Hien Guesthouse

I stayed here for two nights during the last week of December 2015. I was too tired to move somewhere else, even though the room wasn't fit to live in. I'd called ahead asking for a cheap room, and they said they had one for $6. On my long trip through Vietnam, I'd slept in plenty of $6 rooms, some surprisingly good, so I wasn't ready for this one. The room was at the end of a long, narrow corridor, next to the family kitchen's frying area. It meant being surrounded by the smell of fried food, ants near the pantry, noise, and a shared toilet and bath with no soap. The unclean, informal atmosphere came with no personal attention to make up for it. I also asked about a Mekong Delta boat tour, which generally cost $10 around Can Tho. At 5 pm they said I'd have to upgrade to a $15 tour that included two floating markets. I had to decide at the last minute, so I agreed, but my four boat partners all paid $10 and none was asked to upgrade. I don't like doing business that way, even over the extra $5. Hundreds of tourists took the same route as us for $10.