Talk:Hanoi

A map which shows where exactly hanoi is, would be great!

For anyone who wants to give making a map a go, its not that hard or time consuming.... For more information, see here. -- (WT-en) Tim 09:53, 16 April 2007 (EDT)

It's been more than ten years since I've been to Hanoi but I can't believe that Tintin Cafe has disappeared! It used to be the center of the backpacker universe but doesn't even figure on wikivoyage. Is wiki missing something, or has Hanoi changed?--(WT-en) Wandering 11:40, 5 October 2007 (EDT)

The picture at the top right is not Ho Hoan Kiem (Hoan Kiem lake) it is a picture of Ho Bay Mau which, I'm guessing, was taken from the Nikk Hanoi Hotel (the island can be seen on the left hand side of the dark lake http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hanoi,+vietnam&ie=UTF8&ll=21.013068,105.847242&spn=0.009034,0.014462&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr. You have to scroll North slightly to make out the Nikko Hotel on the North side of the road bordering the lake). Note that at Ho Hoan Kiem (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hanoi,+vietnam&ie=UTF8&ll=21.028671,105.854173&spn=0.009033,0.014462&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr) the island is near the top of the lake and would have been on the right hand side (if there were any buildings that tall at the top of Ho Hoan Kiem. Here's hoping they do not build any such buildings as this is the old quarter of Hanoi)

PS How do you change the photo's label? (Hence this long winded discussion note)

Update: No, that is not Ho Bay Mau either. That is Thu Le Lake behind the Daewoo Hotel as viewed from the elevator area on the back side of the the Daewoo hotel. I standing at that exact view as I write this message. Here's the map link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hanoi,+vietnam&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=21.030639,105.810195&spn=0.002824,0.003782&z=18&iwloc=addr -- User:(WT-en) Ageitgey

I've moved this in from the article - not appropriate there, but could serve as the basis for a separate itinerary. (WT-en) Gorilla Jones 00:26, 4 March 2008 (EST)

Hanoi to Hong Kong overland

From Gia Lam station get on a bus to Dong Deng for around 60,000vnd. They should drop you near the border and you'll only have to walk 200-300km to the Vietnamese passport control. The standard procedure requires you to throw your passport above the heads of the hoards of travelers through the hole in the office window and wait until you notice an official wandering about with your passport. Good luck. Once you're stamped you can walk the short distance into China and enter the marble tiled efficiency of Chinese immigration control. When they set you free you need to get to Pingxiang 15km away. Don't accept the first taxi tout dither around as you wander through the huge stone gate and see the motobike taxis, get a bidding war started and a taxi should only cost around 30rmb a motobike no more than 20rmb. From Pingxiang get the bus to Nanning, they are more regular than the trains, this will take about 2 1/2 hours. You will arrive at Lang Dong station. From Nanning you need to travel over night to Guangzhou. If you are happy with a sleeper bus Lang dong station is the right place to be. Bear in mind the journey by bus will take 10 to 11 hours and cost about 230rmb. If you want to catch a train, which may be cheaper depending on your level of endurance, get on the number 6 bus (2rmb) to the train station (huoche zhan) it takes about 20 to 30 mins. This is the better option for even if you can't get a train you can buy a bus ticket at the Lang Dong station ticket office on Chaoyang lu near the Yin He hotel, a 2minute walk from the train station, and this way you can see some more of Nanning before catching the No 6 back to the bus station(allow 50 mins). When in Guangzhou get yourself to Guangzhou east station, use the metro it's brand new, easy to use and will only cost you about 5rmb. Once there follow the signs for the Kowloon express and for 180rmb you'll be in hong Kong in less than 1 1/2 hours. You will arrive at Hong Hum station and it's just one stop on the MRT to get to Tsim sha tsui east where you can find all the budget accommodation in one of the two "mansions" on Nathan Rd.

I've merged it into Ho Chi Minh City to Shanghai overland. (WT-en) Jpatokal 04:09, 4 March 2008 (EST)

I think now it's the scam descriptions (rather than the scams) that as a whole have gotten out of hand. Yes, travelers need to be wary of scams and touts, but I think most people are on the look-out anyway and have basic common sense. Moreover, positioning this scam article in a special sidebar and in such a prominent way on the Hanoi website gives the city a bad reputation. So many travelers I meet tell me that they are so afraid when coming to Hanoi, even though this is an incredibly safe and beautiful city. I don't disagree with the inclusion of a warning, but I think naming select hotels (arguably we could put all of them on the list - I doubt anyone is truly innocent who deals in the Vietnamese business community) and using polemical language may not be the way to go. Thoughts?

Agreed, it's way too long to be an infobox now. It should be stripped down into the essentials and moved into regular text in the Sleep section. (WT-en) Jpatokal 06:49, 8 May 2008 (EDT)

I waa scammed at Hotel3B. Paid for breakfast, receptionist refused to give me a receipt. Was billed for it at check out. Extrenely unhelpful man. Told me 'all' the resturants were closed Tet evening. The one at La Siesta directly opposite was obviously open, as I pointed out, he said it was for hotel guests only - it isn't. He was very nasty in that underhand way, and stole my money! Several of the other staff weren't either helpful or friendly. Very over rated. Jaxy55 (talk) 19:56, 31 January 2017 (UTC)Reply

Our policy for bad shops is to ignore them, not slag them. Can you rewrite in more general form?

Avoid shopping at 1 Hang Be|I was given 3, instead of 4, embroidery pieces that I had purchased. When I went back to the shop to enquire about the missing piece, the lady at the store smirked and claimed that the amount that I had paid was not enough for 4 pieces. She also said that the little girl who had attended to me had gone home. It was not true that I had not paid enough and it was untrue that she did not know what had happened because the girl had consulted her on the price and had also given her the money during our transaction. This lady was clearly the owner of the shop. I also told her that if she thought I should have paid her more, she should have told me so instead of giving me fewer pieces. When I offered to pay her a little more money, she demanded 100000 VND more. My discussion with her led nowhere even though a Vietnamese friend tried to mediate and we left the shop. Just a word of advice--always check your purchases before you pay for the items and before you leave any shop. And avoid dishonest scammers like the shop at 1 Hang Be.

I removed some of the listings that did not provide descriptions or addresses, and beefed up the content in the ones that did. --(WT-en) MarinaK 20:47, 17 March 2009 (EDT)MarinaK.

I'm whittling down the amount of hotels in the article, with prejudice against entries with incomplete data, tout-ish language, and/or un-compelling descriptions. Feel free to make a case for any of these if necessary. (WT-en) Gorilla Jones 20:32, 7 January 2010 (EST)

• <sleep name="Astoria Hotel" address="151 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem" phone="+84 4 938 0455" fax="+84 4 938 0458" url ="http://www.hanoiastoriahotel.com" price="From $23"> A brand new hotel in the center of the Old Quarter. The Astoria Hotel has 25 rooms with fully modern equipment like a/c, sattelite TV, and free internet. Breakfast is included in the room rental price. </sleep>

• <sleep name="Friendly Hotel" address="Ma May St" phone="+84 4 3926 2464" url ="http://www.friendlyhotelhanoi.weebly.com" price="From $10"> Mini hotel in the center of the Old Quarter. Air conditioned, comfortable rooms with attached bathroom, satellite TV, fridge and free wifi as well as free internet computers in reception hall.</sleep>

• Hanoi Paradise Hotel, 01 Yen Thai St, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, (84-4) 9286139. Recently opened, and offers the rare amenity of a heated indoor swimming pool.

• <sleep name="Hanoi Blue Sky Hotel" address="2B Hang Ga street" phone="+84 4 9230514" email="hanoi_blue_sky@yahoo.com"> Located in Hanoi old quarter, near Hoan Kiem lake. Very friendly staff and atmosphere, ask for Flower if she is available, she speaks more than 3 languages and can help with anything. Best deals on double rooms! Very comfortable for the price, A/C in rooms but costs $2 extra to turn it on. </sleep>

• <sleep name="Hanoi Boutique Hotel" alt="" address="28 Bat Su St, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi" directions="" phone="(84-4) 39233609" url="http://www.hanoiboutiquehotel.com/" checkin="24 hours" checkout="24 hours" price="$25 per night double inc breakfast (and free internet)" email="hanoiboutiquehotel@hotmail.com">Hanoi Boutique Hotel is in the heart of The Old Quarter, just a few blocks from Hoan Kiem Lake, Water Puppet Theater and alongside a thriving outdoor market. Along Bat Su street (china bowls), you will find cafes, an award-winning spa, pharmacies and various shops and stores carrying clothing, handicrafts, and other amazing finds! The hotel offers a most comfortable and glamorous accommodation in The Old quarter. All rooms are wonderfully decorated and feature fantastic facilities such as hard-wood floors, in-room private computer with wireless internet access, cable flat screen LCD TV, DVD player, tea and coffee making facilities, hair-dryer and private bathrooms with shower cabin. With friendly and knowledgeable staff who go that extra mile to ensure your stay is the best possible, and able to arrange and book the best tours of Halong Bay, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Mui Ne Beach and Ho Chi Minh City.</sleep>

• Hanoi Royal 2 Hotel 11 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem, Tel +84 4 928 6479, Fax +84 4 824 6725. [1]. A two star hotel located right at the centre of Hanoi. Prices start at USD $28.

• Lucky Eden Hotel, 35 Quan Thanh, tel: +84 4 7341 249 luckyedenhotel@gmail.com, is located near the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, and close enough to most popular places in Hanoi. From cheap single rooms to deluxe rooms.

• Thanh An Hotel at 46 Hang Ga Street offers rooms with attached bathroom after some haggling for 80000 dong. Owner speaks fluent French and decent English.

• Win Hotel, 34 Hang Hanh St, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi" tel. +84(4) 38287371"[2]. Very well received guest house, close to Hoan Kiem Lake with rates from USD 20 to USD 30, has gotten some positive reviews from travelers.

• Wing Hotel, 23 Hang Non, Old Quarter, not far from Real Darling. The Wing Hotel has clean rooms, friendly and professional staff and a book exchange. Breakfast is available. Some rooms have balconies overlooking the street. A double can cost as low as 160,000 dong, although the standard price is 192,000.

• <sleep name="Hanoi Heritage Hotel" phone="+84 4 38344727" url="http://www.heritagehanoi.net" price="Rates start at USD 55.">Hanoi Heritage Hotel is in the center of Hanoi within walking distance to the Giang Vo International Exhibition Center. Hanoi Heritage Hotel is recognised as an international 3-star hotel with 68 rooms and suite.</sleep>

• <sleep name="Hanoi Luxor Hotel" alt="" address="59 Hang Cot, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam" directions="" phone="+84 4 39275115" url="http://www.hanoiluxorhotel.com" checkin="" checkout="" price="Rates start at USD 60.00++" lat="" long="">Asian European cuisine in the restaurant. Sauna and massage services. 45 rooms with mini bar, LCD, A/C, hair dryers and coffee making.</sleep>

• <sleep name="Hanoi Pacific Hotel" alt="" address="30 Cua Nam Str. Hoan Kiem Dist" directions="5 min. from train station" phone="+84 4 39362587" url="http://www.pacifichotel.com.vn" checkin="" checkout="" price="USD 25-75" lat="" long="" email="vihnvn@yahoo.com" fax=""> In the Old Quarter, the Pacific hotel is centrally located to all shopping destinations and key Hanoi attractions. Very friendly staff can help to arrange tours, tickets, etc in good English. Hot water, satellite TV, computers with internet in rooms, and a/c are among the perks in this hotel. </sleep>

• <sleep name="Hong Ngoc 1 Hotel" alt="sales@hongngochotels.com" address="34 Hang Manh St,Hoan Kiem, Hanoi" [3]directions="100m West of St Joseph's Cathedral. 20 minutes from Noi Bai Airport. " phone="+84 4 38285053" url="" checkin="From 13h00" checkout="11h30" price="USD 45-125" lat="" long="">Rooms with timber and granite flooring in the Old Quarter. </sleep>

• <sleep name="Queen Travel Hotel" alt="" address="65 Hang Bac-Hoan Kiem" directions="" phone="+ 84 48260860" email="queenaz@fpt.vn" fax="+ 84 4 8260300" url="http://www.azqueentravel.com" checkin="" checkout="" price="">"The stylish Queen of the Old Quarter" touts its friendliness and reliability.</sleep>

• Rising Dragon Hotel 61 Hang Be Street [4]. Vietnamese and American managed, next to Hoan Kiem Lake, it has new facilities in a renovated historic building of the Old Quarter. Prices start at USD 25 (all taxes included, plus breakfast, internet, and wifi).

• Sunshine Hotel, 42 Ma May Street [5]. Clean rooms and friendly staff in the middle of the Old Quarter (around USD 30 incl. taxes & breakfast).

• <sleep name="Daluva Home" price="USD $60 Daily Breakfast included, Weekly rate $365 and Monthly Rate $1295 with reasonable meal packages available" url="http://www.daluva.com/apartment/" alt"" address="33 To Ngoc Van Street, Tay Ho District" Phone="+84 4 3718 5831 or +84 907 144 561" email="info@daluva.com"> Bright and spacious, Cozy lighting with dimmers,Bedroom & Living room LCD-TVs with satellite/Sub Sound System, Work desk with Computer & Internet, Terrace with plants, Views of Westlake villas with Great walks along the lake and a kids playroom. On sit restaurant 8AM to 11PM, Fun personal tour guides, Automobile/ motorbike rental and Spa available.</sleep>

• <sleep name="Hanoi Imperial Hotel" alt="" address="44 Hang Hanh Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi" directions="about 2 mins walk from Hoan Kiem lake" url="http://www.hanoiimperialhotel.com/" checkin="14 noon" checkout="12 noon" price="From 75 US$" lat="" long="" email="contact@hanoiimperialhotel.com"> 3 Star luxury hotel in the Old Quarter. a business center, a restautant, Clean rooms and baths with good air-con, satellite TV, free internet WiFi and breakfast.</sleep>

• Sunway Hotel, 19 Pham Dinh Ho Street, Hai Ba Trung District. While it's a four star hotel, the 143 rooms in this hotel appear quite dated and lifeless. The food in the restaurant is reasonably good and they serve a breakfast buffet daily.

Well done GJ. This is something we should do a lot more of with some of the more unwieldy articles. --(WT-en) Burmesedays 21:19, 7 January 2010 (EST)

I would like to say at the outset that I have yet to visit Vietnam and have no stake in this edit war. However, until now, there had been no reason given for substituting the latter's listing for the former. We now, in the history [6] finally have an explanation: "First-hand knowledge of hotel name change (to Little Hanoi) and shoddy service, replaced with real L.H." I of course have no knowledge of the quality of service at either establishment. However, if it's true that Hanoi Bed and Breakfast changed its name to Little Hanoi Hostel, they are apparently behind schedule in changing their website [7], which is still active and still giving their (former?) address, as it has been listed on Wikivoyage. Or is it that the Little Hanoi Hostel, at its current location, used to be called the Hanoi Bed and Breakfast, changed its name, and then a competitor - well, this is all confusing and requires more explanation. If the service is at the hostel/bed and breakfast is shoddy, instead of changing the listing, we should simply delete it, in keeping with Project:Avoid negative reviews. But I think we simply haven't gotten a full explanation yet. (WT-en) Ikan Kekek 04:45, 29 May 2012 (EDT)

After a month in Vietnam (May and June 2015) I can safely say that almost every ATM gives 2 Mio VND with a fee of 20,000 to 40,000 VND for MasterCard and European Maestro cards. I only found two ATMs (one of ANZ and one of Commonwealth bank) which gave 7 and 5 Mio Dong. But even other ATMs of Anz were limited to 2 Mio VND. According to Jerry for 76 customs, a Aussie expat who is a motorbike mechanic, said that almost all bank changed to the 2 Mio VND limit. Is there anybody with different experience? Lennox mcdough (talk) 11:52, 20 June 2015 (UTC)Reply

HSBC still seem to let us withdraw 5 million VND, although they're far from common. Not sure how much they charge, but I don't think they're particularly bad for a UK based Visa Debit card Hanoied (talk) 14:28, 21 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

If you haven't already done so, please add any information to the article as far as it is relevant/appropriate. Most future readers of the Hanoi guide probably aren't aware of this talk page. Thanks. ϒpsilon (talk) 14:37, 21 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

The section on airport taxis seems to be rather out of date. The fixed price taxis seem to have gone (at least I've not seen any evidence of them since March 2015), and the taxis should now just use the meter, from both the domestic and international terminals, although the price roughly ends up the same. Don't mind rewriting, but didn't want to go and rip a whole paragraph apart without giving someone a chance to disagree with me. Hanoied (talk) 15:11, 21 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

Please go ahead and put in any changes that seem in your experience to be accurate. Someone else can always edit further if they know anything different. Ikan Kekek (talk) 08:45, 22 July 2015 (UTC)Reply

I note that Hanoi does not have a classing static map, one that shows the districts of the city similar to what you see on most big city Wikivoyage articles (e.g. Bangkok). I think a map will be really helpful for travellers and if we combine it with some basic descriptions of each region in a new section called 'Orientation' or 'Districts', it will be even more useful (don't worry though; I am not suggesting we create district articles for all the regions!).

To get us started, I have gone to Wikipedia to do some research. It states there are 12 urban districts and 17 rural districts and these are all shown on the first map attached. For the purpose of Wikivoyage though, I am guessing we at a maximum only want to focus on the 12 urban districts. They are:

• Ba Đình District
• Bắc Từ Liêm District
• Cầu Giấy District
• Đống Đa District
• Hai Bà Trưng District
• Hà Đông District
• Hoàn Kiếm District
• Hoàng Mai District
• Long Biên District
• Nam Từ Liêm District
• Tây Hồ District
• Thanh Xuân District

With only the urban districts, the map would look something like the second one I have attached. Now, what are your initial thoughts? Should we be including all urban districts on our map? I spent quite a few months in Hanoi and I remember going to most the districts at least once so I would be for including them all. I note Bangkok has exactly 12 districts as well. Also, it's not like we are going to have to create district articles for all 12. What do you guys think? --Justvagabonding (talk) 18:36, 29 February 2016 (UTC)Reply

Only crickets... Okay, I will get started on a draft and re-post here when I have something. --Justvagabonding (talk) 16:03, 18 March 2016 (UTC)Reply

The hotel, and to a lesser extent restaurant listings are a bit of a mess.

I'm happy to group hotels by area, although I'm not sure whether they should first be listed by price, or first listed by area. The latter is okay if we're happy with lists of one or two hotels - I can think of perhaps one or two Splurge level hotels in the Old Quarter for example, but there are heaps of mid range ones. Does anyone have an opinion?

I'm not entirely confident about culling hotel listings. I can certainly check they still exist, but I have no real knowledge of any of these hotels and whether they're any good or not.

For restaurants, I'd be keen on splitting them into Vietnamese and International cuisine, or perhaps listing by area (although this suffers from similar problems to hotels - there's a fairly strong correlation between area, cuisine and price). I can think of several restaurants that I'd suggest in the mid and top-end above some of those listed, but I don't want to go ahead and add them until the structure is a bit neater. Again - is there a standard for this?

I could also add a few paragraphs about the local food in general (the more common local food, not snakes and dogs). Should this just go in the Eat section above lists of restaurants?

You are free to use whatever internal structure fits best. If you group hotels by price level first, then you don't need to subdivide the Splurge group at all if there's too few of them. Powers ^(talk) 22:13, 11 February 2017 (UTC)Reply

I really think we should be changing the banner for this article. While Hanoi is indeed a large and bustling city, I would say that if you want to experience a bustling, cosmopolitan city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is a much better choice. For Hanoi, it's more about the historical attractions. For instance, there are remnants of the old citadel, and much nicer temples than in Ho Chi Minh City up here. Therefore, I think a more appropriate banner would be of one of Hanoi's historical attractions, such as the Thang Long Citadel, Van Mieu, One-Pillar Pagoda or the Turtle Tower in Hoan Kiem Lake. The dog2 (talk) 20:54, 16 April 2018 (UTC)Reply

Agree. I'd like something like a row of stone turtles at Van Mieu! I've got some pictures, just need to upload them... -- Vmenkov (talk) 05:38, 17 April 2018 (UTC)Reply

That sounds like a good option to me. I'm looking forward to it. The dog2 (talk) 06:14, 17 April 2018 (UTC)Reply

Is anything happening about this? The current banner is a bland anywheresville and just doesn't say "Hanoi". That's because it's an upper-storey view, whereas Hanoi's attractions are low rise, eg around Hoan Kiem. Those turtles with doctorates are a great suggestion, so long as there's no snag over copyright. Grahamsands (talk) 13:53, 6 December 2018 (UTC)Reply

Unfortunately, I don't know how to make banners, but if someone knows how to do it, I agree that the turtle steeles at Van Mieu would make a great banner. The dog2 (talk) 23:34, 6 May 2019 (UTC)Reply

Hanoi publicizes sex workers’ hangouts Pashley (talk) 11:01, 30 November 2018 (UTC)Reply

The last paragraph looks like an update from 2016, and it contradicts some of the earlier text. Could someone update and edit the entire section as needed with current information, as of fall (or as recently as possible), 2018? Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:11, 7 December 2018 (UTC)Reply

Done. I only took the one ride, out to Gia Lam, and he was very decent. I haven't used the motorbike or cyclo taxis. Grahamsands (talk) 16:31, 7 December 2018 (UTC)Reply

Thanks. At some point, I or someone else will work on the comma splices, but it's very readable. Ikan Kekek (talk) 20:23, 7 December 2018 (UTC)Reply

Anyone have information regarding day passes to gyms near the Old Quarter? I don't know how long I'll be visiting here, so any kind of information regarding membership rates to and quality of different gyms over different time frames (1-day, week, month, etc.) would be much appreciated. Anyone else agree? Dcpetit (talk) 03:00, 29 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

As you added a table of information about gyms that I deleted as not relevant to travelers, explain the question. Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:54, 29 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

Is the Grab app the way to go, or has it been added by a tout? I reverted a touty addition of it in Stay safe, but added the link to By taxi, and moved the duplicate mentions to a lead, which arguably makes it more prominent. I removed the statement that Grab is always cheaper than haggling – is that (still) true? I have no idea about taxis in Hanoi, so somebody should check the current By taxi, including Grab and the presentation of scams (also in Stay safe). –LPfi (talk) 12:55, 17 September 2024 (UTC)Reply