Hanoi | we came, we saw, we enjoyed

main entrance to the Hanoi Hilton (c) 2018 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Our two days in Hanoi are coming to their end this morning as we board a flight to Danang. But before I leave, I wanted to give my impression of the city and some notes about its highlights.

Pictured above is the main entrance to what American POW's dubbed The Hanoi Hilton. The main prison in the center of Hanoi, it was originally built by the French and used to house Vietnamese prisoners. The facility was used during the Vietnam War to hold American pilots shot down while running their bombing missions. John McCain is probably its most illustrious former resident, and he has been back to Vietnam a number of times. In a demonstration of the human capacity for forgiveness and reconciliation, McCain is held in great esteem by the Vietnamese people, and he played a major role in ending American economic sanctions against Vietnam.

we had an engaging conversation with Col. Tam

After our tour of the prison, we spend 45 minutes with Col. Tam, a retired officer of the Army of Vietnam whose job included interrogating American POW's. A most engaging and personable man, we had an interesting and free-ranging conversation. I can imagine he was a quite effective interrogator because he is extremely outgoing and able to easily connect with people.

Ho Chi Minh is a heroic figure to the Vietnamese, holding the equivalent place in the hearts of his countrymen as George Washington or Abraham Lincoln do for Americans. The other highlight of our time in Hanoi was the opportunity to visit his mausoleum. We were able to skip the line, saving us 45 minutes of time in the queue. Revered by his people, visitors walk by his embalmed body to pay their respects while soldiers stand at full attention. This was followed by a tour of the homes where Ho Chi Minh lived the final years of his lives.

Hanoi has an interesting character, and our final evening provided a fitting impression. The streets around the central lake were closed to traffic. It was like a block party a mile long. Children were driving small, battery-operated plastic cars; musicians performed; we saw an organized tug-of-war contest and residents playing badminton on the sidewalks. The Old Quarter is filled with small shops selling all kinds of food, local restaurants, women wearing conical rice hats, even people being transported by rickshaw. The favorite form of transportation in here Hanoi? Motorbikes are everywhere, far outnumbering cars.

copyright  (c)  2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or