03/07/06 Hanoi- An early start loadedme into a cyclo and some serious sight seeing. Hit the Ho Loa Prison which was another sobering occasion but of enornous interest. It all helps to piece together the history of Vietnam and to realise what in fact happened in my life time but until now had not an indepth realisation. Towards the end of the 19th century in an effort to contain the growth and developement of popular anti -colonial movements amongst the Vietnamese community ,the French govenment of Indo china reiforced its apparatus of suppression by strengthening the police force.,developing the court system and constructing an extensive network of prisons in the north. It opened in 1896 and quicly became a place where thousands of patriots and revolutioary fighters were imprisoned and tortured. Confined for years in cells with leg irons they endured savage treatment by the prison guards.Yet despite the atrocious conditions ,the prisoners took advantage of the situation and turned the prison into a school for revolutionaries- much like prisons today where you go in shoplifter and come out a qualified amunitions expert! Following the liberation of the north in 1954 Hoa Lo became the state prison and used to detain criminal offences. From 1964 ,however, until 1973 it was also used to detain American pilots whose aircraft had been shot down over Ha Noi.It ws during this period that the Americans gave Hoa the nickname the HANOI HILTON. No surprises here that the references,displays of courage and photos are biassed towards the freedom fighters - and it clearly states how well the American pilots were treated-BUT I suspect it was also horrendous and not somewhere one would like to end up. The weatehr is incredibly humid and so I slipped off to the Hilton hotel - same same but different!Put a few coffers into Paris Hiltons piggy bank and lay by the pool drank milkshakes and did something I am getting extremely good at---relaxed.