The Hanoi Hilton

We decided to travel to Hao Lo this morning, the prison where US aviators who were shot down in NVN during the war were held as POWs. The US POWs had derivisely nicknamed the prison, the Hanoi Hilton. Our first taxi driver, however, clearly did not know where it was (since the street address was not clearly listed in the tourist guide), despite his assertions to the contrary. He took us on a circuitous route to Hao Lu street, which was about as far from Hao Lo prison as our hotel. So we found a second cab to get us to the right place.

The prison has mostly been torn down to make room for a high rise hotel complex--the Somerset, not the Hilton. The main entrance, a couple buildings, and a courtyard remain. The complex has been turned into a museum, mostly dedicated to the VN communists and fighters for independence imprisoned there by the French (who had built the prison). A couple of rooms are devoted to US POWs and contain John McCain's flight suit and gear.

From the prison, we walked to St. Joseph's church, which is known for its gothic architecture. We arrived at noon, which is when it closes for siesta until 2. C usually takes his nap at noon, so we taxied back to the hotel and will try the church at a later time.

Upon waking from his nap, we found C to have been inspired by the prison. He was consistently a walking example of the terrible twos today, pushing the limits at every opportunity and inspired to more creative mischieviousness by the word "no." For his revolutionary behavior, he earned his first "time out." Specifically, he started throwing things after being repremanded for running through the room with an empty glass. T believes it was the longest 2 minutes of her life; E says "bring it on; I can outplay, outwit, and outlast a two year old." After the time out, he was happy boy again and remained on good behavior for his longest period of the day. Hopefully, he will stay out of his Hanoi Hilton for the rest of the trip.

And as a treat for your good behavior as loyal readers, you get to enjoy some photos from the past few days:

Ba and C at Hoan Kiem Lake (Ngoc Son Temple in background)

Mama and C at dinner, having a good time!