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travel tips: hotel, airport taxis

I 've been on this newsgroup for a while, but this is my first time leaving
a message.  I just want to mention a couple of things gleaned from recent
travel to Vietnam.

Hotel in Saigon:  I recommend the Spring Hotel on at 44 Le Thanh Ton St. (I
think this street name  and number are right). It's the street which runs
in front of the People's Central Committee headquarters in D. 1.  It's a
new hotel designed and built by Vietnamese immigrants to the US.  Price
range is from $29 for an economy room to $84 for a suite, with a range of
other rooms in between.  I checked out every room and settled for the
deluxe at $54, and considered it an excellent deal.  All rooms include
breakfast as well.  There is however a 10 percent surcharge, at least on
the higher priced rooms, for government taxes.  Comparable accommodations
at nice new hotels, like the Saigon Prince, cost $190 for the same deluxe
style room.  You're only paying for the name in those places.  By the way
don't let taxi drivers confuse your request for the Spring hotel with the
Prince hotel, and insist that they go to Le Thanh Ton.

Transport:  Noi Bai airport (Hanoi) to town and back.  I would try to avoid
paying anything like the $25 you're asked for at the airport.  What you can
do is walk out beyond the airport parking lot to the main road.  I think
it's straight ahead and toward the left when you exit the terminal.  Even
if people bug you or try to tell you there's nothing out there, ignore them
kindly.  As you make your way out you'll probably be greeted by shoe shine
boys.  Tell them you want to get a motorbike or cheap taxi and try to talk
them down to around $6.  You should be able to get a motorbike ride for
this much and even a car for about that or a little more.  (If you get a
motorbike, you may get a bit of a detour, but it's nothing to worry about. 
My driver first took me a little ways then switched me off to another
driver.  The new driver then went by his home to get his jacket.  Then when
we got near the city he switched me off to another driver.  Aparrently it's
the practice of the drivers to switch you off to someone else if its too
far for them or if they don't know the way.  They then get the money from
the new driver, a portion of what you agreed to pay, and you finally pay
the last driver at the end.  He may ask you for more than the originally
agreed upon amount, but you need only pay what you negotiated with the
first driver.) 

On the way to the airport from Hanoi you should inquire at VN Airlines
about the place where you can get buses to the airport.  It is somewhere
downtown not too far from lakes Hoan Kiem and Thien Quang.  The bus tickets
are $4 or $6 per person.  Once you approach the depot, which is itself
another VN Airlines office, men outside will offer you taxi rides.  It
should be possible to get them down to the same price of the bus ticket
while you ride in the comfort of a car with perhaps one or two additional
passengers.  There are also vans which go, but a car is your best bet. 
With vans they usually wait around to get more people in.  I was with a
Vietnamese friend and they took us at $4 for me and $2 for him.

In any event, the $25 which is what people try to charge is much too much
even though it is a good distance.  If it's your first time and you can get
it for about $10 you're doing OK.

As for Thon Son Nhat in Saigon, it seems that recently metered taxis have
taken over the scene.  To District One is about $6 to $8.  That's not much,
but it's really not that far--a quarter the distance from the city as Noi
Bai is from Hanoi.  And to see the rate going up on the meter every 10
seconds is a bit nerve racking.  I used to get taxis for $5 and motorbikes
for $2, but it's a bigger airport than Noi Bai so the main street is a bit
further out.

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