The Hanoi Hilton. No, not the 5 star resort…

…although the museum would make you think it was.

Because of the typhoon, we had an extra day to explore Hanoi. We met up with Zach Chen, our friend from Chicago, whose Halong Bay cruise was also cut a day short, and went to visit the Hoa Lo Prison—a.k.a the Hanoi Hilton.

The French built the prison in 1900 when Vietnam was under French rule. Through as late as the 1950s, the French used the camp to imprison Vietnamese dissidents and insurgents. The museum highlights the harsh treatment of the French towards the Vietnamese with exhibits including a guillotine and French torture devices.

After the Indochina War and unification of Vietnam, the Vietnamese controlled the prison. The prison was relatively vacant until the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese captured US pilots and imprisoned them here (including John McCain). What we found most interesting about the museum is the exhibit on American pilots. In a few words, it’s entirely propaganda. The exhibit displays pictures of the American prisoners playing basketball, receiving adequate medical treatment and decorating their cells for Christmas. What it fails to depict is the harsh treatment the soldiers actually received (it's the best link we can do, everything else is blocked).

Vietnamese poster illustrating the lifestyle of the American Prisoner of War

Vietnamese doctor treating John McCain

The museum portrays a stark contrast between the French and Vietnamese rule of the prison. It emphasizes the French torturing and brutalizing Vietnamese political dissidents while it depicts the Vietnamese treating the wartime Americans pilots with dignity. This could not be further from the truth. Furthermore, the museum even cites the nickname “Hanoi Hilton” as proof that American inmates found the accommodations agreeable.

Stay posted for a full write-up of our adventures to the snake village and our rendezvous with Z this evening. Let us know!