhabitable. We dropped more bombs on Laos than were dropped on all of Europe in WWII.
There are thousands upon thousands of unexploded baseball sized bombs scattered across the countries. It's made it impossible for them to develop these regions economically and the bombs have maimed thousands of men, women, and children over the years. Yay America! And all the U.S. has done about that is virtually nothing.
Here's an actual guillotine the French used to behead Vietnamese people during the time of French Colonialization. They'd post the heads in baskets as a warning to others.
Sweet dreams!
!steemitworldmap 21.0255 lat 105.8465 long A trip to the Hanoi Prison Museum, Vietnam, d3scr