Hanoi video, and pictures

This is a video of all of my Hanoi clips. 

Click to view video:

http://youtu.be/SBZsLCiFeFM

It was a relief to have a confirmed seat out of Hanoi to Hong Kong. But it would have been nice to spend more time in Hanoi. It's definitely the place to go to if anyone wants to travel to Vietnam. There's lots to do in the city, but the surrounding area is a great example of Asian culture, and it's a cheap and quick two hour flight from Hong Kong. 

The Hanoi airport terminal looks brand new and is easy to figure out. Why don't all airports have these terminal maps? (I'm talking to you Dulles, Chicago, Newark). 

AJ

Hoa Lo prison (2)

(above and below)
This is a museum now. It was built by the French and held Vietnamese prisoners until the Viet Minh took over in the 50s.

It's known by many as the "Hanoi Hilton," but it was no hotel. I saw a lot of Americans visiting. If you've read any of the books written by those who were held captive at Hoa Lo prison you would have the complete picture. Stockdale, McCain, Day, and many others. Most of them were pilots or other aircrew, shot down during their mission.

A good read, not just about this prison, is Bud Day's book Return With Honor. I have a signed copy. The Colonel in charge of my ROTC Detachment at Arizona State, Col Larry Carrigan spent almost six years as a POW in Vietnam, and was confined here. His wife and kids didn't even know he was alive for three years--he was MIA--the Vietnamese didn't even release his name. Many Americans were left to die of wounds, starved or tortured to death here.

That's a picture of John McCains flight gear that he was wearing when he was captured. He landed in a lake just a few miles from this prison. It is an erie place. Made worse were the video presentations and displays. They showed the good treatment, food, cigarettes, basketball, Christmas celebrations, letters from home handed out--you get the picture. All a bunch of bullshit.

Such was the successful propaganda campaign North Vietnam waged throughout the war. The propaganda wasn't just for the world. It also painted a noble picture to the Viet citizens. The POWs were on the front lines of that campaign; they fought and died here, in this prison. And we will never know the names of some of those who died here. Some are still listed as MIA to this day.

Hoa Lo prison (1)

On the way to Hoa Lo

The hotel desk clerk downstairs told me about a great place to eat. It's Bun bo Nam Bo and they serve a dish by the same name. It was meat with a little soup, rice noodles, leafy greens, peanuts, crispy roasted garlic piled on, and other spices. It was very good. The place was full too. I sat across from a couple of dudes from Italy. They were fish out of water but they just flew in that morning. It was a great lunch. I gave them some tips, especially about the eating procedures in Vietnam, and how to cross the streets.
There's one picture just of a couple buildings. The living structures are tall and mostly one room wide. Often the bottom living room is converted into a restaurant, workshop or store. You can see bird cages on one building. Lots of birds are kept outside as decoration, which is kinda nice because you can hear them singing and chirping even I over the traffic noise.

Another interesting thing--Vietnamese women usually walk holding each other's arms or hands. Kinda sexy. Especially these two! At the airport even the flight attendants walk around like that.

Hanoi--first and last morning

14 February 2016. Woke up today still worried about how to get to Hong Kong. Since I'm an airline employee I can fly standby on some international airlines. I had listed myself on Dragonair to HKG for tomorrow at 10:15AM (cost to me $18). But I've been tracking the paid seats on Kayak--they went from $330 to $1150 which tells me the plane is filling up. The last thing I want to do is to be in get-home mode, get the the airport, and have to go back to a hotel to try again the next day. So I checked for tonight's flights and Dragonair has one at 7:30PM for $280 so I pulled the trigger. What a relief. It still gives me most of today to do what I want to do this trip in Hanoi. I feel like if I come back to Vietnam it will just be to the northern part next time anyway. Hanoi is a must visit, and there's lots to see and do in the north.

I also reserved a room at the Hong Kong Regal Airport Hotel for $129. I had to lay over there a night anyway because the 3 United flights from HKG to the states leave in the mornings.

So off I went into the streets to check off the last thing on my list to do in Vietnam--visit and tour the Hoa Lo prison. On the way I finally succumbed to the street vendors and bought some souvenirs. Wood bead bracelets from this lady. I wish I got a picture with the old half blind man who sold me a small book with a bunch of old money inside it. I also got a wood box and bowl.