Good morning, Hanoi

[Wayne Kerr]

Originally Posted by William

never did work out what this was...

Believe it or not mate, that is a fishing boat. Have some video somewhere of a fisherman paddling one around on the sea fishing.

[peterpan]

A mate of mine (Honest) got caught up in one scam where by they ended up in a brothel, They negoitated a price for activities with mamasan, before they set to it they were offered some beers, also were asked to buy a couple of beers for the girls, they thought no problem. after they finished, offered another couple of beers, also "girl want another beer", no problem until they decided to leave and asked for the bill, about 300 USD!! yes, the dancing activities with the girls was well priced but the beers were 35 USD a bottle.
Of course they started to argue the toss until 4 Viet guys turned up with base ball bats, one of the two made a run for it and got way but my mate caught a bat around the back which floored him, he paid.

[Milkman]

Originally Posted by peterpan

A mate of mine (Honest) got caught up in one scam where by they ended up in a brothel, They negoitated a price for activities with mamasan, before they set to it they were offered some beers, also were asked to buy a couple of beers for the girls, they thought no problem. after they finished, offered another couple of beers, also "girl want another beer", no problem until they decided to leave and asked for the bill, about 300 USD!! yes, the dancing activities with the girls was well priced but the beers were 35 USD a bottle.
Of course they started to argue the toss until 4 Viet guys turned up with base ball bats, one of the two made a run for it and got way but my mate caught a bat around the back which floored him, he paid.

Never end up in situations like this. Always ask the price for anything. PAY AS YOU GO.

I just read that Marmite might be in Hellnoi in March. I'm on the other end.

Stop by and say "hi" any time.

[Marmite the Dog]

Originally Posted by Milkman

I just read that Marmite might be in Hellnoi in March. I'm on the other end.

I'm not going now, as I'll be in Korat instead.

I may pop over later in the year though. You about in May?

[Milkman]

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

I'm not going now, as I'll be in Korat instead.

I may pop over later in the year though. You about in May?

I'll be here in May.

[Marmite the Dog]

Jolly good.

[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.

[Milkman]

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.

[Lady Hawk]

Great pics and write up brought back good memories thanx

[Bruce]

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.

[klongmaster]

Cheers for the info Bruce...

Originally Posted by Bruce

Note you have to get a viss before you arrive - you can't get one at the airport.

Because some of our members are Scandas it's worth noting that

Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish citizens will be exempted from requiring visas when they enter, exit or stay in Viet Nam for less than 15 days

.

[Up2U]

I'm living and working in the South of Vietnam.

Arriving in HCMC I was supposed to be met by a taxi from my (previously booked) hotel, but gave up after an hour or more. Very luckily a Japahese guy, working in HCMC, was waiting fior some of his senior people to arrive and he took pity on me and explained the score, told me what to pay the taxi, phoned my new employer and got the name of the hotel and address, so on. But I still had an argument with the taxi driver who had started at US $ 20 (No, put on the meter) went to US $ 15 (no, put on the meter) and we eventually got to the hotel for US $ 12 (by the meter). He had driven around a bit, but not too much, so I paid that US $ 12. He then got annoyed that there was no tip, but the hell with it. Let him get pissed.

Here in Ca Mau things are different - seem to be no scams - or they are very, very clever. Bread rolls I buy hot from the oven ae the equivalent of 2 baht (1,000 VN Dong). Down the road are filled sandwiches (crisp rolls - not sliced bread) of pate, chicken, assorted cut meat, tuna, etc., at around 15 baht each. In Pattaya the same thing in Friendship costs 65 baht.

I have a good Western-style meal most evenings with a beer or two for about 300 baht. Internet cafes I used before my computer was set up cost 1,000 dong (2 baht) for about 10 minutes.

But we are having power cuts for up to 12 hours a day on alternate days at the moment. There is a distinct lneed for power here, which we are trying to fill. Yesterday (Sunday) even the TV was off for the day because they obviously didn't have a back-up generator.

On Saturday Vietnam put a satellite into orbit, but they didn't say whose rocket they used (probably Russian, maybe French).

With regard to traffic, yesterday I was counting cars outside the restaurant while I was dining. One truck, 303 motorbikes, one car, about 35 motorbikes, one more car and approx. 350 motorbikes until a truck came along. So here the proportion is nearly 700 motorbikes to four closed-vehicles. And probably 100 push-bikes in the same time.