Wrapping Up with Vietnam!

 

Unsplash Photo by Peter Nguyen

We've covered a few quite popular travel destinations amongst many travelers, but for the more seasoned of us, let's take a brief tour of a destination that is slightly more "exotic!"

Though it is definitely not a destination unheard of for many of us, Vietnam is a place that I only have recently been to for the first time. Even though I am ethnically Vietnamese, I have never been to Vietnam until only a few years ago. 

It was definitely an experience that I will never forget! Vietnam is such a beautiful country and vastly different from the locations I am used to traveling to.

But I digress! 

Vietnam, like many international countries, requires a passport for travel, and more specifically a tourist visa. If you are planning to visit Vietnam for a length of over 30 days, then you'll also need to fill out paperwork for a proper Vietnam visa. The United States travel.gov website on Vietnam has everything listed as well as what we need to exit Vietnam, but it's nothing too different from what we're used to when flying internationally. 

As of the moment that I am writing this Vietnam does not require any vaccinations as well, but of course COVID-19 precautions must be taken.

With that aside, one popular location in Vietnam I would 100% suggest visiting is without a doubt Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. It is one of the largest cities in Vietnam and offers travelers a multitude of things to do, from dinner river cruises to Buddhist temples hundreds of years old to delicious local street food! Like Japan, you are never short of things to do in Ho Chi Minh City.

My hotel view of Ho Chi Minh City and the Saigon River!

Moving a little bit north to central Vietnam is the city of Da Nang. Many of us, myself included, have never really heard of the city but have seen photos of the beaches in Da Nang. Forbes even recently ranked Da Nang's My Khe beach as one of the top beaches in Vietnam, and even worldwide. I can definitely back that up, as coming from someone who has lived in San Diego for all his life Da Nang's My Khe beach is one of the best beaches I have ever been to. The water is crystal clear blue, and the sand is so clean and pure compared to the many beaches I have seen! Even the water itself is warm year round as I have heard from relatives who live in Da Nang.

Apart from Da Nang's beaches, the city itself is also well-known for its Dragon Bridge. I visited the bridge back in 2018 and it was breathtakingly beautiful. The night I visited was on a weekend night, so I was fortunate enough to be able to experience the weekend night shows where the bridge is lit up beautifully and the dragon head even breathes fire.

Unsplash Photo by Andrea De Santis

Moving further up north in Vietnam is the capital of Hanoi, and most famously Ha Long Bay, located near the coast of Hanoi. It is one of the most famous sights in the world and in all of Vietnam, and is a collection of limestone islands that is perfect for photography!

Unfortunately, it was overcast and quite rainy when I went to Ha Long Bay, so it wasn't the best time for photo taking. I even got unfortunate enough to get drenched as it started to pour halfway through my boat ride to the limestone islands at the bay. Even as a seasoned traveler myself I forgot to bring an umbrella! I ended up exploring the islands with drenched clothes and hair, which in my opinion leaves a quite unforgettable experience!

One of the limestone islands at Ha Long Bay.

Now that we have covered a few of Vietnam's biggest features for us, now's the time for some travel advice! There is one tip that I can not emphasize enough about Vietnam when it comes to getting around.

Be aware of official transportation services.

You do not want to be overcharged by nonofficial taxi drivers who charge tourists 10x more than official taxi services! Official taxi drivers always have their license on display and always have their taxi meters on. Taxis that miss even one of the above will likely be drivers intending to rip you off! 

I recommend having your hotel call you an official taxi or at least exercise caution when using taxis!

Also, the traffic in Vietnam works quite differently than what most of us are used to in the states. When crossing the streets in Vietnam, I almost got run over by traffic! I made the worst mistake and decided to back up when seeing traffic, causing a motorcycle to swerve out of the way.

In Vietnam, pedestrians are avoided by traffic, so you just need to pick a path and keep going, but NEVER back up! As scary as it seems, it is really the best thing to do for crossing bustling city streets.

Other than that, there really isn't much to say in terms of tips for Vietnam (aside from umbrellas, of course!). Vietnam is quite known for its monsoons, and receives up to 98 inches of rain a year!

Food in Vietnam is also extremely affordable, with prices usually falling below $2 USD. I never really splurged in terms of money in Vietnam as everything was really affordable!

Vietnam is overall a very beautiful country that I 100% recommend those of us who haven't been to visit at least once in their lives! It is a breathtaking and ultimately a humbling experience in general. Though traveling internationally isn't the best option yet due to the ongoing situation, I do hope that you consider paying Vietnam a visit.