After we had a lovely breakfast on the boat, we then headed back to Hanoi for a few hours before we took an overnight train to Hue, Vietnam.
On the way we stopped at a Pearl Farm and it was pretty interesting to see them all shucking these oysters. I would not want to do that all day.
On our way! Some fields 
Pearl Farm Sign 
Finding the pearls
Back in Hanoi, we were given a few hours to ourselves so Clint and I and a couple of other people from the group wanted to go the Hanoi Hilton or rather the Hoa Lo Prison. American POWs named it the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam war. It is known as one of the most brutal prisons with extreme punishment. And though it is known, to us, mostly as a prison for American POWs during the Vietnam War, it housed more Vietnamese revolutionaries than Americans. (over the years) The French began construction in 1896 and it took 5 years to complete. It was a huge complex, at that time, but has since seen a lot of it demolished over the years.
Walking to the Hanoi Hilton 
Entrance 
Hoa Lo Prison sign 
Walls in the courtyard 
A visual of what it would have looked like with prisoners and how they slept 
Toilets 
Some bios of some of the American POWs 
A very interesting and sad history 
Some reliefs
We grabbed a bit to eat at some spot on the street and then we had to go to the train station to catch the overnight train that would take us to Hue, Vietnam. The cabins were for 4 people, two sets of bunks so we shared with Christine and Steve, a lovely couple from Australia. We had spent the day with them as well so we were all pretty comfortable together. The guys took the top bunks and we took the lower bunks. This was a different train ride than the other overnight train we were on, it was a bumpier ride and very noisy.
It was a different experience for sure but we made the most of it and actually enjoyed the experience.
The next day we were in the city of Hue. Stay tuned !
Trums Travels 
Oh my! I would love to have access to a market like that! Thank you for sharing your traveling details. It’s great fun following your adventures. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
LikeLike
The markets, everywhere we went, were all so colourful and so much to see and so much I wanted to buy lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol I would be wanting to fill my suitcase with fresh produce. Of course, that’s not allowed. 🙄
LikeLike
Well the produce market certainly was colorful – easy to get your five servings of fruits and veggies if you shop here. 🙂 The HOA Lo prison was interesting, not only your pictures but the link you gave us. I sure can’t imagine there were many escapees given the fact that broken glass and barbed wires powered by high voltage electricity and four watch towers essentially guaranteed you were not getting out – ever. That’s nice you met so many nice fellow travelers in your group so you could share sleeping arrangements with them. Glad the guys didn’t tumble out of the top bunks given the bumpy ride. Yikes
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha yes they managed to stay up there. And there was the tiniest little ladder they had to use to get there. I don’t think I could have done that and I don’t like heights. I used to fall out of bed regularly when I was a little kid, I still have bad dreams about that lol. It was heartbreaking to hear, read and see the stories in that prison. I will never understand the cruelty that some humans do to others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d want guard rails and even then, there would be guarantee I’d try that top bunk. 🙂 Yes, so much heartbreak for what humans do to one another – it makes me shake my head.
LikeLike
What beautiful looking produce. I bet it was fun seeing them open all those shells. The history of the prison must have been fascinating yet kind of eerie feeling. Did it feel strange being there knowing what went on in there? This was another fun part of your trip but you can have the bunk beds. lol
LikeLike