HANOI HOTELS: HOVEL TO HIGH END!
For some time I have been perplexed by the Vietnamese budget accommodation paradox. Despite online tools like Expatistan showing that I could survive in cities like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi for US$600 a month, I have found it hard to find hotels on the Internet for a reasonable price (say US$8-$12 a night). In Ho Chi Minh City all the cheap rooms seme to go for US$15 a night, which would cost me US$450 if I stayed in one of them for a full month. Thankfully today (October 27 2011) I might a discovery at Lakehaven Library which should open the door to cheaper accommodation in my Indochina Year.

Thu Giang Guesthouse: 5A Tam Thuong Street; 35A Hang Dieu Street. Phone: +84.4.3828 5734/ +84.4.3928 5761. Map: map here. Website: website here. Email: thugiangn@hotmail.com, thugianggh@gmail.com, vivian_giang82@yahoo.com.au.
According to the website: "We are located right in the centre of Hanoi capital, along a small and quiet street in the Old-Quarter - the quintessential part of Hanoi. As a family-run guesthouse, we try to make you settle into Hanoi as much as we can. Our English-speaking staffs, who are helpful and friendly, will always be there to provide you with useful information of places to visit around Hanoi." That's all well and good, but what about the price?
If you are really desperate, you can get a dorm bed for US$3 a night. More my kind of deal would be the single room with private bathroom and toilet, plus the obligatory bar fridge and TV, for US$7 a night without A/C, and US$10 a night with. If you are willing to share the bathroom and go without air conditioning, a private single room is only US$4 a night.