Vietnam - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 108

Sleeping

7 6 on Sixteen C2

8 Cinnamon Hotel B2

9 Hanoi Backpackers Hostel B2

10 Joseph's Hotel B3

11 Sofitel Metropole Hotel E4

Eating

12 Banh Ghoi B2

13 Hanoi House B2

14 Hanoi Social Club A2

15 Pho Thin D2

16 The Cart B2

Entertainment

17 Cinematheque D5

18 Hanoi Opera House F5

Shopping

19 Things of Substance C2

Hoa Lo Prison Museum
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HISTORIC BUILDING

( 04-3824 6358; cnr P Hoa Lo & P Hai Ba Trung; admission 15,000d; 8am-5pm) This thought-
provoking site is all that remains of the former Hoa Lo Prison, ironically nicknamed the
'Hanoi Hilton' by US prisoners of war (POWs) during the American War. Most exhibits
relate to the prison's use up to the mid-1950s, focusing on the Vietnamese struggle for in-
dependence from France. A gruesome relic is the ominous French guillotine, used to be-
head Vietnamese revolutionaries. There are also displays focusing on the American pilots
who were incarcerated at Hoa Lo during the American War.
These include Pete Peterson (the first US ambassador to a unified Vietnam in 1995) and
Senator John McCain (the Republican nominee for the US presidency in 2008). McCain's
flight suit is displayed, along with a photograph of Hanoi locals rescuing him from Truc
Bach Lake after being shot down in 1967.