By Elle and Bella Cav.
After a very long and emotional day yesterday, we started the day with; a few warm bread rolls, omelettes and coffee. Everyone frantically shoved their dirty clothes into our backpacks and went onto the rooftop of our hotel – to take one last glimpse of the beautiful village, Mai Chau. Everyone, exhausted and in need of a long shower, piled onto the bus and we began out four hour journey back to Hanoi.
Stopping off at a local convenience store so everyone could load up on their Stings, choco-pies and Oreos, tiredness finally hit which caused everyone to fall asleep for the remaining two hours of the trip.
Finally we reached the hectic city of Hanoi and we were all pumped to find out that our tour guide, Hoang, had been informed that we would be changing hotels for our last night in Hanoi. Which meant we went from our original hotel, to a four star hotel which is conveniently located across the street from Hanoi’s fashion district.
Before going to the hotel, we stopped at the Hamilton Prison and explored for forty minutes. Walking around the prison was confronting with graphic images and videos, but was informative at the same time.
We learnt that the French built it, but used it as a prison for Vietnamese people. However, when Vietnam took over again, they used it for prisoners of war. They held American pilots there after shooting down their jets during the north Vietnam bombings. We were informed that when the French were in control of the prison, the Vietnamese were treated poorly, often being tortured and tied up with chains. However, when Vietnamese were in control of the Americans, they were treated much better, being able to cook their own meals and having access to contacting their families back home.
We quickly ate at a traditional Vietnamese noodle restaurant which had been highly rated and recommend by Barrack Obama, as this was his only local meal during his Asian travel.
After finally taking a well deserved warm shower, Vietnam Yellow set off for a very jam packed night. Evie, Lucy and I spent an hour revisiting the market stalls and bought some very interesting clothing items, while others went off to shop or find themselves a snack from Doughnut King.
For dinner, Hoang and his wife showed us another very delicious Vietnamese restaurant, where we indulged in spring rolls and various types of meat. Dessert, for most of us, was an amazing fresh smoothie. Whilst we walked home to our new hotel, we made our way through the weekend festivities which consisted of traditional street games and an intense match of tug of war.
Now tucked into bed, getting ready for another very busy day tomorrow. Missing everyone very much and a happy birthday to my dad (Kris L). And mum, mangoes are great here (from Bella). Love Elle and Bella Cav xx