Thread: Good morning, Hanoi

cheers all

Originally Posted by Ping

But at least you seem to have enjoyed yourself inspite of those pricks' best efforts.

yeah, i mean, it's not nice to be scammed but i wasn't going to argue for a bloody hour over, what, 150 bht. all of us was of the same opinion that, if the price was acceptable to us at the time, it's not a big deal if it turned out to be slightly overpriced. no happy with price, no pay. simple. the only exception being the taxi twat!

Originally Posted by terry57

I was very pissed off as ive been around and thought i knew every scam going but they got me on that exact senerio you explaned.

that shit did annoy me for a few hours, but i ain't gonna let it ruin my holiday.

Originally Posted by daveboy

nice report well done

Agreed, spot on Extras, realy enjoyed it.

Cheers for that.

Noodles.

5 stars

Originally Posted by sunderlandstephen

Very good pics.
Have heard a few people tell of very similar experiences,with rip offs abounding.
One expat who spoke the language,reported a tannoy message in a Hanoi market to only gouge tourists that day as it was a national holiday.

People cannot be trusted when it comes to money. Be it .01 cent or more.

Even at KFC the cashier tried to rip me off 2 weeks ago.

Integrity is lacking many people.

But when you stand up and challenge them, you will do OK.

And yes, after being here for a few years, I will bargain for 1 thousand dong, as a matter of principle.

The tourists are soft. Tourists don't like to bargain, as they are not used to it, and they don't know the true costs of things.

But I know where to shop and what folks provide good, quality, honest service, so my cost of living is very cheap here.

Well, we had 4 days in Hanoi and it was a very mixed experience.
First the good things. We loved Halong Bay. We had 2 nights on a Chinese junk and I definitely recommend going for 2 nights as the one day and one night packages are not long enough to really experience it. For instance, the one nighters only go out a short way, after passengers board at midday, then anchor for the night, and next day cruise a little and go back, so you only get to see the area near the port. But on our 2 nights we went a lot further, where there were few other boats, and it was magic. Also went to a floating display of village life. And went kayacking in an area where we went thru one cave to an enclosed lake, then through another cave to a second enclosed lake, which boats can't enter.
I loved the junks and said I could quite happily live on one as a floating house. Our junk was booked through Halong Bay Travel who were very helpful with visas etc.
The one downside was there was quite a lot of floating rubbish in some areas, mainly plastics. We did see a boat going around scooping up rubbish so that was good. Our guide said alot of the rubbish is not actually from the boats, but is washed down nearby rivers.
Another good thing was our hotel, the Golden Sun, in the old quarter, where the staff were excellent, really fussed over us, were super friendly and helpful, and even found two of our group a room in an adjacent hotel when they were full one night. Breakfast was in a small top floor restaurant with good views. Thoroughly recommend it.
The old quarter was also very interesting. Motorcycles everywhere and they don't stop so you have to become brave to edge out with your hand up and they just flow around you, which is unnerving but works. Many more motorcycles and fewer cars than in LOS. They're also nuts with their horns, everyone rides the horn all the time, which is rather self-defeating as no-one has any idea which horn is intended for them.
The Water Puppet theatre opposite the lake was also very good, although jam packed with foreigners. Make sure you buy tickets ahead of time or you may be disappointed.
We did some bargaining but its not actually much cheaper than LOS and the quality of the goods varies greatly. I bought a computer bag and the first time I put it over my should the clips for both ends of the shoulder strap pulled completely out of the bag. Still useful without the strap though.
One of our group was deaf and he had a wonderful finger signing conversation with a street vendor who was super friendly even though he didn't buy anything.
The staff in some of the restaurants were pretty slow, particularly one overlooking the lake, but others were fine.
The airport officials who processed our visas were typical bureaucrats-slow and surly. Note you have to get a viss before you arrive - you can't get one at the airport. We just Googled Vietnam visas and found a place to apply on line. They sent us a reply. We paid online and then they sent a form which we printed and presented at the airport on arrival. Don't arrive at the airport without it. Or your travel agent should do it for a fee.
We flew AirAsia from KL, but then flew direct on AirAsia to Bangkok on return.
Also, watch the money changers. The one at the airport diddled us by not handing over the right amount of notes to match the receipt and we didn't realise until later because their notes for various amounts are very similar. I recommend you buy some dong in Bangkok and then use ATMs in Hanoi. I particularly recommend the ANZ Bank (an Aussie bank) atm opposite the lake as they have 2 guards on duty next to the ATM so people feel safer using it. Get rid of your dong before leaving Vietnam as they wouldn't accept it at Suvanabhumi.
Also watch when credit card payments are being made as a staff person accidentally (we think) tried to debit one of our credit cards for US$11 million !!! instead of a much smaller amount. Fortunately the bank stopped the payment and froze the card.
We took a tour to Cam Toc (I think thats right from memory) but I wouldn't recommend it because the vendors were outrageously persistent and hassled us a lot. You get in a rowboat to be paddled thought the landscape, which is described as Halong on land because of the uplift formations and is quite interesting. But then the rowers try to sell you stuff and then they take you to floating vendors who hassle you to buy stuff. "Buy the rower a drink" they say, although its obvious the rower doesn't want a drink. I just refused and only bought myself a coffee. Then I gave the rowers a tip at the end. An American couple of Chinese appearance got really angry with their boat people for hassling them. At the end the rowers asked for a 200,000 dong tip and the Americans just laughed at them and stalked off.
Also, book your hotel to have you met at the airport as the taxi drivers have a bad reputation for attempting to overcharge. They will tell you there is no meter in their cab although there is. Sounds like Bangkok! The airport is about 45km from the centre of the city so they can charge quite a lot. Get your hotel to also arrange a taxi back to the airport when leaving as they will fix the amount to pay so at least you know it in advance.
If you go to Halong Bay its several hours from Hanoi so get a transfer through the booking agency, as the driver should be reliable, don't try to travel independently.
The airport is huge and dark inside and is obviously under utilised. When leaving make sure you get to the airport earlier than you normally would because we got stuck in a huge queue and they only had a small number of gates open for processing and the officials were really slow. Also, they give you a customs declaration to fill in on arrival and you have to keep it and present it on leaving and they're supposed to collect it, so don't lose it, but they didn't actually keep some of our party's so we still have them. It appears to be an unnecessarily bureaucratic and muddled process. By comparison, Suvanambumi airport is a fast-track dream.
Finally, the coffee in Hanoi is really good but very strong. I recommend the Little Hanoi restaurant in the Old Quarter - very good food. But the department stores are not cheap by Thai standards. Better to haggle on the street. The beer I had was pretty ordinary.
The food was OK but not as good as I expected. I've had better Vietnamese food in Thailand. In Hanoi it was too much psueudo-western and not enough real Vietnamese. Thai food is much better.
Inflation is 20% in Vietnam and prices are rising rapidly which fills up the local papers with official promises to restrain inflation, but obviously its still rising.
We enjoyed some parts of Hanoi, particularly Halong Bay and the Old Quarter, but were underwhelmed with the rest. Still, go and see for yourself.