Hanoi -Any updates?

[goji]

In a similar vein to the Saigon thread -has anyone found gay friendly hotels and interesting nightlife in Hanoi recently?

[nanette]

Ah Hanoi...I have only good memories about the lovely city, except for the bad taxi incident(both passenger & driver were unsure about the destination - english is not widely spoken, but as long as you have a good map & the correct address, getting around shouldn't be a problem). Friendly citizens & reasonably good budget hotels & tour agencies. In the old quarter there are many good budget hotels with bigger rooms costing US20-40/night, most with basic breakfast, and all friendly toward guests. I have stayed at Ngo Huyen street(near the old cathedral), where there are dozens of hotels in the vicinity.
And the Hanoi guys are so eager to come to your room and try out their fantasies. All my contacts have been secured on Gayromeo & I simply had a great time with them. In the Old Quarter(within walking distance to museums, Hoam Kiem lake & railway station)& on Bao Khanh street, there's a couple of gay bars, that are very crowded during weekends. The crowd can be a bit incestous(familiar faces), but some have eager & ready smiles for newcomers. There's also a nice jazz bar nearby where drink & food prices are a little steep, but the live music is good. Otherwise beer in normal bars cost about US1-2 or a litlle more.
Vietnam is my favourite place to visit - nice food, good bargains places & friendly people, and above all the men are really horny :bounce:

[goji]

Thank you. Which hotel did you use?

[Beachlover]

In the Old Quarter(within walking distance to museums, Hoam Kiem lake & railway station)& on Bao Khanh street, there's a couple of gay bars, that are very crowded during weekends.
Do you remember the name of the bars? Any more info available anywhere? Only gay venue I went to in Hanoi was a gay sauna called "GoGo Club".


above all the men are really horny :bounce:
Yeah, they are aren't they? For some reason a LOT of vietnamese boys I saw were really cute too!

[nanette]

I have made several trips to Hanoi & stayed at various budget hotels(USD20-35/night)...amongst others Viet Fun Hotels 1&3, Charming Hotel, Luxury Hotel, etc all around/near the Church in the Old Quarter. I did not have any problem taking in guests on short-time or overnight stay.

My most recent trip was earlier this month, & I went to GC bar at Bao Khanh street, as well as the floating dicso Solace on the Red River( a motorbike taxi will take you to Solace from GC bar for US1-2). Many friendly guys & drinks were approx. US2-3. Mostly locals guys with some foreigners. However in the more expensive Press Club(drinks US3-5), there were lots of foerigners , and there was a live Filipino band playing dance numbers. Autumn is a good time to visit Hanoi. :happy7:

[Beachlover]

Thanks so much, Nanette... Fantastic to have some specific names and descriptions of the bars to visit.

Are most of the guys in GC, Solace and Press Club just ordinary gay Vietnamese guys or were some money boys?

[bjbjboy]

Hi Nanette, great posts! Interesting to see that VN is getting more open. I was in Saigon in 2000 and there really weren't many places to 1) meet guys and 2) bring them back.
Can you give us a detailed description of your trip to the Gay Sauna in Hanoi when you have a chance? Thanks so much!

[goji]

I did not have any problem taking in guests on short-time or overnight stay.

That's good. Where did you meet these guests? Were they mainly in it for the pleasure, or money (& how much)?

[Beachlover]

Can you give us a detailed description of your trip to the Gay Sauna in Hanoi when you have a chance? Thanks so much!

The only gay place I went to when I was in Hanoi was this gay sauna called "Gogo Club". It's called Gogo Club but it's not a club or a bar, it's a gay sauna. http://www.gogoclub.com.vn/indexE.htm.

It's near the Daewoo Hotel so if you need a landmark to navigate from, go there first.

I went a couple of years ago and I think it may have improved now, but when I went...

1. It got reasonably in the late afternoon

2. You can take a herbal bath and stuff there...

3. Showers had no privacy so you got to see all these cute Vietnamese showering, not shy at all! (Sadly, I read they've now put up dividers).

4. There were no private rooms so you pretty much played in the open (Anyone know, has this changed?). Everyone seemed to just accept this! Namely, in the sauna, which is fairly small, and you will often find yourself alone with your partner for a while. The steam room was also appropriate since it was dark, misty and with lots of dark corners and dividing walls.

5. Vietnamese boys who go there seem to be pretty horny and keen to sex. They're good a looking bunch! Cute and handsome.

It was a fairly basic amateurish setup when I went there a couple of years ago but I believe they have made some improvements to develop it since then so there's a good chance some of what I've said doesn't apply anymore.

[nanette]

Meeting boys/men for the first time on GayRomeo:

Listing from Hanoi is quite limited, and I think most of them prefer to connect with residents of the city. But once there's interest shown, you can easily get phone numbers & Messengers ID from them, and take it from there. Boys/young men can be quite enthusiatic and the more forward ones have met foreigners who are either visiting or living in Hanoi. Like in other cities, there are moneyboys in Hanoi too. However all my contacts so far have been bona fide gays looking for contacts with other gays. My youngest was around 19 years old & oldest was in his thirties(mid).
But in the various bars, there are more older guys(thirties & older) and they come in groups, or with a friend, and can hit on you instantly if you show a friendly face & eager to make friends. Most Vietnamese gays are not out and prefer to meet you in the privacy of your room & not in public places. The ones you meet in the bars are the seasoned ones, and invariably older. Yes, some have asked to follow me back to my room, but I'm not in the habit of taking men home from the bar at 3am...as I prefer to do the naughty stuff much earlier during the day :occasion9: .
Those who came to my room came just for the fun. I have bought drinks for some of them, & gave them little momentoes, and some in return, have given me little treats, or small Vietnamese meals.
The foreigners at the gay bars were either expatriates, with their many local friends, or tourists passing through.