I have a nightmare in Hanoi and Sapa
In Hanoi we got in a taxi with a corrupt taxidriver, his meter was running twice as we were really driving and when we wanted to stop, the driver threatened us with a stick. He wanted the money for the distance he had already driven (20.000 dong for 500 meter).
There were 3 hotels with the same name in a row in Hanoi. We had booked one and the one we walked in said we had to wait until 8 am before we could get the room with window for 15 dollar (which they also said in a reservation e-mail). We could wait in a small other room without window (which they did not say in their e-mail; it said we had to wait in the lobby and could use the internet there). So when I asked about this internet at 8 am, they took me to the hotel with the same name next door. There I asked about the room and got the room for the price they e-mailed me. When I wanted to pick up my luggage, the first hotel charged me 15 dollar for the room! For just 3 hours without any using of the toilet or shower. And the room with window costs 15 dollar, so the room without should be less right? No, also 15 dollar. Great.
In Sapa my friend got hit by a car. He was protecting his head by raising his arm (cars were racing by on the road really close). His hand touched a outside mirror of a passing car and the mirror folded inward (like you sometimes do when you park your car on a busy road). The driver got mad and wanted 4 million dong (300 dollar) for his broken window (which wasn't broken at all). He grabbed a stone and wanted to throw it at my friend when he refused to pay. Thank god there were more people there to help him, because this would have escalated badly otherwise. An English guy and his Vietnamese wife passed by and talked to us and them. She said that the driver said that we were just rich Westerners and that we could well pay a 100 dollars. The English guy guy told us this happens everyday over there. So this is how some North Vietnamese make a living.
This is our experience and I am sure there are much more nice Vietnamese than bad ones, but take this as a warning. Be careful not to get hit by a car, because you have to pay for it.
In Hanoi we got in a taxi with a corrupt taxidriver, his meter was running twice as we were really driving and when we wanted to stop, the driver threatened us with a stick. He wanted the money for the distance he had already driven (20.000 dong for 500 meter).
There were 3 hotels with the same name in a row in Hanoi. We had booked one and the one we walked in said we had to wait until 8 am before we could get the room with window for 15 dollar (which they also said in a reservation e-mail). We could wait in a small other room without window (which they did not say in their e-mail; it said we had to wait in the lobby and could use the internet there). So when I asked about this internet at 8 am, they took me to the hotel with the same name next door. There I asked about the room and got the room for the price they e-mailed me. When I wanted to pick up my luggage, the first hotel charged me 15 dollar for the room! For just 3 hours without any using of the toilet or shower. And the room with window costs 15 dollar, so the room without should be less right? No, also 15 dollar. Great.
In Sapa my friend got hit by a car. He was protecting his head by raising his arm (cars were racing by on the road really close). His hand touched a outside mirror of a passing car and the mirror folded inward (like you sometimes do when you park your car on a busy road). The driver got mad and wanted 4 million dong (300 dollar) for his broken window (which wasn't broken at all). He grabbed a stone and wanted to throw it at my friend when he refused to pay. Thank god there were more people there to help him, because this would have escalated badly otherwise. An English guy and his Vietnamese wife passed by and talked to us and them. She said that the driver said that we were just rich Westerners and that we could well pay a 100 dollars. The English guy guy told us this happens everyday over there. So this is how some North Vietnamese make a living.
This is our experience and I am sure there are much more nice Vietnamese than bad ones, but take this as a warning. Be careful not to get hit by a car, because you have to pay for it.
