Getting The Hang Of Vietnam

Travelling around Vietnam taught us a lot, well actually, taught me a lot. This was Ryan’s third trip to Vietnam, so he had a good idea of what to expect. Me, on the other hand, this was my first; even though we did discuss Vietnam and I did my own research, I still don’t think anything could have prepared me for the experience I encountered.

Here are a few things we learned while we travelled around, and honestly fell in love with Vietnam.

Pho

Pho is a bone broth soup with rice noodles, thinly sliced meat, and some herbs. It is considered the national dish for Vietnam. You can find it anywhere, restaurants or at food stalls on the side of the road. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can add chilli paste, peanuts, sriracha sauce, or bean sprouts, which are normally left on the tables for you to add as you please.

Banh Mi

Probably one of the greatest sandwiches ever made. A Banh Mi is made with crusty bread, mayo, pate, ham or some sort of lunch meat, pickled vegetables, green onions, coriander/cilantro, fresh chillies, and some dried fish. In all honesty we always request no dried fish, but it is up to you. We had this as a snack or for a meal, food stalls serve these everywhere.

Fried Morning Glories

This was a fun experience; one evening we randomly pointed to something on the menu. We had decided to be a bit adventurous and had no idea what it was. That was our first experience with Morning Glories. Honestly, they looked like fried spinach, a little bit darker but they were really, really, good. We started ordering them at every restaurant after that, they are great as a starter or to go along with rice.

Coffee

Vietnamese coffee is very good and strong. It is fresh dripped coffee through a metal filter, and is served with condescended milk. They also serve it over ice as well, which is very refreshing. We found that people often drank it in the afternoon as opposed to the morning.

Photo Credit: Alanae

Alcohol

Beer and Coolers are pretty cheap, but wine and spirits tend to be a bit more expensive. It was common to find men sitting in a restaurant enjoying a full case of beer, once they finished drinking they would hop on their scooters. We found beers or coolers at the Circle K or at the corner stores, and it would cost anywhere from $1 CAD to $1.50 CAD.

It is socially acceptable to drink in public. We spent a few different occasions drinking in public parks or while wandering the night market. When you are done with your empty bottle you do not toss it into the garbage can; someone will come and fish out. Instead we left ours neatly in a bag on top or beside the garbage can.

Photo Credit: Marc H.

Water

The tap water is not safe to drink.. The only time we used tap water was boiling it for coffee or tea, otherwise it was bottled water. Normally there is a water bottle refill jug somewhere in the building you are staying in, although this was not always the case.

Toilets

Be prepared for anything! It may be a toilet with toilet paper, and a bum gun beside it; it could be a toilet with a bucket of water and a scoop (no toilet water); or it could be a hole, with markers for your feet; and a bucket and scoop with a hole. If you are in a hotel, Air BnB, hostel, or nicer restaurant you will probably find a toilet and toilet paper.

When you are out in public and go to use the restroom, you may find a hole and bucket. Along with a person standing at the sinks or door expecting you to pay to use the facilities, even if it says "free" on the door. We ran into this a few times at attractions, train stations, and bus stations. I always kept a small amount of toilet paper or Kleenex, and a bottle of hand sanitizer with us.

Also, prepare yourself, depending on where you are staying the shower may be right over top of the toilet. There is no separate tub or closed off area. It will be a small, open bathroom, with a shower over the toilet or sink. Always double check where you put your towel, on more than one occasion mine was wet when I finished showering.

Friendly People

The people in Vietnam are very friendly, welcoming, and kind. There was no point, during our time in Vietnam, where I felt uncomfortable. People, regardless of their age, would often walk up to us in public so they could practise their English. If they struggled at all with communication they would pull out Googletranslate.

Also do not be surprised if they ask you for a selfie with them. You can say ‘no’, but it is easier to just smile and let them take the picture.

Photo Credit: Alanae

"Same Same But Different"

The people trying to sell you sunglasses or purses, "see as yours! Same, same but different", meaning it is a knock off. If you are walking down the street, sitting on a bench, parking your scooter, entering a religious site, sitting at a restaurant, or basically anywhere you will get approached by either a man, women, or group of children selling things.

Some stuff are really cool souvenirs and others are knock offs of what you already have, either way they will try and sell it to you. AND if you say "maybe later" they WILL find you later! If you think you are safe from these people in a restaurant, bar, or hotel. Think again! They will come in and talk to you if you make eye contact or smile at them.

On A Spit

While riding down the road or walking through the market, you may see an animal barbecuing on a spit. It may be a goat, pig, or even a dog. Trying not to react when you see this is difficult, however this is their culture and you have to respect that.

Refuse Service

When Covid-19 hit, is when we really started to see this. Normally there is no issue with getting service anywhere, but we did start to see signs saying "Will not serve ..blank.., sorry!" We also noticed that if someone was rude to the person serving them, the server would get payment and then not return to that customer. We personally did not experience this, but we did see it happen a few times.

Walking Across The Road

This seems like a silly thing to even talk about, however, watching other tourists almost get hit by scooters, buses, or cars means that it has made our list. When you cross any road in Vietnam it is chaotic, scooters have no rules. They can and will go anywhere! On the road, whizzing by you on the sidewalk, but they will go around you. You have to walk at a constant speed and not do anything sudden; like speed up or suddenly stop.

Honking

Honking is constant! Doesn’t matter if it is scooters or cars, everyone honks. Passing someone, honk. Coming up to someone at a light, honk. Turning a corner, honk. A pedestrian crossing the street, they honk. It is their basic way of saying "hey! I am here!". They do have turn singles and they sometimes use them, but do not rely on it. Honking is their way of communicating.

Lines

You can line up and patiently wait your turn to be served, but do not be surprised when someone cuts in front of you and gets served first.Lines are not a thing! Ryan tried to pay for some shirts in Hue, he got in what he thought was the line to pay. It was free for all. People just put their items down in front of them, and push them towards the cashier to get service.

Photo Credit:V.Gray

We ran into situations in the market too. We learned to just pick up what we wanted, and then try to get someone's attention.

Scooters

Scooters are the main way to get around throughout Southeast Asia. They drive on the roads, sidewalks, cut through the middle of intersections on the islands; they really do not have any rules. With that do not be surprised to see a solo rider or two people on a scooter. On occasion you will also see entire families on the scooter (4 plus people) and dogs too!

Photo Credit: V.Gray

Photo Credit: V.Gray

Scooters are also used with trailers, and transport anything and everything. If it can be loaded and balanced on the scooter, then it will be transported on a scooter.

Monkeys

They may look cute from afar, and we always saw people feeding them. Then you would hear people screaming. The monkey jumped on them and sometimes took something (sunglasses, hats etc). Let me be clear, they are little a** holes! I know I am going to say this

again somewhere else too. They are jerks! They steal things, they smell, they throw poop or fruit or anything really at you. But hey if you want to try and feed the monkey's for that cool Instagram picture, that’s all you!

Photo Credit: V.Gray

Roosters & Chickens

These are everywhere! In small villages, in the cities, crossing the road (no punch line). They constantly crow and will wake you up at all hours. Roosters became white noise during our trip, and if we did not hear the roosters in the morning, we heard the honking of traffic.

In all honesty, with all the ups and downs along the way, our time in Vietnam was amazing. We learned so much and it is somewhere we plan on returning to.

Cheers!

**Please note that all opinions and views expressed in this post are my own, from my own experiences. If you would like to see more pictures follow me on Instagram vikki.gray

This post is edited by E.Gray Editing. (https://www.egrayediting.com )**