Hello all; Here we are in Thailand, having arrived on Friday evening at about nine after a one hour and ten minute flight from Saigon. We took a taxi from Bangkok airport and everything is still going great. Everything that is over which we had control.
After each stay at a hotel, Booking.com with whom I book all hotels, asks for a report on the hotel from which I departed the previous day. For my report on the Hanoi hotel, I indicated that in my opinion, the hotel was greatly over rated, and it did not have many of the features advertised. I was asked for additional follow up information, which I supplied, and that is where the situation stands. In my view, the hotel is no more than a three- four star....not five plus as advertised.
The second issue arose on the taxi ride from Saigon airport to my hotel. Long story made short, the driver showed a phoney taxi license, and over charged me by about three times the normal rate. There is a toll gate upon exiting the airport grounds. The driver asked for 100,000 Viet Nam Dong...about ten dollars. He gave it to the person at the gate, with no change back. I found out later that the toll is ten thousand VND, about a dollar. The driver and gate operator are in my view operating a scam. Upon arrival at my hotel, the driver charged us 450,000 VND. I asked for a receipt...the driver went thru the motions, stamp and all....then sped off. The rate is on average, about 150,000 VND. The paper was blank, except for a stamp that is only a blob. I will take this scam racket up with the Vietnam embassy when I return to Ottawa.
Traffic is rather unusual by North American standards in VietNam. They, along with Laos and Cambodia drive as we do in Canada...right hand side. Thailand is left side. There are about nine million people in Saigon and six million motor bikes. Sidewalks are used for bike parking, and walking is a danger at all times. We spent the last day in Saigon at the zoo....one of the oldest in the world. Very nice, plenty of vegetation, and a huge Botanical garden. One could not ask for friendlier people than you find in Vietnam.
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