One of my requirements for cheap hotels is: I have to be able to touch the walls. If I can touch the walls without thinking of The Black Death, it's clean enough. And a $30 dollar hotel room in Hanoi is CLEAN, with fluffy beds, fresh WHITE towels,airconditioning, and friendly service. And free breakfast. And free airport transfer. I'm talking about the $30 dollars I spend every time I go back to the Prince Hotel in Hanoi, on Bat Su Street.

But here I was, in the Horizon Hotel in Thamel, with its peeling green walls and dusty curtains and bed sheets. Rust came out of the faucet. The bathtub had layers of brown stains and there was no It was evening so I had to sleep instead of going to look for another hotel. I itched all night. Bed bugs galore. I wondered when the morning would come so I could run away! to another hotel.

I finally woke. Asked for coffee. Kitchen doesn't open until 9, so if you wake early and need a wake-me-up, don't count on the hotel staff to be... more