So I finally think I am shaking the cold I caught in Koh Samui. I don't want to jinx it, but I have felt pretty good today. We are just getting back from Ha Long Bay and I have not posted in awhile so I think I am going to break this up into a couple posts over the next few hours. It will probably end up being more confusing that way since the posts will not be in chronological order, but it is just to much to do all at once.
Last I left off we were just finishing up our first day in Hanoi. Our second day proved to be about as eventful as our first in Hanoi. Between me being sick and there not being a whole lot to do here it was hard to get motivated to go out and see anything. In spite of that we decided to head over to the Hoa Lo prison, better known to Americans as the Hanoi Hilton. It was pretty interesting for a prison.. at least what was left of it. Apparently about 2/3rds of it was torn down to make room for a business tower next door, so about one outer wall and a few rooms is all that remains. The majority of the exhibits are about how the French used the prison to house and torture Vietnamese fighting in the revolution, however there were two small rooms dedicated to the history of the American imprisonment. It certainly gave a different perspective on the whole thing, which made made it kind of interesting to see another perspective. After that we walked back to the hostel through the Old Quarter, which is also where the hostel is located. Apparently that is another thing to do while in Hanoi so we got to check that off the list. It basically consists of small store fronts in old buildings all along the street. I guess it gives you a little insight into traditional Vietnamese living, but in the end, like most things it is slightly tarnished by all the tourism and shops geared towards all the backpackers in the area.
That's about it for Hanoi... I told you I would keep it short
