For Assoc. Professor Werner Biggel a work trip in Hanoi is very short and he has a lot of works to do so after visiting Hanoi 2 times, he still does not have time for a hangout. Therefore we (a group of students from the faculty of Education and Foreign Language) comes up with a low-cost mini-tour for him to pay a little visit to Hanoi downtown. Hanoi this season is pretty chilling but sunny which is perfect for a mini trip, picking Mr. Biggel up from Vietnam National University of Agriculture Guest House at 10:30 a.m, we got to our first location, Hoa Lo prison or the Maison Centrale at No.1 Hoa Lo street a historic place that even not many Vietnamese have visited.

Hoa Lo prison

Hoa Lo prison is invested by the government to be a tourist location so the price is pretty cheap, only 30.000 VND for ordinary ticket and 50% discount for students with a free parking lot, you also can rent an audio guide for 50.000 VND in both English and Vietnamese or buy a guide book for 20.000 VND. If you had not gone here, you should go, wandering around this place, we learned much more about history, how Vietnamese people had fought back in the 20th century while staying inside the place that held a large number of political prisoners. Thus Mr. Werner found out why American pilots called this place with a charming name, Hanoi Hilton Hotel. Time flies when you fascinating in something, we spent 2 hours in the Maison Centrale and our stomach started boiling a little. Leaving “Hanoi Hilton Hotel” we went to have bun cha at No.16 Hoi Vu, the price is 40.000 VND per serving. The tender BBQ pork and some vermicelli with a flavorful spoon of sauce not only soothed our hungry stomachs but also left a light tasty note in our mouth the fat from pork, the acidity from vermicelli, the combination of flavor from the dipping sauce with a little heat from chili, garlic and pepper, which made this dish unforgettable. Hanoi is also popular for egg coffee so after lunch, we went to have some at a hidden gem.

Giang Cafe at No. 106 Yen Phu opening by Mr. Giang’s oldest son, seeing this drink for the first time Mr. Werner was reminded of eggnog by its texture but this is a non-alcoholic drink. Egg coffee at this shop is not fishy at all, the sweet and creamy flavor of egg cream combining with the bitterness and a little acidity of Vietnamese coffee create a fantastic flavor that makes this beverage the signature of the shop. Another plus point of this shop that it is cheaper than other Giang Cafes and free parking. While sitting in this small antique coffee shop and watching the street, we had a wonderful talk about Mr. Werner’s next plan, life path, culture and even coming up with some great ideas for his projects. Due to his tight schedule, we went back to VNUA at 5 p.m. This mini-tour is simple but very meaningful, this would be a great experience for someone with a busy work trip in Hanoi but still, want to explore what distinguishes Hanoi from other places in Vietnam. We hope that we will have a better time to show our international professor many other places, food, and beverage or even the culture in Hanoi, not only surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake.

                                                                                                                                   From: Students of the FEFL