I’m glad so many of you are excited about the trip. I think everyone is going to have a lot of fun. I noticed some of you had some questions and concerns; I will attempt to answer them with my experiences in Vietnam. Some of you have traveled internationally already (Italy, Philippines) so you have a general idea of what to expect.
The first thing is to learn Alex’s three rules of international travel:
1. Keep an open mind
2. Keep an open mind
3. Keep an open mind
Vendors/Markets: Compared to other Asian countries I’ve been to (sorry China), the vendors in Vietnam are not very aggressive. Now if you initiate contact they can get aggressive in negotiation, but they don’t tend to harass customers who don’t show an interest.
Getting lost: The trick here is always carry the business card of your hotel with you. If you ever get lost, flag down a Mai Linh or Vina Sun taxi (do not use other companies, cars can be unsafe/unreliable), show them the business card and they will take you back to the hotel. Ho Chi Minh is not a confusing city to get around.
Phones: I suggest spend $50 bucks and buy a travel phone from a website. I use onesimcard.com. You can then get a Vietnamese sim card. I would suggest not putting the sim card in your personal phone as there can be issues with hacking. If someone hacks a travel phone there is no info for them to get. All they will have is your phone number. If someone hacks your smart phone, its credit card time.
Eating/getting sick: I am the most adventurous international eater I know. I eat street food/local food everywhere I go. I have never gotten sick in Vietnam, and I have eaten balut, cobra hearts, pigeons, you name it. I have eaten everywhere from Vietnamese truck stops to fancy restaurants. Use your eyes and trust your instincts. Now just because I have never gotten sick, doesn’t mean it won’t happen. I have gotten sick in other Asian countries (again, sorry China). When you travel internationally and are an adventurous eater, every once in a while you catch a bad one, it’s just the nature of the game. The one thing I advise is don’t eat from the street carts later at night, as the food may have been sitting out all day. Trust your stomach. Mine is pretty much cast iron, but if yours is a little testy, maybe be a little more cautious. If the food ends up totally not agreeing with you, the hotel has a restaurant that serves Western food (burgers, club sandwiches), and there are American fast food places (McDonalds, KFC) everywhere. The last two years, there has been one person each trip that just didn’t agree with the local food.
Water: This is a bigger problem. Shower, wash your hands, brush your teeth; no problem. But don’t drink it. It is not dirty, it just has different microbes and bacteria that our American bodies aren’t used to. You will likely get a case of what I affectionately refer to as Ho Chi Minh’s revenge (diarrhea). That being said, bring anti-diarrhea medication. It can be your best friend. Stick to bottled water.
Safety: I have traveled all over the world and I find Vietnam to be very safe in comparison to other places (don’t worry China, you’re in good shape here). The communist/socialist countries tend to be safe. You won’t wander into the bad part of town unexpectedly because it will be real obvious when you are starting to get close. The neighborhood around our hotel is nice, and there are some really modern, luxurious parts as well. The one thing you do need to worry about is snatch and grabs. Keep everything on the opposite side of the street, and try to walk away from the curb, because they will zoom by and try to snatch things out of you hand. Fanny packs might not be the best idea, because they are external. You can buy what is called a travel pouch that goes around your waist and stays under your shirt or tucks inside your pants. Travel belts are good ideas too. If it is external, I would suggest an over the shoulder bag that you carry opposite the street. The best thing to remember is to use common sense and the buddy system at night. Don’t wander off with strangers, no matter what they offer. If they have an offer that is too good to be true, it is. Do bad things happen? Sure. But people get hit by lighting too. It is not a common enough occurrence to be worrying about it.
Dress: No point in dressing like the locals, unless you are Asian. If you want to, go for it. I dress like the locals in Europe and the Middle East ( I look local enough there), but your skin and face is a dead giveaway in Asia that you are foreign. Don’t be overly flashy, as you will draw attention, true enough; but you can dress as casually as you want, you won’t offend anyone. The exceptions are the temples, you should dress conservatively when you go there out of respect. I where shorts, flip flops and t-shirts everywhere else (except the consulate).
Hotel theft: Use the safe. I have never had a problem. I also always leave the do not disturb sign up. They can clean the room after I leave. I even do this at hotels in the US.
Language: Learn as many phrases as you can, but keep in mind Vietnamese is a tonal language, some people can understand me perfectly, others have no idea ( or just don’t want to deal with me, I never know which). The thing to remember is if you ever have problems, call/text Courtney to translate. Also, get a translator app for your smart phone, this is invaluable. Maybe you can’t say it, but they can read it. English is more prevalent than you might think, for instance every vendor I have done business with in Ben Thanh market spoke very good English.
Have fun, don’t be afraid to be adventurous and try new things, and remember the most important rule of all:
If you buy Durian, keep it away from me. That stuff smells like a sack full of assholes.
Crystal Blagg says
Thank you for all of your tips and insight. Very helpful. 🙂
Kristina Lor says
I agree with Crystal! Thanks for taking time to write all this, it was really helpful 🙂
Ivette Gutterman says
Very interesting points you have observed , thanks for posting . “I never said most of the things I said.” by Lawrence Peter Berra.