An loc hotel

The owners were so helpful. We came from Laos a few days before Tet, planning to head to Sapa the next day, but the last bus had already gone on the day we arrived. They helped us get tickets to Hanoi, paid for them first, and we paid them back.

The room was excellent and clean, and the shower was wonderful. We paid 350000 Vietnamese Dong for it. After the long trip from Muang Khua, we arrived in Dien low on cash and needed a bus out before Chinese new year shut everything down. The hotel staff booked and paid for our bus, then waited while we went to find a cashpoint and bring the money back. They were fantastic and made us feel very welcome. Fab.

The lobby clerk was very helpful, even though he spoke no English. The room, though, was one of the worst I've stayed in in Southeast Asia. It was very hot because the window only opened onto a hot corridor, and the air conditioner barely put out any air. Noise continued until I got up at midnight to yell at the boys partying down the hall. I got flea bites while staying there. I was worried about bed bugs, but I don't think those bites were from bed bugs.

After about an hour in bed, I noticed the room was full of spider webs. There were lots of tiny biting ants in the bed, and while trying to find where they were coming from, I discovered the mattress was very dirty. It's not a boring room. The people working there made no effort to understand what I was saying. Never again...