Hanoi, Vietnam
There's not much to say about Hanoi. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed and wish to return to every city I have visited during these three months in SE Asia....except Hanoi. I don't like to be negative, especially about foreign cities that I only stayed in for a few days, but I hate it. I really, really hate it.
1. It's dirty and gross, people pee in the streets, and your shoes smell absolutely horrendous after a few hours of walking down the non-existent sidewalks.
2. Everyone, EVERYONE, wants to cheat you. Even the women who sells you a pack of gum, expects you to pay at least twice the price that a local would normally pay. Even nice cute women at the tour agencies charge a six dollar commission on an eight dollar train ticket...are you kidding!
3. It's impossible to get a taxi/moto anywhere for a fair price...you might as well suck it up and put your feet to the pavement; it's not worth the hassle to bargain for the price.
4. People stare at you, yell at you, scream "hello" as loud as they can and burst out laughing like it's the biggest punchline they've ever heard.
5. It's loud, and I mean LOUD. The sounds of horns and hawkers combine to make one of the most detestable sounds I've ever heard. And, there's no escape from it - even in the nice big lakes and parks, you can still hear it.
6. The weather is miserable with dreary rain almost every day that sprinkles on and off so that you're constantly digging out your suffocating plastic poncho that you bought at double the price from a street hawker.
7. Americans...enough said. They're still not over it, and it shows. I'm getting a Canadian passport if I ever have to fly back through that city again.
And I should stop before I really offend someone. The only reason to ever come through that city is to catch a train to the amazing mountainous region of Sapa or to book a relaxing cruise in Halong Bay, one of the most naturally beautiful places in the world. Apart from this, steer clear my friends.
An edited summary from an old American I met in Sapa: "In the toilet bowl of Vietnam, the [fecal matter] floats to the top - and here it is, all in Hanoi."
1. It's dirty and gross, people pee in the streets, and your shoes smell absolutely horrendous after a few hours of walking down the non-existent sidewalks.
2. Everyone, EVERYONE, wants to cheat you. Even the women who sells you a pack of gum, expects you to pay at least twice the price that a local would normally pay. Even nice cute women at the tour agencies charge a six dollar commission on an eight dollar train ticket...are you kidding!
3. It's impossible to get a taxi/moto anywhere for a fair price...you might as well suck it up and put your feet to the pavement; it's not worth the hassle to bargain for the price.
4. People stare at you, yell at you, scream "hello" as loud as they can and burst out laughing like it's the biggest punchline they've ever heard.
5. It's loud, and I mean LOUD. The sounds of horns and hawkers combine to make one of the most detestable sounds I've ever heard. And, there's no escape from it - even in the nice big lakes and parks, you can still hear it.
6. The weather is miserable with dreary rain almost every day that sprinkles on and off so that you're constantly digging out your suffocating plastic poncho that you bought at double the price from a street hawker.
7. Americans...enough said. They're still not over it, and it shows. I'm getting a Canadian passport if I ever have to fly back through that city again.
And I should stop before I really offend someone. The only reason to ever come through that city is to catch a train to the amazing mountainous region of Sapa or to book a relaxing cruise in Halong Bay, one of the most naturally beautiful places in the world. Apart from this, steer clear my friends.
An edited summary from an old American I met in Sapa: "In the toilet bowl of Vietnam, the [fecal matter] floats to the top - and here it is, all in Hanoi."
posted by CC at
9:26 PM
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