Day 27 - A Tale Of Two Cities

We spent our last morning in Hanoi. Today at breakfast there was a man eating more loudly than anyone I've ever heard eat, it was vile, and the friendliest staff member ever (and she continued to be whenever we set foot near reception) so a mixed emotion meal. We had a 1pm pick up for the airport so did some last bits of sightseeing. We went to Hao Lo prison, which was originally built by the French in the 19th century for Vietnamese political prisoners. It was harrowing. There were stories of abuse and torture of the prisoners and a chance to go into the cells where dozens were kept in one place, plus the guillotine and some of the torture implements. Many prisoners escaped by various means, commonly by crawling through the narrow sewers, and they has a section of the sewer pipe there. When the French left Vietnam is was used for American prisoners of war. According to the info in the museum they were treated much better with sports courts, games and no mistreatment however other ex-prisoner accounts massively vary and the nickname 'Hanoi Hilton' is spun in very opposite ways. It was a very interesting way to spend an hour. We visited St Joseph's cathedral briefly on the way back before negotiating the pavements again and heading for another incredible Banh Mi sandwich (must be the quality of the ham Michelle). I like Hanoi but we are very, very much over the traffic and were glad to get safely back to the hotel, and the over friendliness, and into the taxi to the airport.

(I forgot another weird thing from yesterday. Matt got stopped at the Temple of Literature for a photo with an Asian guy - we're celebs here obviously)

The airport time was pretty uneventful, apart from bumping into a family we've now seen 3 times on our travels and spending the flight being kicked in the back by a small child. We landed in Hoi An an hour later, smooth pick up (apart from the driver not knowing where we were going despite having a board with our name so I thought we were being kidnapped) and an hour later were at our Homestay in Hoi An. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between a Homestay and a Hostel (or a Guesthouse for that matter) - same same but different as they say in Laos. I was a bit hangry so we headed out to Red Gecko for an awesome meal. Times is strange when you get excited that they have soda water on the menu - travelling brings an odd state of mind.

After dinner we went for a walk. Hoi An is the opposite of Hanoi. There's a river running through the middle with beautiful buildings either side and lots of brightly coloured lanterns. The Ancient part of town is pedestrian and cyclist friendly so no mopeds or cars to avoid. Everyone is friendly - they're still trying to get you to buy something but they're not forcing baskets on to your shoulder for a 'picture' or trying to get you into a fake North Face shop. There's a ton of nice looking restaurants and bars, and delicious looking street food of course. I think we're going to like it here, as we have with all the more laid back places. Tomorrow it's time for general sight seeing and a chance to see if it's as nice in the day time.Read more