11 Things to know about Vietnam
I wanted to wait until I was out of Vietnam to write this article. And I have to say, it was a very unique one. Of course, every country is unique in its ways but Vietnam, felt like a different world to me. From visiting the soaring peaks of Ha Long Bay to buying a banh my at a street stall, the experiences were all uniquely Vietnamese. I would like to share with you guys what made Vietnam so unique to me in the following list of: 11 things to know about Vietnam.
- Vietnam is beautiful: Obviously, you must be thinking. But there is something that you just can’t put your finger on but that you will notice while visiting Vietnam, especially by scooter. The cities of Hoi An and Hue make you feel like you are living in the past and riding through the winding mountains near Da Lat, watching huge waterfalls plummet down the side of the road is just amazing. You will also never be able to forget the mystical limestone peaks of Ha Long Bay.
- Sidewalks: Sidewalks exist in Vietnam, but they are usually unusable, especially in Ha Noi. Why do you need to know this? You don’t unless you’re a person with a disability. It would be important to note how difficult they are to use as scooters, tiny stools, tables, charcoal grills and lottery stands litter the sidewalks and make them unusable. In Sai Gon, on the other hand, they were rather good!
- Markets: Markets are always one of my favorite parts of travelling. But in Vietnam, knowing that I would miss on some awesome things, I purposely avoided them. Based on my experiences in Sai Gon and Da Lat, I noticed that sellers would get verbally and physically frustrated when I would just look and not buy. They also were quite physical, blocking my way, grabbing my arm, pulling me here and there which made my experiences unpleasant and even uncomfortable. This being said, if you do skip markets you will be missing out on some of the best experiences Vietnam has to offer. Just go in with a thick skin.
- Food: Vietnam’s food… How do I say this without offending anyone… It is… FREAKING GOOD! Amazing! Wonderful, brilliant, excellent, blissful… I don’t know how I am going to live the next few months without it. Dishes like Bun Cha, Bun Bo Nam Bo, Com Tam, Banh My, Pho, Bun Bo Hue, Cha Ca, Com Hen and Cao Lau, just to name a few, are all amazing and I will miss them so much. When in Vietnam, just eat, don’t ever stop eating. Try everything you see and smell.
- Motorbikes: The best way to travel Vietnam is by far by motorbike. You can either rent one to tour a city and its surroundings or buy one in the south or north and travel the entire country. You will get to see things that otherwise you would miss and you will save money too. A full tank of gas is 60-70k VND and renting a motorbike for a day ranges from 100-150k VND. Good deal if you ask me! Buying one is also very cheap. The Honda Win being the most popular is selling for 250 USD with a usual resale value of 250 USD. You basically only pay for gas, oil changes and tires. However it is important to note, that travelling without a Vietnamese driver’s license is illegal. Even an International driver’s license is not valid here. Although you won’t have much problems with the police (you might have to pay “fines” if you get pulled over), if you are ever involved in an accident, you will not be covered by your insurance.
- Copy-cat businesses: Did you just find the best Banh my stall online? The original Sinh Tourist agency? You better double check (or triple!) the address, the name, phone number and email address as there will always be copy-cats near the original and far away too. On Luong Ngoc Quyen street in Ha Noi, where the original Sinh Tourist café is located, there are about 6-7 fake ones using the same sign, giving the same address and phone number. The original is at 52 Luong Ngoc Quyen street, but most of them are on the impaired number side of the street and still pretend to be 52 Luong Ngoc Quyen.
Which one is real?
- Prices: There is an accepted fact of life in Vietnam that if you are not Vietnamese, you have a lot of money. Therefore you can afford to pay 50 cents, 1$, 5 $, 10$, 50$ even a 100$ more than a Vietnamese person. Don’t believe me? A Honda Win for a Vietnamese person would cost 100-150$ USD but for a foreigner, 250$ USD. I am still unsure how I feel about this discriminatory system. Many say that having more money means we can pay more, which is true. But why would a rich Vietnamese pay the same price as a poor one and not pay like a foreigner is beyond me. Also, always make sure to ask the price before buying or eating anything as the price might be incredibly high. Once in Hoi An, we had to pay 170 000 VND for a meal that would of cost a Vietnamese person 40 000 VND and a regular foreigner 80 000 VND. Just because we did not ask the price beforehand…
Our most expensive meal in Vietnam
- Future: The future of Vietnam is a positive but scary one. The time to travel is now. In 2018, Vietnam will be cutting dramatically the taxes on cars. With a population getting richer and richer, it is certain that the small streets and alley ways of Vietnam will be clogged by the arrival of thousands of new cars. The smog levels will go up and the traffic will surely become unbearable, like the ones of Indonesia or the Philippines. They are building metro lines in both Ha Noi and Sai Gon and building new larger roads and freeways but I hope that this is not too little too late. Visit Vietnam now before it changes dramatically.
Imagine when all the bikes will be cars!
- Drugs: I mean drugs as in medication. It is REALLY cheap in Vietnam. We were surprised of how low the prices were even though we are Canadians. As an example, somebody I knew that is definitely not me, needed some hemorrhoid cream and after having bought the same cream in the Philippines for 20$ CAD, that person was really surprise to learn that it was only 5$ in Vietnam. Cold, pain and motion sickness pills are all also very cheap. Therefore we recommend you load up on drugs when in Vietnam to bring back home or to your next country.
- War: The Vietnam War is known as the American War in Vietnam and despite it having officially ended in 1975, its ruminants are still obvious today. People with limbs missing, major burns, mental disabilities and much more are very obvious in Vietnam. Partly due to the wartime, some because of the Agent Orange after effects and others due to the thousands of bombs and mines still laying around in the fields of Vietnam today. It is a very sad affair and visiting some of the tunnels and war museums are a must to realize how sometimes, us the west, the “good guys”, are not always good. The atrocities of the Vietnam War will shake you to your core and make you realize the impacts of war. Even us Canadians unofficially participated in the war, with 30 000 illegal volunteers and the Canadian government allowing the U.S. to test Agent Orange in our country. The worst part is the thousands of Vietnamese people that the embassy of Canada in Sai Gon refused to bring back to Canada during the evacuation due to regulations and formalities while the U.S.A. just scrapped their regulations and brought back as many people as they could. Oh Canada…
- Coffee: Vietnam has what I would consider, the world’s best coffee. I never really liked coffee until I visited Vietnam and during my time there, I would have at least 3 cups per day. The coffee that is slowly passed through the special filter is very dark and strong but when mixed with a little condensed milk, it becomes what I consider: the nectar of the gods. An almost syrupy, sweet, bitter and chocolaty drink. If you have a bit of money to spare, you need to try the Weasel coffee (Kopi Luwak) which is made with the digested beans pooped out of an Asian civet. It is truly the best coffee out there. If you are an amateur of coffee, Vietnam is the place to go. You can also buy some weasel coffee in our treasures post here: https://worldstreasures.wordpress.com/2015/12/15/treasures-from-vietnam-da-lat/
So that is it for my really fancy list. I hope you will read this and consider visiting Vietnam, especially now that you are well informed thanks to my super conclusive list of Vietnam. It is truly a unique place that needs to be visited. It is not the easiest country to visit and you might sometimes get really frustrated during your travel here but it is well worth it. Plus, you will be able to test out how well your morning meditation sessions are working.
Bonus: To avoid paying any ATM fees (excluding your bank fees) visit EXIMBANK. It is the only bank in Vietnam that does not charge you to withdraw money but you are limited to 2 million dongs per withdrawl.
World's Treasures 
This was well written and interesting. Maybe I’ll visit Vietnam but I prefer to live through your travel.
Thanks Cindy ( are you my mom?). You should go to Vietnam, every travel experience is different.