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).
devildog wrote: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.