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 | Hanoi Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 91 |  |
 Pirates are lurkin'
everywhere, matey by bpacker
1)Your cab stops a distance from the hotel lobby and refuses to go near it..
2)The cab meters runs like speedy gonzales instead of clicking dutifully with the distance
3)You get charged about US$5 for a short ride within the city
4) The cab meter starts at 20,000D or more
(Starting fare is 14,000)
Hubby and I were charged about USD5 or USD6 for a short 1km ride many times. On top of that, we got colourful piratey swear words when we insisted on the correct amount. Damm those blasted, barnacle-headed cabbies! Same goes for Xe Om drivers and cyclo drivers. They've got lots to learn from their more honest HCMC mates. Leave a Comment
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 organised chaos by jenniferchin
As I was more or less based around the Old Quarter area, the streets are really narrow and filled with motorcycles most of the time. One has to be confident, look for a little opening between masses of moving vehicles and gingerly walk across the road. Leave a Comment
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 Traffic of a different kind by Wild_Orchid
Crossing a busy road, cutting through a seemingly endless stream of bikes is hair-raising as the bikes weave around you at speed.
At this T- junction (pic), I stood awhile and watched in amazement as seasoned Hanoi bikers & cyclists cut across oncoming traffic of other bikes and bicycles with serene ease. Hardly stopping & hardly looking left or right, it was as if their sixth sense could avoid near certain collisions. Leave a Comment
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I've been living in Hanoi for a few years, and I speak Vietnamese. I don't live an insular lifestyle by any stretch. I know how to relate to my neighbors, and I know what things cost. Even so, things go wrong.
Today my (Vietnamese) fiancee and I took a xe om (motorbike taxi) driven by a 50-something disabled man with facial hair and disheveled hair. His unusual motorbike had 3 wheels, and a seat in the back. He took us a couple of km on an errand around Hoan Kiem Lake visiting art supply stores. He seemed friendly enough, and we chatted in Vietnamese. After our 15 minute journey (half of which was waiting for us at stores), we got out.
Normally I never ask how much to pay, I know how much a ride like that costs. A nice air-conditioned taxi would be 50-70K dong, or around $4 (with tip for waiting). I always pay a xe om about half or a third that rate, so 20-25K dong would have been ok (about $1.50). My fiancee normally pays less, about 1K dong per km.
Other points of comparison:
--cyclo for one hour, 30K-40K
--nice taxi from the airport (45 min), 120K ($8)
--modern bus from Hanoi to Halong (3 hr), $10
Imagine my surprise when the man, told me I owed him $10 (about what I make in a full day of occasional consulting for a friend’s company, and 2x more than what most of my friends make in a day).
I thought I misheard him, and he repeated $10. I politely told him no, explaining I what I would pay less than half that for a taxi. I politely gave him 50K dong, and he sneered, rejecting the money, and began yelling, trying to get me to pay him to behave nicely. I replied softly, asking him to calm down. To no avail. He threatened to kill me. Sad, but true.
Better to avoid doing business with Mr. Tran Hung. He often parks his 3-wheel xe om at the north end of Hoan Kiem Lake.
There are plenty of other good xe om and taxi drivers. There are no tourist police in Hanoi like there are in Bangkok, so you have no recourse. The police won’t help.
Know what things cost, and always negotiate the price up front. Leave a Comment
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 what you face on Hano's
streets by richiecdiscLeave a Comment
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 Thit Cho (dog meat) for sale by King_Golo
A different kind of "danger" is the fact that when eating in non-touristy restaurants you won't find an English menu. In case you don't like dog meat, for instance, avoid Thit Cho. Vietnamese people eat many animals that are not common in the Western cuisine, so be prepared! Leave a Comment
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 crossing the street in Hanoi by Rodan44
As a foreigner from a country where traffic laws are both strict and obeyed, this was mind-blowing. And how in the world is a pedestrian supposed to cross these streets, because the traffic certainly won't stop for you.
The trick is to walk into the traffic and across the street very calmly and slowly. Don't be frightened of the approaching traffic, as they will swerve around you on both sides but never actually hit you. But do not attempt to run across the street or make other sudden moves, as then the traffic will not have time to react to your movements and consequently hit you. This may sound like suicide, but trust me... it works! (see photo for an example of how its done) Leave a Comment
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The danger in Hanoi is not to make bad photographs like the one above; it has been taken just when a guy tried to open my back pack and I turned back. . . . .
I was walking in the market area and noticed a young lady two or three times not far from me when turning left, right, stopping, going in shops. . . I knew something would happen, and when I was concentrated making a photograph, all senses alert, I felt somebody opening the pack on my back; the guy was on ground few milliseconds later, gesturing (Like hands up!) “I did nothing.!” My foot on his chest, I checked my back pack, he had no time to open it in fact, and looked around and glimpsed the girl disappearing in the crowd. . . .I let the guy go.
Well, happy end, but I am rather tall, the guy was quite short and had a very stupid idea trying to open my pack which I wear high on my back, very high for him.
No real danger, I had this experience only on my first day here, and there are very few pick pockets apparently in Hanoi, but do not facilitate their “job”. Wear your belongings under the shirt or inside pants , and if you wear a back pack, I may suggest to do following: tie the zippers together with a metallic wire, tightly turned; I did this after, when going in crowded places, it may be a bit unpractical if you need to open it every 5 mn, but . . . . well, look where your priorities are! And as usual, no “provocation”! Wearing watches or jewellery worth a year local individual income can easily attract the swift hands of the pick pockets.
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 This is a relatively quiet
street! by Gillybob
There are very, very few traffic lights or pedestrian crossings so to get anywhere you simply have to grin, bear it and walk like a local - I'm walking here, this is my road and I own it.
Step out with logic and confidence (not directly in front of a moving vehicle) and simply walk! Two-wheeled vehicles will work their way around you or simply slow up so long as you walk with confidence!
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 Hanoi during night time,
Vietnam by victorwkfLeave a Comment
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- Anise Hotel
22 Quan Thanh, Hanoi - Sunway Hotel Hanoi
19 Pham Dinh Ho Street, Hanoi - Nam Hai 1 Hotel Hanoi
37 Ma May, Hoan Kiem (formerly Anh Dao Hotel), Hanoi - ATS Hotel Hanoi
33B Pho Pham Ngu Lao, Hanoi - Golden Key Hotel Hanoi
65 Quan Su Street, Hanoi - Hanoi Hotel
D8 Giang Vo St., Ba Dinh District, Hanoi - Lucky Eden 2 Hotel Hanoi
31A Hang Mam St Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi - Bao Son Hotel
2 Lang Trung Street, Hanoi - Hong Ngoc 4 Hotel
99 Ma May Str., Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi - Hanoi Backpackers Hostel
48 Ngo Huyen Hoan Kiem, Hanoi - Asean International
8 Chua Boc St Dong Da district, Hanoi - Sedona Hotel Mandalay Hanoi
1 Junction of 26th and 66th Street Chanayetharzan Township, Hanoi - Dan Chu Hotel
29 Trang Tien, Hanoi - Tin Tin Hotel Hanoi
14 Hang Non St Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi - Blue Paradise Hotel
34 Hang Tre Street Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
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