Although it is much cooler in Hanoi, it was supposed to be a warmer day. We started by enjoying a rather good breakfast composed of fresh fruit, toast and of course Tim had some pho.
Not unlike a lot of European churches we have visited, St Joseph’s Cathedral is spectacular on the outside, but modest on the inside.
Next, we crashed a Vietnam wedding photo shoot, right in the middle of the street.
Crushed glass topped the walls of the Hoa Lo prison.
Honouring the thousands that were housed, tortured and executed here, the famous prison was used as late as the Vietnam war and even held The late Senator John McCain. The cells were filled with life like statues that depicted the horrific lives of the prisoners.
Escape was almost impossible and those that did not follow the rules were either sent to the dungeon or to the gallows.
Although we had seen many military museums in the south, hoping the see the other side of the war we decided to check one out.
To our surprise, we passed the military museum as it didn’t exist. Perhaps it was lost in translation on google, instead we found the Vietnam Security Museum. Happily it was not only free, but help some of the most interesting displays we had seen until now.
Elaborate dioramas depicted everything from early outreach to the native groups, to the most advanced technology used for forensics.
Dioramas were dedicated to Vietnam war, however the military was not the main focus of the museum.
On the way to the next destination we stoped for a Bánh Mì and sat by turtle tower, centred in Hoan Kiem Lake.
None of the other Bánh Mì were as good as this one, particularly because it was panini pressed.
Minutes from our hotel, we decided to head back, use the washroom and freshen up. We headed to Jade Island, not far from our hotel. The site was under construction.
Ending the day, we just relaxed.
