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Dear BMs....My trip back to Phuket was called off due to timing...but ws up in Hanoi last week for business and here are some insights from an Asian BM...
Firstly,Hanoi was a culture shock...lots and lots of motorbike...i mean literally millions on the road any time of the day...no traffic lights are seen...and according to locals there were some put up just for the Bush visit and after that theye were switched off!...Amazing city ...like back in time 10 years in some areas. Flowers everywhere during early hours of the day...it is a flower crazy city...trees are all over the streets and well sheltered.Homes lined the roads like boomed out shelters in some areas,let after the war,but quaint and "slim"..yes,slim...probably only 12-15 feet in width...i wonder why...but ususally three storeys and long at the back...most have open roof decks...they like to sun their laundry there and also to avoid floods it seems...some roads are nuilt on dykes...so tey are way above the house or shop front levels,maybe 20 feet up...notceably the one from the airport to the city...
So much for the general view...now some insights on the hotel we stayed.It was in the old quarters,Trang An Hotel(pronounced Chan Un)...a mini hotel with 25 or so rooms...US$40 per nite...chosen by our business associates here...private,secure,clean and room big for three adults actually,but it is a 2 star rated hotel...i would say it is homely and nice furnishing as if a locals home...seen many locals(viets) females staying here for business...so it is not a sleazy hotel.Convenience?..Spot on...right outside are the streets of the old quarters,with each having a quaint character,selling similar but different things...my advise is check the whole street out first...a quick walk thru..then walk back and see the variety there are...each shop have different stocks of things..and yes do bargain at least 30% or 40% off...smile and be nice and you will end up with some great stuff...it is kind of hard to orientate at first but after a day you will find it easy...btw,there are several mini hotels along the roads in this area with a similar character and i am sure the quality and security as Trang An...from the exterior they may look small but inside they are surprises...most i believe are run by owners and have a personal touch .
Trang An provided free internet and breakfast...good deal...the bf was prety good,compliments to a young Viet gal who is the chef...this hotel is not croded and reccomended for budget travellers..but it is not a backpackers joint though...
One experince to tell fellow BM who are first time travellers to this part of the city is that beware of ladies carrying baskets selling bananas and and fruits...my guys were nearly fleezed by them...eventhough we were Asians,look like them,...they wanted a high price for the fruits but luckily we were right infront of one of these mini hotels and the owner happened to be standing outside...he screamed in Vietnamese to a local who was parking his bike to tell my guys not to pay the sellers the amount they wanted and just give them the right amount(forgot how much)...and asked the sellers to go off...hmm,quite a nice friendly touch by the locals...don't fleeze the tourists!
Now down to some nite life scenarios..hope some Bms won't be offended...to those who want to know,read on...to those who are not into the night scene please skip..nevertheless it is for the benefit of first time travellers..esp. the guys...
Second nite was just scouting the food and drinks joints..plenty but not as crazy as in Thailand...DID NOT HAVE TIME TO GO BEYOND THE OLD QUARTERS ...BUT FOOD IN SOME small quaint cafes and eateries all over this place are cheap and good!...western,local,and more...every one serve beers...most are quite and cozy...basically they cater to tourists cos the locals here eat simple...there are some very local eateries too,do pop in to savour the fare if your stomach has the resistance level...the seats in these small local shops are extremely low!....the tables too!..they are peculiar and foreigners kinda find it hard to sit and eat in these ground level stools...even some tea and coffee joints have these low plastic stools...Anyway,suggest you walk aroud and surely there are some eateries you will fancy...we tried many and each is good...name are hard to remember but just try whatever you fancy...Beer joints are visible but not many...around the lake are some multi storey beer bars,no girls i am afraid,just to drink...and watch the crazy traffic...on the last day we found a row of bars for locals just off the lake in a quite street two blocks behind the road in front of the hotel...some tourists ,mainly locals,...some girls...we passed by on Saturday during lunch and it was packed ...some having tea/coffee...
After a beer at Legend Beer we hailed a cab to Sheraton Hotel's club called Nutz...happening scene for rich kids and locals ,hotel guests too..good music,dance floor small but techno inclined house music...lots of people !..Non stop in traffic ,no cover charge,many of the best looking gals seen in Hanoi ...
visibly some gals are working gals and have farang guys with them,but many are also with locals...did not have time to stay to check out if there were FLs...my gut feeling was there are some ...being first timers,we did not pursue aggressively...at 2am the crowd was still coming in...just hang around outside the ladies and it was a sight...!
We moved on to get a cab to a massge place..taxi driver was ok kinda guy and took us to a place that cater for just a rub down at this odd hour...no hanky panky..150 000 Dong and off we go to a boom boom house ...shall i continue?...
It was this friendly 21 year old cab driver who took us there ,he could speak good English and understood what we wanted to end the nite...three gals for the three of us for US$100..inclusive of the i hour room...quite a deal that we couldn't refuse soberly...so we trusted him...he promised to come back to pick us up to our hotel in an hour(which he did!)...It was a ***** house,just across the flower wholesale market in a side street...not a hotel hotel...a normal shop lot along atypical street...not exactly super Dettol clean but ok...guy( about 23) lined up 5 gals and boom boom we went...seems secure and straight business...must be well connected with the athourities...
On the first nite two of us had a bad experience with motorbile gals...we were late after work and went for a walk at 2am ...everytime was closed,street lights were even off!But we were just walking around and three gals on bike approached us for a good time...spoke not bad english,a guy on bike came and we said no...after a distance he came alone and asked us what we were inclined to...since now the gals were not around to be seen we thought he was working on his own..small sized guy,little englsih...he said he has a place for us ....then came the gals...same ones...urging us for a ride...indeed very friendly...so off we went,said 5 mins away..reached a place some three streets aay and they useher us to a shoplot...but there was no electrity inside!...candles everywhere!...we were apprehensive...decided to call it off...they were insistent...suggested another place...took us around ..got to another didngy looking street...we decided and insisted to head back to our hotel...still not satisfied,they took us to supposedly their own house...well,it was a dark place,we did not enter...declined ..so off we go back to the hotel...along all these rides(easily 20 minutes) the gals seated threesome...teasing all the way ,grouping at our pockets and croutch...finally,we reach the our hotel..they demanded 500 000 Dong just for the ride!...some way along the ride my guy lost his Dongs( 1 million) that was in his pocket...realising their scam,we wanted to just get away from these gals and the guy...after a long debate they realised that we were not that stupid...they took whatever was offered (that was left in my guys pocket ))and buzzed off...they were fast and smart...an afterthought made us realised that we we lucky to be back alive!...along the rides one of the gals asked me if i wanted marijuana...wow...i declined ...i can't imagine what would have happened if we had gone into a room in the first stop where there were not lights just candles and half way during the boom boom we could have been druged and dumped dead.!So,fellow guys who are BMs here...do be careful and be advised...don't forget,we are Asuians...and skin colour doen'nt mean any thing to these gals..
Will we return to Hanoi despite all these?..Yes, a city is great with all the good and bad...Hanoi is quaint,unusual ...but fast influx of tourists could change this character pretty fast...so see it while it last!
Sorry for this long essay...happy reading ..
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