Vietnam has been one of the biggest surprises for us on this trip! We just fell in love with the country and were sad to leave it behind. We heard that people could be a little rude and that the beaches are not that great compared to Thailand but we couldn’t disagree more. OK, we didn’t really get to experience the beaches as it was either windy or overcast, but the people in Vietnam are some of the friendliest people we have ever met. Bump into a Vietnamese person who is learning to speak English and you won’t be able to stop them from chatting on and on! The food in Vietnam was also mind-blowing! Everything we tasted was phenomenal, from a breakfast of pho to local delicacies in Hoi An and Hanoi. The local food is so cheap and local beers are usually between $0.50 and $1.
Accommodation and transport in Vietnam were also on a different level from anything we had in Thailand and Cambodia. A private room is easily under $15 at a well-run hotel. Open bus tickets are the way to go in Vietnam. We saved a ton of money by buying an open bus ticket that took us all the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi with six stops along the way. We thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the history of the country. The museums and temples are well run and accessible and tours are not too pricey. There are a lot of options for tours and activities to do which we found great!
We had no issues with safety. As always just be careful with your belongings. A lot of people speak English, especially hotel staff and tour guides. Locals are also very keen to learn the language so be patient with them.
So now that we’ve done it what would we say were our top experiences? In no particular order we enjoyed the following:
- Canyoning in Da Lat
- Cooking class in Hoi An
- Visiting the Imperial City in Hue
- Dark Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
- Halong Bay Cruise
- Visiting Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum
If you would like to see all our photos from Vietnam follow the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/rolien.slotema/media_set?set=a.10153380732684506&type=3
Chris and Ro go... 