We did two free walking tours in Hanoi. In Vietnam, University students who want to improve their English guide private, free tours. I loved these tours because the students were eager to talk about the sites visited, as well as every aspect of their lives, country, and history.
We asked almost every English speaking Vietnamese person that we met their opinion of Americans (and as an aside, it seemed that in all of Asia we had to say we were from “America” because the phrase “The United States” did not register). They all insisted that they held no ill will toward Americans, but blame the government in charge at the time of the war.
The structure above is on the 100,000 Dong currency in Vietnam.
The temple was also full of adorable kids.
Hoàn Kiếm Lake (below) is in the center of Hanoi. The students told us a long story about the lake that included an Emperor, a golden turtle, and a sword.
Below you can see the two students leading our tour. One explained how her father recalled climbing into shelters under the sidewalk when he was a child during bombings.
Our second tour brought us to the military history museum. It exhibited centuries of military conflicts in Vietnam. The very short story is that Vietnam was continually attacked, but each time fought off their enemies with cleverness, cunning, and patience. Reviewing their history, you would not think this is a country you want to fight.
Oddly, this museum was also full of adorable children.
Our guide led us to the next stop via the railroad track (that is still in use).
Our last stop was Hỏa Lò Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton. Much of the information presented focused on Vietnamese political prisoners that were tortured by the French.
The last room had photos of American prisoners. It clearly was not a realistic portrayal of their experience in the prison. Basically, the photos made it look like they were at summer camp.
Very interesting. They look like they are having way too much fun. Clearly not the whole story…