Anyone been to Hanoi Vietnam?

[Tamingstrange]

I'm considering going to Hanoi Vietnam. I have some questions for anyone who's been there?

- I've found roundtrip plane tickets for about $700. I'd probably stay there for about a week. How much hotel and spending money would I need?

- What are the locals like? Are they friendly and pleasant towards Foreigners?

- What are the woman like?

- Is it a safe area? Should I be concerned about getting mugged and murdered?

- Is there public transportation to help me get from here to there?

[Devil Dog]

Hanoi is a great town. The locals love Westerners and tourists in general. If you speak English fluently and you would like to meet locals, go to Hoan Kiem Lake in the Old Quarter and talk to young people. Half of them are there with the purpose of practicing English with foreigners.

The Old Quarter and adjacent areas are great for walking. I wouldn't bother with public transportation for a 1 week stay. Have your hotel arrange for a taxi to meet you at the airport ($15-$18). Very safe. I have spent 7 or 8 weeks total in Hanoi over the last few years and have never been uncomfortable or felt any danger at all. If you end up making the trip I will give you a few suggestions about things to check out, places to eat, etc.

Inexpensive hotels start at about $15. Hostels may be a bit less. If you want to spend absolutely as little as possible you could get by on hotel cost plus about $10 per day in Hanoi.

Women? Depends upon what you are trying to accomplish. I have a lot of young female friends in Vietnam, no romance, but I make it a point to not put out any romantic type encouragement at all. You might find a few easy ones but Vietnam is not Thailand or the Philippines. They are pretty traditional and most have living arrangements which are not conducive to casual hookups.

[Citizen]

I'm considering going to Hanoi Vietnam. I have some questions for anyone who's been there?

- I've found roundtrip plane tickets for about $700. I'd probably stay there for about a week. How much hotel and spending money would I need?

- What are the locals like? Are they friendly and pleasant towards Foreigners?

- What are the woman like?

- Is it a safe area? Should I be concerned about getting mugged and murdered?

- Is there public transportation to help me get from here to there?

http://www.news.com.au/travel/world-tra ... 37d5b8053f

[droid]

Not exactly in Hanoi here (HCM + central vn) but i think it's similar:


- I've found roundtrip plane tickets for about $700. I'd probably stay there for about a week. How much hotel and spending money would I need?

Like devil dog suggested a $20/night hotel is pretty good here, kind of four stars IMO. I've done $10 hotels but that's borderline, not worth the saving.
Food/restaurant service in hotels not that great, they still lack certain western concepts (i.e. butter? jam?, warm bread?), but real nice personnel always.
I mention it because I'm a breakfast guy, and really don't like soup in the morning lol.

Add another $20$ to have some fun per day, perhaps $30 to get more fancy. This including meals, which go from $1 for regular noodle soups to say $5 for decent indian restaurant dishes.
They "screw" you with the drinks though, which are charged disproportionately with respect to the meal itself. $1.50 - $3

- What are the locals like? Are they friendly and pleasant towards Foreigners?

About the friendliest people I've encountered. But you have to be friendly yourself too of course. Learn a handful of vn phrases first.
Southerners say the north is not that friendly, but that's within their own frame of reference lol.

- What are the woman like?

Down to earth and in good shape most of them. Basically they act according to their league, which coming from the west i see as a big gain. Plenty of pleasant slender shapely girls in the 6-8 range. 9s-10-s more scarce and almost always taken. Overall plenty of creamy slender waists + legs + shorts here though. yummy.

Careful though, i'm just talking about younger ones. Women over 35 wear these atrocious, horrible pajamas, which are a real eyesore. I don't know what your target group is though lol.


- Is it a safe area? Should I be concerned about getting mugged and murdered?

Murder rate is about the same as in USA, so pretty safe. People warn me about crime but i just don't see it. No one into petty crime/stealing like in SouthAmerica.


- Is there public transportation to help me get from here to there?

The bus is 5000vnd (about U$0.25) intracity, and U$3 intercity.

There's also plenty of grab bike dudes in the corners, they'll try to get your business but you have to make sure you know the numbers and can negotiate beforehand, or you'll get charged x5 at the end. Bike rides are about 10k (U$0.50) per kilometer. so calculate that before you approach a guy.

Taxis are brand new and cheap too, about $1 per kilometer, but the cost adds up fast if you always use this.

I must add though: you can rent a motorbike from the hotel for about $8 per day. This is the best option if you feel comfortable handling the crazy traffic. There is no bullshit insurance things like in the west, as things are pretty laid back, just leave your passport in the desk. But you have to MAKE SURE you don's screw up or do have the dough for any problem.
Fixing the -very rare- traffic cop is about $15, but i've only had to do that once (i was in the car lane).

Women? Depends upon what you are trying to accomplish. I have a lot of young female friends in Vietnam, no romance, but I make it a point to not put out any romantic type encouragement at all.You might find a few easy ones but Vietnam is not Thailand or the Philippines. They are pretty traditional and most have living arrangements which are not conducive to casual hookups.

^^Spot on the money devildog.
Plenty of hourly-rate hotels, but it's for formal boyfriend/girlfriend pairs since everyone lives with family/roomates.

[Tamingstrange]

Devil dog. So far, over the past year, I've managed to save up to $7,000. How far will that much get me on a trip? I'm also very interested in visiting the snake village in Le Mat, which happens to also be in Hanoi. How would I get there? Would I simply take a cab from my hotel?

[Devil Dog]

Devil dog. So far, over the past year, I've managed to save up to $7,000. How far will that much get me on a trip? I'm also very interested in visiting the snake village in Le Mat, which happens to also be in Hanoi. How would I get there? Would I simply take a cab from my hotel?

Once in Hanoi allow yourself about $35 per day. You could easily spend less or more. $35 is a take a cab instead of the bus, stay in a budget but decent place, have an ice cream or beer whenever you want type budget. So after you get there, $1000 per month.

I would take a cab to that location. It's in the Long Bien District which is just over the bridge from the Old Quarter. If you want to be as frugal as possible, learn how to use the city buses. I suggest asking one of the people you meet at Hoan Kiem Lake to take you on a bus tour. You pay the fare in exchange for them showing you around and you learn how the system works. Make sure to get agreement that you pay the fares before you go. These college students are relatively broke but they always want to pick up the tab. Pick a pretty girl to give you this tour. It's that easy.*

*I know this goes against the HA "It's sooooooo difficult to meet women" theme.

[Tamingstrange]

In terms of girls, I'm not looking to hookup or get into a relationship or anything. I'm not going to be some pervy American after some Vietnamese tail, lol. I'm perfectly fine with just becoming friends/acquaintances with them. Are they approachable and friendly in that regard?

[Devil Dog]

Be open, smile, speak English with them. You will meet dozens of women who will want to be your friend. You will be shocked at how friendly they are and how non pervy the whole thing is.

[Tamingstrange]

That's great to know! Do you of any other fun, cool and interesting things to do in Hanoi?

[Devil Dog]

There are some great museums: Ethnology Museum, a war museum, Women's Museum and the Hanoi Hilton. The last two are a 5 minute walk from the south end of Hoan Kiem Lake. Hanoi is kind of different for me now because much of what I do is meet with Vietnamese friends and help them teach English classes. That opens up a lot of social opportunity.

Just tell the locals that you meet that you would like to hang out another day. They will get you into some interesting places and social interactions that typical tourists never see.