1. The facilities are good, use them
Before I got to Vietnam I had visions of squat toilets all over the country, like that of many other South East Asian destinations and so steeled myself for having to ‘hover’ on a regular basis.
This turned out to be a misconception and the only squat toilet I encountered was at a service station at the side of the road. Apart from this, the plumbing tends to work in much a similar way to Greece: don’t block the pipes by flushing the toilet paper down; instead use the bin provided and everything will be fine.
As with anywhere in Asia, arm yourself with plenty of tissues and antibacterial gel in case you’re caught short with no supplies. You may also be charged to use toilets if they are situated at popular tourist sites. Don’t be cheap and think you can get away with paying the minimum price unless you are male and are used to using public urinals. I made this mistake and was shown to an exposed toilet bowl with no door that could be seen from the street!
2. It WILL rain – there’s no best time to visit Vietnam
If you are travelling from one end of the country to the other, it will rain at some point during your trip. The seasons vary throughout the country and I encountered rain in both Hoi An and Hue. Even though it was still warm, the rain was heavy at times, but don’t let it dampen your fun.
Ponchos can be bought for a minimal price when you are there (the thinner plastic ones are good just for walking around whereas you should invest in the thicker, longer ones if you’re planning on riding motorbikes and cycles a lot).
Also, don’t bother packing an umbrella – it just adds to your baggage weight and even the lowest class of hotels tend to offer them free in the rooms. Note – Make sure you return the umbrellas before you leave as you will be charged for them otherwise.
3. The trains never run on time
Once you’ve spent a few days in Vietnam you’ll realise that the Vietnamese are a laid-back people, who are never in a rush to get anywhere. This translates to their public transport system also.
Having used a few sleeper trains during my stay, it became custom to never expect to arrive at your destination at the intended time, even if you had set off within an hour of your departure time. Just go with the flow and be ready and alert to leave the train at your station when you arrive because they don’t hang around for long and you never know where you might end up if you have to stay on the train until the next stop.
4. A Halong Bay cruise is a highlight – don’t miss it out
Although Halong Bay is often criticised as being quite touristy these days, it is still a beautiful place and needs to be experienced at least once. Invest in a good tour with a decent boat and you’ll be guaranteed a delicious lunch, too.
5. The traffic is crazy
There’s no getting away from it – you will have to brave the oncoming traffic in Vietnam at some point, but it really isn’t as bad as you would expect.
6. The Great Firewall of Vietnam
Despite being impressed by the availability and speed of the free WiFi in Vietnam, there was one problem that kept occurring – in many hotels and hostels Facebook is blocked by the internal servers, meaning that access is impossible.
When you’re travelling, Facebook is sometimes your only means of communication with other travellers you have met or are planning to meet, as well as keeping in touch with friends and family back home, and so this can be frustrating.
I also found that I couldn’t even access the Facebook app on my phone in these places. Try typing the address for the beta version of Facebook into the browser and this often solves the problem, but do make sure to ask the front desk about this access issue as well, as sometimes they may not even be aware of the problem.
7. Don’t always follow the guidebook recommendations
One night in Saigon we followed our trusted guidebook to a recommended bar that sounded right up our street. After we had spent half an hour walking around and having to ask a couple of locals, we actually managed to find the place, only to discover that it was the Vietnamese version of Hooters and was full of expat males (being the only female at the bar was a bit strange, to say the least).
Even my male companions were freaked out by the ambience of this bar and we drank our beers and quickly left. Don’t always trust the guidebooks – sometimes they become out of date as soon as they are published and sometimes they’re just plain wrong.
8. ‘Karaoke Massage’ ISN’T a beauty parlour with microphones
This may sound like an obvious one, but the naïve travellers among us may still fall into the trap of believing that these establishments are harmless and non-brothel-like. The word karaoke is used to attract tourists’ attention and to get them in, and then once you’re in….who knows??
9. Pho is pronounced ‘fur’ or ‘fuh’
The most mispronounced word by travellers is the country’s national dish of noodle soup.
I have heard it called “fo”, “po” and countless other variations, yet I was advised by a local that you need to be careful what it is you are asking for exactly when you pronounce this word. The word sounded as “fo” in Vietnamese actually means “lady of the night”, so you could end up getting much more than beef noodle soup!
10. Try all of the local beers
Each town in Vietnam has its own brand of beer which is brewed locally and is often cheaper than the country’s other beers (and cheaper than the imports).
It was great fun to try each of them and see what the label designs were like and how the taste differed (although after a few who can tell?). And you must try Bia Hoi at a streetside café in Hanoi….I know sitting in a child’s chair at the side of the kerb seems insane, but hey, you’re in Vietnam! Just go with it!
