Trip to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, January 2008

I just returned yesterday from a 2 1/2 week trip to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam with my daughter and son in law. After landing in Bangkok we went directly to Hanoi to begin our trip. The day we arrived we headed out to the Army Museum. Unfortunately it was closed although this was not a regular closing day. The Flag Tower is one of the symbols of Hanoi. So we headed off to the Hoa Lo Prison Museum ( more commonly known as the Hanoi Hilton) instead. This was built by the French in 1896 and must of the display revolves around the French treatment (or more likely mistreatment) of the Vietnamese. Much of the complex was razed a few years ago and replaced by the Hanoi Towers...a hotel and shopping center.


Prisoners were shackled by their feet on very uncomfortable looking wooden beds.

A squat toilet.
Shackles Murals of the French disciplining prisoners.

A group of prisoners escaped through the sewer,

Iron front doors.
A painting showing the French beating Vietnamese prisoners.

Guillotine.
Solitary confinement.


John McCain's Air Force gear. There was a small display of the American pilots kept there during the Vietnam War. All the photos show smiling prisoners playing games and such.

An Air Force prisoners bed.

The displays are very moving...to say the least.
Courtyard.