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2 reviews or comments posted; 3 questions asked; 5 answers given.
Reviews / Comments (2)
Though some of the food menu items can be a bit on the small portion size for the price, the fare is beautifully presented, and seemingly cleaner than that found in some more expensive cafes. I haven't ate anything there yet that I'd come back to order again.
Where La Place really shines is in it's drink menu. They have the best Cafe Latte I've had in Ha Noi, hands down. The drink portions are ample, and a good value considering the quality.
On warmer days, La Place closes their windows and runs the A/C both downstairs and upstairs. This makes it a great place to take a break a cool off before you continue on your trek in to or out from the Old Quarter. Most of the seats are cushioned, and there are numerous comfy booths to sit in. The often DJ-electronic-mix-style background music is sometimes a little loud for concentrating, but they'll likely turn it down if you ask nicely. Expect to see a fair mix of tourists, ex-pats, and locals at this laid back cafe.
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I've been here twice, my impression is that there is not great consistency to the portion size/cost value ratio for everything on the menu. That said, the quality of the food is consistently high, and it's the closest place I've found so far where you can have an emulation of an American style omelette breakfast. Bonus points for waffles and pancakes on the menu.
The variation of choices for main meal selections is impressive, as well as the beverage options. The coffee quality is a bit disappointing, and I'd recommend going elsewhere if you came for that (with many choices around the cathedral.)
This place will be high on my list of "cool air" retreats during the summer months, with a relaxing large space atmosphere and unobtrusive background music. Don't expect to see many Vietnamese patrons here, however.
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Questions (3)
I'm looking for an older (vintage) motorbike, specifically either a Honda CD125, or a 60's Vespa Sprint 150 (or similar.)
I know these are two completely different monsters, but I'd appreciate hearing if anyone on here has any relevant information on:
1) The locations of shops which sell older bikes and/or Vespas, and...
2) What is considered fair pricing for a bike which is good mechanical and physical condition (ie., not meticulously restored,) and finally...
3) What resources (if any) exist in English for finding sellers of vintage (or even newer) motorbikes.
I've already heard wildly varying numbers for Vespa's sold in Viet Nam- for instance, a late 60's Sprint 150 can be found for anywhere from $400 to $1500+ USD.
The only true "local" sources I've found so far for Ha Noi are all in Vietnamese (both on the web and in print,) and most prices I see for vintage Vespas are well below $1000 USD.
I'm not looking for horror stories or explanations of how badly the engines can be hobbled together in this country. I'm mechanically inclined, and well aware of what to look for in that regard.
Thanks in advance,
Keith G.
I've been living here for more than a year and a half, and have finally broken down and bought a TV. But because it's an LCD, I'm hoping to find foreign channels piped into it with at least descent quality, if not digital quality.
My wife has found 2 options: VCTV (by the wire cable) and VTC (satellite and set-top box.) VCTV seems inexpensive, but also seems to be old-fashioned analog cable - so, low quality. VTC's service appears to be digital, or higher quality, but my wife says the set-top box alone is 7 million VND ( not to mention the tuner card which you "rent"), which seems exorbitant when you can get TVs for much less.
Can anyone clue me in to the real options, quality and costs of cable/satellite TV here in Hanoi?
Thanks in advance
(See my "Short" history lesson if you don't know about the current currency situation in VN - it's after my question)
My question:
In September, I'm going back to visit family in the USA for a month, and I need to change well over 100 million VN Dong into US Dollars. Where can I change money for the least loss in the transaction?
Because currently no banks will sell large amounts of US Dollars, the only options I can come up with are:
1) Buy US Dollars upon showing my airplane ticket. I heard about this from some colleages. I've tried this successfully once already, at Vietcombank, but they will only change to $500 maximum, and they keep a record, so it can't be done again. When I tried at ANZ Bank, they told me I would have to come back a week before the trip to change up to $500, and so far I've found no other banks that will do this - so it's not a good enough solution for the amount I want to change.
2) Buy Euros or British Pounds, and then change them in the USA for dollars. This option isn't good because other currencies have a much higher price in Vietnam in relation to the dollar that after the fees of changing them to dollars in the USA, I will have lost a lot of money.
3) Buy traveller's cheques. Strangely, some banks in Hanoi will sell these using the current official VND to USD exchange rate - with an additional fee cost of 2% of the amount - and then they can be cashed for USD, again at a percentage fee. This method seems to be the best, as the total loss would be perhaps 4%, but I'm still holding out for a way to exchange that costs less.
Any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
"Short" recent-history lesson as background:
If you haven't been reading the news lately, we are experiencing something of "small" currency crisis in Vietnam. About two and a half weeks ago, there was a major run of people buying up US dollars (as well as gold) as a rumor spread there would be a great devaluation of the Dong combined with the continuing high inflation, which would cause a major drop in spending power, as well as major losses of any savings. People wanted to ditch their Dong and get into something considered "safer." Due to that speculation and fear of continuing inflation, the currency exchange black market got overheated, and the result was that the government has effectively put a lockdown on US dollars for any use other than large businesses doing importing. This is because people were trying to hoard USD, and the big selloff of VND wasn't helping the economic situation at all. So, the Vietnam State Bank disallowed all banks from selling dollars to individuals. Go to any bank now, Vietnamese or otherwise, and for the last week and a half, nobody - foreign or Vietnamese - can buy dollars with the Vietnam Dong.
This means that the gold shops for the most part not selling any dollars at all, and if you are lucky enough to find one that is taking their chances with potential severe punishment, the rate is hovering at around 18,000 VND to the dollar. This is a sharp loss compared to even the new all time high price as set by the Vietnam State Bank of 16,621 (the "buy" price of USD as of Friday 13 May.) A quick comparison between local prices of Euro, British Pounds, and Yen will show that the value of the VN Dong is being artificially overvalued when compared to the US dollar. If you peg the VN price of the Euro and then convert to the dollar using the latest world Forex (foreign exchange) rate, you'll find that a dollar should cost about 17,800 - much closer to the black market rate. A quick check on the web searching for "Vietnam currency crisis" will produce all kinds of expert opinions that say the VND will or should be devalued another 15-25% by year's end.
The bottom line of this is that any VND you were paid before (which was likely converted from a USD-based pay scale,) will be worth that much less when the value of VND does finally go down. So if you made $1000 in March, when the rate was 15,800, and received 15,800,000 VND (just forget the taxes for a moment to make it simple,) - then that same money (assuming you haven't spent it) is now worth $950, if you were lucky enough to find a place where you could buy dollars at the official bank rate. If the currency continues to slide down another 15%, to 19,100 VND to the dollar, then that money will be worth $827. I haven't even started to talk about the inflation going on currently, and how everything will also be more expensive on top of that.
The final bit for this lesson is that because of the Vietnamese governments pegging of VND to the dollar, it make buying Euros and GB Pounds and Yen, etc. more expensive when compared to the world Forex rates. So buying Euros and then selling them for dollars would be a losing proposition. It's hilarious that this is the default suggestion that all banks are giving customers after they are told they can't buy any dollars whatsoever.
Answers (5)
Posted Thursday January 10th, 2008.
If it's alright, I'd like to expand on wesmo7583's question to ask:
Where can an actual xBox 360 or Playstation 3 console be bought in Hanoi for a decent price, not to mention the accessories for said systems? Or is one better off buying it in another country?
Thanks in advance.
In response to the question: Where is a good place to get videogame equipment (i.e. Xbox 360, PS3)? I recently broke the AC adapter to my Xbox 360 and need another one....
Posted Sunday June 15th, 2008.
teacherman: Yes, I've considered buying gold, but at the moment, gold is actually overvalued in VN compared to the world rate (though this could change at any time.) Eventually, I want to keep some of my "holdings" in gold, but my main goal right now is getting USD. As for buying and selling CND, I'll check into that, though I expect it may incur the same loss as buying and selling traveler's cheques.
AnhChep: I have heard from a couple of sources already that the government has also locked out the withdrawal of dollars from any VND account, no matter where in the world you are taking out the money. Add to this the extremely exorbitant ATM withdrawal fees - like 30,000 VND from the bank here, and $2-3 more from the bank in USA - and going that route just doesn't make sense, especially for large sums of money.
In response to the question: (See my "Short" history lesson if you don't know about the current currency situation in VN - it's after my question) My question: In September,...
Posted Sunday June 15th, 2008.
teacherman: a quick check shows that the Canadian dollar is also overvalued in VN when compared to the dollar. It costs 18045 to buy one CND in VN while in the world market, it's only 16140. That price is almost 11% higher, which would result in a terrible loss of money, especially when exchanging back to USD.
To be clear to anybody reading, here are the ratios of dollar to other currencies here in VN compared to the world exchange rate (as of Friday, 13 June):
Crncy in VN World rate
USD 1.00 1.00
CND 1.085 0.9714
EUR 1.6542 1.5393
GBP 2.0862 1.9467
JPY .00992 .00924
So, you can see all currencies cost quite a bit more in VN when compared to USD.
In response to the question: (See my "Short" history lesson if you don't know about the current currency situation in VN - it's after my question) My question: In September,...
Posted Wednesday June 25th, 2008.
I'm not sure if people are still following this thread as it's off the "recent" list on Ask a New Hanoian, but here's my update:
Vietcombank -
Vietcombank, at least the one at the end of Ba Trieu (near Bach Khoa University,) will change VND up to the equivalent of $500 USD at the current (buying USD) exchange rate, no extra fees - IF you a foreigner with a plane ticket for an international flight out of Vietnam (it's okay if you also have a return flight to Hanoi.) You must take a number when you enter the bank, and wait like everybody else, and then show your passport and plane ticket. They will record the transaction, so you can only do it ONCE per ticket/trip.
A good Vietnamese friend of mine said his friend who works at Vietcombank said both foreigners and Vietnamese nationals alike should be able to change up to $700 each if they show a plane ticket, and then higher amounts if the person has a Vietcombank account. I haven't been able to verify this yet.
Finally, Vietcombank will buy American Express traveler's cheques which are in USD denominations, up to any amount, but at least $2000 for sure - and give you cash USD. One person at my work heard that you can go to the same Vietcombank location I mention above, and then on the 2nd floor, there is one teller window which will provide this service. However, they charge 1% of the total that you are changing into cash. My colleague told me they only required his passport, but I'd recommend having other paperwork showing where the cheques were bought, and maybe even where you got the money in the first place to buy them. I recommend this because of my experience at ANZ Bank buying AMEX traveler's cheques (see below.)
ANZ Bank:
ANZ Bank (on the west side of Hoan Kiem Lake) will change VND to up to $500 USD like Vietcombank, EXCEPT they will only do it within ONE WEEK of your departure date on your international flight plane ticket. My flight isn't until the end of August, so my attempt to change money failed. However, they also told me that my wife, who is a Vietnamese national, will be able to change to $500 herself with her plane ticket in hand one week before the flight. Strangely enough, I was able to buy AMEX traveler's cheques on my third visit to ANZ...
You can buy up to $7000 USD worth of AMEX traveler's cheques at ANZ, but there are some caveats. First, you must have a plane and international flight plane ticket with a departure date within one week of the current date (I'm not sure how I got around this, but maybe I was just lucky.) More importantly, you need to have paperwork that shows WHERE the money came from, eg., showing that you earned it from working, and also where you withdrew it from before, if you did that. This may involve a letter from your employer stating you are paid in cash, along with copies of your work contract and pay/tax slips. Or you may need an official bank transcript where your salary is automatically deposited showing you received and withdrew the same amount of VND that you are looking to change. I know these things may sound ridiculous, but I think the bank's "hands" are tied as it were by the VN State Bank. The reason for the $7000 limit is that you must declare more than $7000 at customs when leaving Vietnam to an international destination. A colleage at work told me that theoretically you can buy any amount of traveler's cheques, as long as you don't take more than $7000 out of VN.
That last bit on ANZ is that a Vietnamese colleage's husband is currently in the USA, and he is apparently withdrawing USD at ANZ Bank in the USA from their VND-based ANZ account here in Hanoi. There are considerable fees and limits to each transaction, unfortunately.
I have not heard of any other banks in Hanoi allowing the purchase of USD cash or traveler's cheques besides Vietcombank and ANZ. As for transferring USD out of Vietnam, you can do that all you like, as long as you bring USD cash to transfer to a USD bank account in another country. You CANNOT send VND electronically by any means to a foreign USD-based account, that I am aware of.
I hope this helps. If people are still reading, I'll ask the question of: Should we start a new thread on this subject?
In response to the question: (See my "Short" history lesson if you don't know about the current currency situation in VN - it's after my question) My question: In September,...
Posted Thursday June 26th, 2008.
Good to see the exchange rate issue is up on the recent questions list. If there was ever a need for New Hanioans to pull together and share what they know on the currency exchange situation (and general economic situation) in Vietnam, it is now. Everybody is affected by the situation, whether you realize it or not.
I spare some typing time by saying you can see my last update on attempts to convert VND to USD at my Ask a Hanoian question here:
http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/aska/answers/qid/831
Beyond that, it has been announced by the VN State Bank that as of tomorrow, Friday 27 June, the VND-USD exchange rate "band" will be widened to 2% on either side of the State Bank's daily published rate. Today, that rate was 16452. Previous to tomorrow's change, all Vietnamese banks, including the State Bank itself, could set their VND-USD exchange rates up to 1% lower or higher than the published rate. This means banks can buy dollars from customers at a low rate and sell them to customers at a high rate, thus making up to about a 2% profit from the exchange. Starting tomorrow, all bank rates will likely push the two rates to the widest of the band, meaning dollars will cost 16781 VND (if the state bank published rate remains at 17452.)
This exchange rate band change has been planned or in the works since at least as early as March, but it's now become part of the government's so-called "12 point plan" to cool off the economy and stem inflation. I haven't found a published version of the list of these 12 points, but it's safe to assume the 2% adjustment to devalue the Dong recently was part of the plan. Also likely part of the plan is limiting access to buying dollars to almost everybody in the country as much as possible, in an attempt to stop the "dollarization" of VN's economy. I also suspect that it's also having the intended goal of slowing down imports due to the amazingly high exchange rates importers have been faced with. This may be a method to slow down importing in restore the trade deficit (at last count, with an over $10 billion USD difference in imports and exports,) to a more manageable amount. This is just theory, mind you, and I am only now just trying to get a grip on what the economic situation is here in VN.
This still leaves many of us, not to mention so many Vietnamese, out in the lurch when it comes to buying dollars, which we may want to do for valid reasons - rather than for speculation, as the government is trying to avoid. Speculation is buying currency with the hopes the price will go up so you can sell it off at a profit. I myself need USD for a trip back to the US, and then also to protect my earnings which were exchanged from my USD contract rate to a much lower VND rate than is is now. This means I've lost money if I could actually find a bank that would sell me dollars. Add to this - which applies to everyone - the fact that anything which is imported into Vietnam will cost more now, because the dollars used (or whatever other currency) cost more VND to pay for those goods. These higher prices have been and will continue to affect every facet of business in this country. The loudest noise I've heard to date from foreigners is mostly about rent rates jumping up. Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
hanoiwiki: 17800 to buy dollars at a real bank sounds like an illegal rate from what I've read in the news. The government is cracking down on banks which have been charging higher rates or fees to importers buying dollars - upwards of over 19000 to the dollar. I'd really like to know more information, and how they are skirting around the 1% rate band limitation.
As for not being able to withdraw USD from any USD based account - that is just a rumor which is plain wrong. Make sure you withdraw from your USD account at an ATM with disperses dollars (I haven't a clue where that might be,) or from the teller inside your bank with the USD account. Now, as I remember, ANZ charges some 10000 VND or close for each teller withdrawal, so take that in to account.
Black market rates seem to vary quite wildly as of late, but you can be sure that you will generally lose money if you buy dollars that way, especially if it's with VND you received exchange from USD at a bank rate before now. Selling dollars is another story, however....
Please please please if you are reading this and you know any factual information, I'm sure many people would appreciate to hear about it, so post it, okay?
In response to the question: Dear all, Just a quick question-- what is the current black market rate for VND-USD? Has it risen above 18500 to even higher rates? Or has it sta...
I originally came to Vietnam on holiday in the spring of 2005, and fell in love with the country. I vowed to come back to teach English, which I had never done before. About a year later, after selling all of my possessions and my house, I came back. In July 2006, I started working as an ESL teacher at ACET, and I have also been learning Vietnamese. I don't have any plans to leave Hanoi.
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Keith G.
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In Hanoi SinceMonday July 3rd, 2006
New Hanoian Member SinceSaturday July 15th, 2006
