| Here
is my palatial $US8 a night room in Mytho, a smallish river town in the
Mekong delta region of Southern Vietnam. No doubt once the grandest and
most modern hotel in town, now it looks a little worse for wear. I prefer
staying in such dumps for the character and atmosphere they afford. Although
far from the most basic and sleaziest place
I've ever stayed in, this was superb example of one. Just look at that gorgeous
blue wall! |
Everywhere
I look in this room, there seemed to be a still-life
just waiting to be photographed. Just look at the composition created by
the simple wooden chair, bottles of drinking water (boiled I hope), that
aqua table cloth and the bright red plastic rubbish bin beneath. Pasted
up on the back of the door were the Hotel's regulations in badly written
English. These mainly pertained to rules about having 'guests' in the room
after 10pm. It must be just the foreigners who get up to some hanky panky.
Just inside the door is the electronic control centre for the room. A plastic
box with a large knob gives one nine levels of comfort via the ceiling fan
above the bed. Sometimes these controllers don't work and are permanently
fixed to the 'hurricane' setting. I've often gone to bed watching the blades
of an unbalanced ceiling fan slice drunkenly through the air wondering if
I'll be mince meat by morning. |
On
the wall directly above the little table was a small red light that couldn't
be turned off. It gave the room a pleasantly arousing red glow at night.
Plenty of sleeping area for a single traveler. The bed sheets were clean
although well-used. Above each bed was a wooden frame which swung out from
the wall to support those pretty blue mosquito nets. The door at the end
of the room leads to a private balcony which overlooks a tributary of the
mighty Mekong river. The room was on the eighth floor so the $200 a night
view was superb. |
Simple
flimsy furniture like this wardrobe in the corner in the norm for places
like this. Sometimes you get something with a lock on it, but you can practically
jimmy a door open with your finger tips. The snake-like object on my bed
is in fact a chain and lock which I sometimes use to thread through the
door handles of such rickety cupboards. |
Ahh,
the toilet. Who isn't curious about this necessity. Above the bathroom door
was scratched into the blue plaster "The throne of dolly the sheep
goddess". Many a decision has been made on the basis of the cleanliness
of this part of cheap-end accommodation. Do you want to inspect this facility
in close-up so that you can make your own decision whether you'll like to
stay here? Of course you would! |
Oh,
there's that beautiful blue wall again with its rich patina.
I'm in love. |
a hotel in Hanoi?