The Grand Plan. And, the “Hanoi Hilton”

We have a Plan. The moment is nigh—tomorrow we must dig deep, put on our Brave Face and take a deep dive into the traffic on our bikes. After careful consideration of life & limb (ours), we have made the wise decision to apply a strategic tip we learned from our friend at home, Helmut. We will execute a middle-of-the-night escape to get the heck outta town before the anarchy of morning traffic madness ensues. In wanting to preview, and assuage some of our road-battle-anxiety we propelled ourselves out of bed at 5am today to see what the streets are like under the cover of early morning darkness. We wandered about, taking inventory of the streets—runners out running, people out hot-potting (still), and restaurant proprietors scrubbing their wares. But it was peaceful and serene. Our Plan is to set the alarm for 3am and go for it—rolling by 4am!

Today we visited the Hỏa Lò Prison Relic, known by American POWs during the Vietnam War as as “Hanoi Hilton”. At times the facility has also incarcerated Vietnamese dissidents and political prisoners who endured cruel, inhumane conditions, severe torture methods and prolonged periods of solitary confinement. Thick walls create dungeon-like cells, walls painted black with tar to further darken the gloom. Cells had leg irons to keep prisoners (mostly the political prisoners) locked in misery day & night, many in complete darkness. The prison was demolished during the 1990s. The pictures speak louder than words.

An individual cell and all its creature comforts.

The primitive toilets which collected the waste in buckets underneath.

The narrow sewage pipe through which some prisoners managed to escape.

The memorial at the Prison.