Hanoi Hilton

Vinny wanted to go see the Hanoi Hilton (the prison where the American soldiers were held captive) so we went. It was a little eerie since they played this really creepy music. We had an interesting time seeing the pictures of Senator John McCain when he was a prisoner there. We also went to one of my favorite restaurants in Ha Noi, Hoa Sua.

Hoa Sua is a culinary school that teaches Vietnamese youth how to cook, speak English, and serve in a restaurant setting. The higher level students practice their skills in a real restaurant in a French mansion that is set up like a restaurant. I ordered soft shell crab with a tamarin sauce, it was culinary diviness. Vinny had the Vietnamese prix-fixe menu which included a basic vegetable soup (canh), salted pork (thit ko), veggies (rau cai), and egg rolls (chao gio). His dessert was the best though, he had a banana fritter (chuoi chien) that had the most amazing blend of spices, sweetness, and banana goodness. When the waiter wasn't looking, Vinny licked his plate clean, it was that good.

Bidding farewell to Ha Noi, we then started to make our way down to the south of Viet Nam to visit and pay respects to the rest of the family. Note to my fellow travelers, Jet Star airlines offers very inexpensive flights from Ha Noi to Saigon about $65, in case you wanted to book a flight. Only caveat, they limit your luggage to 20 kg per person so Vinny and I had to pay 110,000 VND for our overweight bags total (so about $6 USD).

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