"Hanoi" a Hanoi Travel Page by bpwarne

Hanoi surprised us in many ways. Being aware that the south and Saigon in particular, is the steam engine driving the economy, we just naturally assumed things would be cheaper in Hanoi. This was not the case. Everything was higher in Hanoi, from Hotel rooms to food to taxis to massages. Typically on the order of 20-30 percent higher, for no apparent reason.

The people surprised us too. Having read many accounts of how laid back the city is compared to Sai gon, we assumed the people would be friendlier, more outgoing. They were not. This is not to say that we did not meet many friendly and helpful people. We did. But the city as a whole seemed much more in a rush and the people much more indifferent to others around them than we had anticipated. The city did not usually have the relaxed feeling we had expected.