The historic city tour was very informative and I really enjoyed learning about this countries diverse history. They are truly a resilient people! I visited Tran Quoc Pagoda- which is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi (6th century), Ho Chi Minh Complex which is dedicated to their former President that helped liberate the country, the Museum of Ethnology- I had no idea there were 54 different ethnic groups here! Also the Temple of Literature(Buddism) and Hoa Lo Prison(Maison Centrale) which was the prison built by the French when it was still a French colony (pretty horrific!)
Ho Chi Minh Complex below.
Museum of Ethnology below.
The various traditional outfits for each ethnic group above and below as well as traditional village life replica's.
Temple of literature below.
Hoa Lo Prison below. The living conditions were absolutely horrific...
Stark difference from how they treated the Vietnamese and how they treated American POW's. That's depicted on the bottom. They even allowed them to celebrate Christmas- and those are all pictures taken by foreign journalist. This is the prison John McCain was in. The picture of the female heads halfway up is just horrible. That machine was specifically made by the French to behead these prisoners!
I've really enjoyed Hanoi and I can't wait to explore more cities! The people are genuine and friendly. The food is excellent and like most SE Asian countries- it comes alive at night!
