Our first stop in our day in Hanoi was to visit the Hoa Lo Prison. This prison was built by the French in the late 1800s to imprison Vietnamese people who fought against French colonization. The gruesome conditions of the prison were on display via statues and video shorts. After the French were pushed out the prison held enemies of the Vietnamese. The prison's most famous prisoner is recently deceased US Senator John McCain. A sobering experience to visit this place but one we highly recommend to anyone who visits Hanoi.
Before our next sightseeing destination we stopped for lunch at the Namaste Hoi An Indian Restaurant as it was the day to celebrate Diwali. There food was delicious and the lunch platter was a very fair price.
Finishing lunch we headed a few blocks further to the famous Temple of Literature. This site has been used for centuries as a place of teaching and learning. Its grounds are divided into various sections each and everyone having symmetry and purpose. From wikipedia: "The Temple of Literature is a Temple of Confucius in Hanoi, northern Vietnam. The temple hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of Emperor Lý Thánh Tông. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars"
The day was getting on but we wanted to see a couple more sites. We walked past the Ho Chi Minh Masoleum to a bridge that holds a very small memorial to Americans who fought in Vietnam. We saw one more pagoda from a distance and then attempted to find a ceramic mural but google maps pointed us to the wrong side of the wall.
We found some more excellent food in Hanoi and went to bed happy with what we had seen.
Before our next sightseeing destination we stopped for lunch at the Namaste Hoi An Indian Restaurant as it was the day to celebrate Diwali. There food was delicious and the lunch platter was a very fair price.
Finishing lunch we headed a few blocks further to the famous Temple of Literature. This site has been used for centuries as a place of teaching and learning. Its grounds are divided into various sections each and everyone having symmetry and purpose. From wikipedia: "The Temple of Literature is a Temple of Confucius in Hanoi, northern Vietnam. The temple hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first national university. The temple was built in 1070 at the time of Emperor Lý Thánh Tông. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars"
The day was getting on but we wanted to see a couple more sites. We walked past the Ho Chi Minh Masoleum to a bridge that holds a very small memorial to Americans who fought in Vietnam. We saw one more pagoda from a distance and then attempted to find a ceramic mural but google maps pointed us to the wrong side of the wall.
We found some more excellent food in Hanoi and went to bed happy with what we had seen.
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