posted about 3 months ago by mrnrjct
about the venue: Mr Cao Motorbike Rental

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Cao is a great man to rent a bike from. I've been renting a Wave from him for about 3 months, and have always found him to be available whenever I need him, and to be on top of oil changes and when the contract is about to be up. I don't have to worry about anything with him. The only potential downside is that if he calls you, be sure to call him back IMMEDIATELY. He has an unfortunate tendency to call every five minutes until he gets in touch with you.

posted about 5 months ago by mrnrjct
about the venue: Tra Hoa (No 2)

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A potential private student of mine asked me to meet her here to get to know each other. After driving past it (the entrance is not directly on Nguyen Hong but on a side street) I was met by 3 very friendly hostesses who were expecting me (not many white faces in this place I guess) and brought me to meet my student. I haven't actually got a clue what I drank, some sort of iced tea that my student recommended; I thought it was pretty good, but I'm not a big tea drinker.

As much as I appreciate the tradition involved in sitting on the floor, these places are really not designed for comfort if you have any height (I'm just over 6 feet, 1.8 something meters), and my legs were a little sore when I stood up.

I did have my helmet go missing off my bike, which was parked outside with the standard guys there watching it. I didn't have to really say anything, other than "Where's my hat", and to say that, yes, I definitely came with a hat, before there was a big to-do among the staff wondering where it could have gone. One of the bike guys gave me his; bummer for him, but I guess he should have paid more attention to mine.

Other than that it was a nice place, and helmet theft could really happen anywhere. I'm surprised it hasn't happened to me before actually. The hostesses were very friendly, and one of them even went in the rain to buy me a poncho for the ride home, and refused to let me pay her for it. I'd go back, except for not wanting to see the poor kid who probably lost a couple of days of pay in giving me his helmet.

posted about 6 months ago by mrnrjct
about the venue: Especen Hotel (Tho Xuong)

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I stayed here for about 4 nights when I first got to Hanoi. Quiet location, easy walking to Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem if you are so inclined. Can't believe they get away with charging $120 a month for a motorbike, but you can always find suckers I guess. Staff was friendly, in fact about 2 weeks after I stayed here I went back to pick up a friend and they remembered my name and my room number, and I'm not one to chat up the hotel staff. Although I did wake them up twice in the middle of the night trying to get back in after I'd gone out, so I guess I made an impression.

Just about every review of a Vietnamese hotel I've read here or on other sites has a story about someone arriving late and the staff having given the room away. I've never had this problem, anywhere in the world, while travelling. Maybe try calling and letting them know you'll be late? These rooms aren't guaranteed with a credit card or anything, so I can't really blame them for selling available space if it looks like the reservation isn't showing up. And what's with the call saying you need to leave early because they sold the room to someone else? If you're in the room you've got priority, don't let them push you over. Sometimes it's ok to tell people no.