Vietnam

Why go?   My first trip to Southeast Asia (2008) was such a pivotal moment in my life, and I wanted to recreate that with my wife Megan.  We chose Vietnam because it has some of the most beautiful and varied landscapes on earth.  In addition, we heard that travel in Vietnam can be harder than in other countries, and we wanted a challenge.  

Learn the language.  The Vietnamese language is very complex, and the various tones can give the same phrase completely different meanings.  We got by with English on the tourist trail, and came away with one saying - Xin chao ("Hello!").  

Get there.  We flew from Chengdu to Hanoi, which took about two hours.  There are overland routes, but we heard that the immigration checkpoints can be daunting.  

Read before you go.   I read Catfish and Mandala, which is a really interesting book written by a Vietnamese-American.  The book outlines Andrew Pham's life as an American retracing his roots in southern Vietnam.  He gives unique insights into how Vietnamese view Americans, as well as "Viet-Kieu" or Vietnamese-Americans.  

Weather advice.  We traveled to Vietnam in August, which means the heat and rain of summer season.  While we noticed the heat, the rain did not affect much of our travel plans at all.  Especially once we got to Central Vietnam, we spent most of our time at the beach in Hoi An with very little rain at all.  

Expenses.  Vietnam, like most of Southeast Asia is fairly cheap by American standards.  We spent about 6% of our time there, and it accounted for about 4% of our budget.  Our biggest expense was our Paradise Cave excursion.  

Three “Must Do’s.

• Must eat(s).  This one is a tough call - the food in Vietnam is amazing.  We did find an amazing street vendor in Hanoi that sold delicious bahn mis (sandwiches that carry a beautiful hybrid of Vietnamese and French influence).  
• Most impactful experience(s).  Paradise Cave.  This cave is truly amazing.  Discovered in 2005, this dry cave is over 31km long (second only to Mammoth Caves, KY in length in the world).  We did a 7km trek through the cave with a guide, past the well-lit path.  We ended up slipping in mud, doing blind walks from one side to another, and swimming through an underground river (there was also rice whiskey).  Truly a great experience.  
• Must see(s).  Hoi An.  Hands down, this place is truly special.  Although most folks will tell you how touristy it has become (especially since Anthony Bourdain featured it on "No Reservations") the old town is a scenic wonder.  We ate at many great places, including Morning Glory Restaurant, which features local specialties like White Rose Dumplings, and Cao Lao (barbecued pork with noodles).  

Teachable moment.  Our teachable moment in Vietnam was patience.  We arrived in Hanoi late in the evening, due to our flight out of Chengdu being delayed.  Upon arrival, we checked in, and were given a pretty hard sales pitch by our hotel manager to book a tour with him.  Since we had already researched and booked our tour with another company, we kindly refused.  When we got to our room, there was a colony of ants crawling in our bed.  We went down to let the front desk know, and they assured us they would take care of it.  They suggested we go grab something to eat - which we did.  When we got back to the hotel, we went back to the room, only to find a large amount of dead ants everywhere and the smell of fairly noxious chemicals.  We went down one more time, and were finally able to secure another room.  It would be easy to lose our cool in that moment, but through traveling, we had grown to be more calm, understanding, and patient.  

The Wrap.  There's a really interesting statistic that I found while researching this post that shows that return trips to Vietnam are some of the lowest among Western travelers, as compared to other Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Cambodia.  Vietnam was a hard place for my wife.  She seemed to have more trouble with food here than in anywhere else.  Sometimes places just do not agree with you. We did have an incredible amount of great moments though - including our cruise on Halong Bay, our trek in Paradise Cave, and our days on the beach in Hoi An.  I would say overall that we were both glad for our time there (and my wife is now grateful to be feeling better).