What's Left of Hoa Lo Prison

Far From Paris

Paris Hilton would not like the accommodations at the “Hanoi Hilton” which is what Hoa Lo prison has been referred to for dozens of years.  Hoa Lo which translates to commonly translated as “fiery furnace” or even “Hell’s hole” and means “stove” is a prison was built by the French in 1886.  Much of it was torn down but what is left serves as a museum and a reminder.

It was around 3pm I had a return flight to Bangkok at 8pm.  I just had a coffee at a cafe with my friend and we saw an American traveler girl who was on the same boat with us in Halong Bay walk by!  My caffeine buzz allowed me to spring up from my chair and run down the street to flag her down.

We got to chatting and she mentioned that the “Hanoi Hilton” was nearby which served as a reminder for me.

Getting There

I had all but given up on any more tourism opportunities and was just going to kill some time before I took a cab back to the airport but now I put Hanoi Hilton on the remaining itinerary.

After coffee I asked no less than 10 Vietnamese people including police, tourism shop owners and pedestrians where the Hao Lo prison before we actually found ourself’s at the entrance.

Touring Hoa Lo Prison

After paying the minuscule entrance fee you are pretty much free to walk where ever you like.   There is a general direction but you are free to go from room to room and read them as well as the stuff inside them.  The most noticeable things I saw were the actual French guillotine that used to behead Vietnamese prisoners and of course the actual jumpsuit and parachute of US senator John McCain the prison’s most famous inmate.

Some rooms had a LCD TV which was hooked up to a censor that was triggered by you walking in the room.  The videos were a mix of mostly old footage, some new image and of course were laced with war-time propaganda.  For example, the videos showed the US pilot prisoners playing badminton and sports like they were in a country club when in fact they were being beaten and tortured on a daily basis.

There was some artwork, stories, and setups like you see below of what life was like in the prison and they all painted a bleak picture of the former Vietnam.  Overall the tour took less than an hour which was good because they were closing as we were trying to finish up the tour which would have been ironic if they forgot about us, closed and locked us in the Hanoi Hilton!

Example of Accommodations at the "Hanoi Hilton"

Overall Impression

Hoa Lo Prison is not the most exciting tour but it doesn’t need to be.  It is a no-nonsense tour which costs almost nothing (20,000 Dong = $1.12USD).  Taking your time and touring Hoa Lo prison takes around an hour and you are able to freely walk around and examine what you’re interested in.  I would recommend anyone who finds themselves in Hanoi with some free time to check out the “Hanoi Hilton” but make sure to have a map printed out to avoid the troubles finding the building which is barely distinguishable from any other building in Hanoi.

More Pain and Suffering for you

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