Day 3 - June 6 - Ha Noi

The tour packaged we booked officially begins tonight so today was up to us. We decided to see some of the sights that we wouldn't see on tour surrounding Vietnam's struggles for independence and Ho Chi Minh's rise to power. This included the Revolutionary Museum and Hoa Lo Prison (aka Hanoi Hilton where John McCain was held during the Vietnam War). The museum was educational but a bit worn and under renovations. We've seen some bone chilling sites in our time and the prison ranked right up there, including the sewer tunnel in which several Vietnamese patriots held by the French colonists tried to escape, the deplorable conditions that captives suffered through, and the guillotine used to execute prisoners.






After lunch, we were hot and tired so decided to rest up for Ha Long bay tomorrow with a nap and a couple hours at the hotel poolside. It has a retractable roof for Hanoi's sudden storms. It is monsoon season so every afternoon includes an hour long downpour. The huge storm caused the power to go out which was fine until Theresa and I got stuck in the elevator for thirty minutes. Luckily, a guy in the elevator had a cellphone which he called to get us out. He and I had to eventually pry the elevator open and jump out.


In the evening, we saw the famous Water Puppet Show in downtown Hanoi. It was a bit campy, but entertaining and the parents dug it. It told the tale of ancient Vietnam's evolution using floating puppets that are controlled from under the water. We finished up with some dinner provided by our tour guide, Quang, who seems like a cool guy who speaks English well, before heading in for an early bedtime.