January 8, 2006 - page 2

Next, we visited Hoa Lo Prison, more commonly known in the US as the Hanoi Hilton. Built by the French, it was initially used for Vietnamese prisoners, but during the American War it housed American POWs, such as John McCain. The prison is no longer in operation and 2/3 of it has been demolished and replaced with a hotel and shopping complex.

Visiting Hoa Lo was a humbling experience. It reminded me that no matter how much I may study war, I will never really understand what happens in war. Seeing and reading about the conditions in which the prisoners lived (in addition to seeing relief murals of prisoners being mistreated and two guillotines) was blatant proof that I really had no possible way to comprehend the atrocities of war. I was glad that wasn't the last thing we did today.

As our last stop before lunch we visited the Temple of Literature, which was built thousands of years ago as a center of learning. This was my favorite stop of the day. The architecture was beautiful and the gardens were immaculately kept. The peace and calm exuded by the Temple was a welcome rest from the rush of travel and noise of the surrounding city.