Hoa Lo Prison

Stepping back in time to a place no one would ever want to end up. Imagine your feet shackled day in day out, no food no bathroom only the screams of your fellow men in the same pain and suffering as you. What did I do to deserve this, why have my captures done this, why why.The only thing to do is escape or face the guillotine.

The dark side of Vietnamese history are well preserved at this historical site. Almost leaves you with a chill, but learning about Vietnam war (rather the 'American war') and its government from a different perspective was extremely fascinating.

An important part of Vietnams history. It'll show you the dark sides of French colonialism and the imprisonment of American soldiers during the war.

It’s never nice to visit a prison, but what it does do is give you a real insight into the grizzly history of the city you’re visiting. In the case of Hanoi, the Hoa Lo prison is now a museum which shows a few sections to visitors and the rest is kept kind of under wraps. You can see how prisoners were crammed into the small cells and made to go to the toilet in cave-like places. Not a nice thing to see but if you like learning about the real history, then you’ll feel like you came away with a true sense o how it was during the war

Also known as Hanoi Hilton. Relatively small museum but interesting and a good preview before the museums in Saigon (if you start in Saigon then might not be worth going to this one)