The scent of perfume hangs heavily in the air as two Asian businessmen take their seats in a dimly lit nightclub. Soon a ring of attractive young Vietnamese women forms in front of them.
An older woman uses a flashlight to show each of the eight girls in turn in the darkness. Each man chooses one each to join them for the evening, and the rest go back to join the other 100 or so women in the bar's entrance area, waiting for customers.
It is just business as usual at one of the biggest hotels in Hanoi, despite the latest well-publicised crackdown on prostitution by the Vietnamese government, whose seat of power is just a few kilometres away.
Early this month, state-run newspapers reported that as many as 10 large Hanoi hotels were under investigation for allowing prostitution activities. Late last month, Prime Minister Pham Van Khai ordered a temporary ban on new bars and karaoke outlets, hundreds of which act as venues for the sex trade in Hanoi alone. And about the same time actress Dinh Thoai Yen Vy was reportedly sent to a rehabilitation centre after authorities said she was part of a high-priced prostitution ring.
The crackdown, expected to continue for at least two more months, comes during the run-up to next year's 10th Communist Party congress. Vietnam will choose its leaders and set its major policies for the next five years in the months leading up to the congress.
Vietnam analyst Carl Thayer, calling it the 'political season', believes the timing is no coincidence.