Vietnam — Asia’s Most Underrated Country?
Motorbikes and some big war. Does anyone know any more than that unless you actually been to Vietnam?
Homelessness, food poisoning, and not one word of the local language, yet my favorite place? There is a certain local feel and homeliness about Vietnam.
The ‘Vietnam War’ that everyone goes on about was fought from 1955 to 1975 between the Communist North and the Democratic South, helped by the US. The North ended up winning and the whole country and is still pretty Communist, meaning that it seems very stuck in its historical ways.
I mean this in a good way, as it's very different from anywhere I’ve been. It doesn’t speak much English, there are very few cars, and the food is terrible Western food. PS: Don’t order a pizza; they're inedible.
Too much negativity—the region is so diverse in its nature, from the touristy island of Phu Quoc, which you would have thought was in Indonesia or Thailand, further north to the middle jungle section around Hue and Phong Nha, with desert dunes in Mui Ne, to the bustling megacities in the north, Hanoi and in the south, Ho Chi Minh, and along the Chinese border, the mountainous terrain with rural, self-sustaining villages.
Feels like everyone that goes anywhere says that the people were so kind, which was obviously true with Vietnam, even if the only word I could say was, Xin Chao (hello).
I had no idea what food the Vietnamese ate before I got there but when I left, I was a mini connoisseur. Pho (noodle soup) spring rolls, and especially Banh Mi (sandwich with hard crunch bread) were the obvious, alongside Vietnamese coffee.
My FAVORITE place I hate was this Banh mi cart that was outside our hostel in Da Nang, which served egg and cheese Banh mi for about 75p per unit, which was always soooooo nice. For some reason, they always insist on tiny stools that you couldn’t really sit on. I think they do this as a joke, as Vietnam has the shortest number of people in the world, and they just like to make tourists look stupid.
It’s so hard to pinpoint one favorite place in Vietnam because lots of places are special for their own reason. I would say that in general the North is better than the South, but there are some exceptions. So here are 5 that are special for me and why:
- Ha Giang — this is often the number one region to visit due to its incredible views, treacherous roads and amazing people that are in the villages. 99% of people go through a tour which is very much advised as you will stay with and make friends with a great group of people.
- Phong Nha — located in the middle section, I found that this place was a real hidden gem as it was pretty difficult and remote to get to. There were lots of adventurous things to do like the duck stop (look it up), days of caving, loads of wilderness to explore as you are in the heart of the rural jungle, as well as staying at a great hostel called Central Backpackers, which was cheap, fun and very high quality.
- Da Nang — Miami vibes. city vibes but on the coast with a quality beach, pretty quiet but busy in the right areas, good day trips with a water park and an amusement park where I broke my phone were also trip highlights. Some of our best food spots, like the Banh mi, but also Bikini Bottom, which was an American style restaurant with the best Western food we had in Asia. Me and Erin were also there with another 2 people that we had met previously, Louis and Sadie, who we really got on with and the whole place was just a vibe.
- Hoi An — loads of people gassed up Hoi An, and rightly so! Only 45 min drive south of Da Nang, again with great beaches, but this time a small-town vibe, which was really pretty with clear French heritage, but the main attraction was the coconut boat tour, which was great fun but hardly ‘culturally enriching’. We stayed in the Mad Monkey which we knew would be great as we had stayed in previous ones, and it was with a swimming pool, bar, pub crawl and so much more.
- Ha Long Bay — The most photogenic place in Vietnam, with its archipelago being a sight to behold. Me and Erin only managed a day trip but wow was it worth it and in hindsight we defo should have done the overnight cruises that everyone else had done. The stunning scenery and blue water, with tiny little villages on water, where people would spend their entire life on. Born there, reproduce there, die there.
This is not to say that the other places don’t deserve to be visited, but these definitely stood out for me. I didn’t get to go to Hue, Phu Quoc or Sapa, which were also highly recommended and will visit next time, which is worth noting.
The sleeper buses to get from place to place were an adventure on their own. The bus company has realised how long the country is and by building buses with beds, people will be so much happier, rather than minivans like every other country.
Well, that’s it for now, so any questions, please ask!
