Hanoi Hell

>>magog: I agree with eileen about Hanoi Hell. Interesting to see so many replies defending. VN is a cheap destination, but cheap prices come with problems as well.<<

Well, no, cheap prices don't come with problems, the problems usually come when people expect more with cheap prices.

I couldn't be arsed to read though this entire thread. No need to really, as the exact same post shows up almost every day on this thread. The basic problem is simply that far too many people are traveling to Vietnam when they have absolutely no business going there. Thailand has become such a tame disneyland travel experience that people assume that other countries in the neighborhood are the same. Then when they get there and find out that travel in a developing country presents some challenges they want to moan and cry about it.

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<hr>As a tourist I had no chance to make contact with friendly locals. (Thailand/Japan is way different, where you can talk almost anybody,
even if you don't talk verbally).<hr></blockquote>I did see the above comment by bentobento. What a load of nonsense. The problem I sometimes had in Vietnam is the locals wouldn't leave me alone - far too many wanted to practice their english with me, which at times became tiresome. To say that people are more outgoing or friendly in Japan is simply ridiculous. I lived in Japan, and am married to a Japanese woman. While the Japanese are polite and generally helpful, try approaching strangers (as a foreigner) on the street in Japan and see how many are willing to stop. Then try the same thing in Vietnam.

>>To say that people are more outgoing or friendly in Japan is simply ridiculous. I lived in Japan, and am married to a Japanese woman. While the Japanese are polite and generally helpful, try approaching strangers (as a foreigner) on the street in Japan and see how many are willing to stop<<

It's good to have someone who has lived in Japan to come forward and debunk the myth, not that having actually lived in Japan makes any crucial difference, though it is adequate to weed out specious assertions.

You guys are great! -and a bunch of silly idiots! Of course countries have characteristic energies. Northern Vietnam is not a friendly place and the folks do look at us barbarians as walking dollar signs. Does that mean you cant have a meaningful and great experience there? of course not! You would do better to take note of these folks recounting their problems instead of just doling out your mindless defensive drivel.

3,000,00 odd living in Hanoi, one person stole your wallet! Think of the odds!

>>akirakhan: Northern Vietnam is not a friendly place and the folks do look at us barbarians as walking dollar signs.<<

Us barbarians? I don't think of myself as a barbarian, do you? This is exactly the kind of blanket language that is being criticized here.

>>Does that mean you cant have a meaningful and great experience there? of course not!<<

It seems you are going for the assertion that one can still have a good experience in a place full of "unfriendly people", perhaps, this could be true in Sodom the land that the Old Testament God gloriously blazed to the ground. And it could still be wrong in Sodom because God sent two angels to save Lot's family, the one and only good family in town; logically speaking, not everyone in Sodom was bad .

The problem with your argument is that you base your conclusion on a few encounters out of the possible millions. If I was to grant some validity to your argument on the basis of faith alone, then it is equally valid to say, "One can still have a bad experience out of a place full of friendly people." Does all this make sense to you?

>>3,000,00 odd living in Hanoi, one person stole your wallet! Think of the odds!<<

Apparently, some folks don't think, they just react.

???

#145: if you are a Westerner then YES, you are considered a barbarian and fair game. If you are half Asian then even worse. If you are Asian ancestory but Western born it isnt much better. Though you might not like this it's the facts of life in Vietnam and China -GET OVER IT!

akira: Has it ever occurred to you that the reactions you get might not be based on race at all, but that maybe they are based on your extremely unpleasant personality?