Day 37 - Vietnam Museum of History, Hoa Lo Prison and the Hõ Chi Minh Mausoleum

The fun chaos in Hanoi

Day 37 - 30th July

So Hanoi is fast becoming my favourite city of the trip. Sorry to Shanghai and Hong Kong but this place is different. It has the big city feel but without all the high rise. I love the hustle and bustle, th mopeds speeding past me and the general friendliness of the locals. They are so good to talk too.

So I headed straight for the Vietnam Museum of History. After a sweaty walk (I defy anyone to do it without sweating) I made it. The museum was extraordinary, with some impressive pieces and information about the past. For instance, I did to know in my brother's birthday in 1954 - October 10th, that Hanoi was where Vietnam declared its independence once more. I was an uneducated swine!

There were some awful conditions that men and women were subjected to here.

After a few hours wandering the corridors, I made my way to Hoa Lo prison, where I've experienced a real eye opener. The savagery and sheer scale of brutality towards the Vietnamese people in the early 20th century before the movement was incredible. I honestly felt sick to thing that this sort of evil went on.

How the prison once looked.

Hõ Chi Minh Mausoleum

After another few hours, I headed to the Hõ Chi Minh Mausoleum and spent time wondering with my thoughts. It was a great place to visit and one highlight of my trip so far. I will look back on it with fond memories already.

On my way back to my hostel, I stopped at Caps 'n' Taps, a bar in Hàng Ba. It was 30,000 Vietnamese Dong (95p) for one beer, plus I got one free. So I had a couple of rounds and enjoyed myself. Crazy money again.

The BBQ Pork and Mushroom for dinner.

Then I booked my trip to Sapa, leaving at 9pm onFriday night on a night bus. I'm really looking forward to that. So I headed out to get some food, wandered in the rain, feeling free and then watched Enemy at the Gates with some random sin the movie room.

Not a bad end to a busy day of walking!