Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton)

If you haven’t yet visited the Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton), then you should definitely drop in during your next trip to Hanoi. The prison was built in 1896 by the French, and then later in 1954, the Vietnamese took over. The French used it for political prisoners and then the Vietnamese used it during the war. Later, it was used as a detention prison when Senator John McCain was senator and even held Pete Peterson as a prisoner. Although only a part of the original prison is left, much of the equipments used earlier are still intact, and so is a tunnel which was once used as an escape route. There is one exhibition room where the details of the happenings in the prison are documented in photographs, and stories by the inmates are displayed. Although, the stories are recorded as per the Vietnamese’s side of the story. Over the years, the prison has gone to become a major tourist attraction in the city and an integral part of its rich history.

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