Dustin Takes On Vietnam

I didn’t have a clue what to expect when I accepted a friend’s invitation to travel to his home country, Vietnam, but I knew I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  After 24 hours on a plane, I arrived at my destination.  The next 2 weeks offered adventure like I have not experienced before and memories that will be always be a part of me.

I couldn’t even come close to putting all of my experiences into a single post, so I will not try.  Instead, I will give you a few of my take-aways, and a snapshot of what I experienced.

1.  The Plans You Make Are Simply Suggestions

If you are the type of person who craves concrete plans and finds security in a structured itinerary, Vietnam will drop-kick you right out of your comfort zone! If you know me, you know that I have a go-with-the-flow kind of personality.  So even though I began planning for Vietnam about a month before I left, the plans weren’t very detailed, more like a basic itinerary.

Once we arrived in Vietnam we tweaked the itinerary a bit, and set out on our 9 day motorbike trek we had planned.  Four days and a motorbike accident later, our plans went out the window.  Even aside from the accident, I soon learned that the culture and environment in Vietnam doesn’t accommodate a rigid agenda.  Things come up and everything takes longer than expected.  If a local tells you a trip will take 2 hours, expect it to take 3-4 hours.    Flexibility and the ability to flow with a changing schedule is an essential to making the most of your trip to Vietnam.

2.  The Traffic Is Fun…At First

While the primary means of transportation is motorbike, Vietnam offers a variety of interesting ways to get around, each seemingly more dangerous than the other.  Without experiencing it firsthand, traffic in Vietnam is difficult to comprehend.  The few laws there are seem more like suggestions, and there is never a moment where you can relax and enjoy the ride.  I remained in a constant state of pucker the entire time I was driving or riding.

City streets are crammed to capacity with motorbikes, taxies and pedestrians all engaged in a chaotic, highly-stressful game of Chicken.  When riding a motorbike through the city, you sometimes have less than a foot between your and the motorist beside you.  On rural streets you can find children on bicycles sharing the road with passenger buses and tractor-trailers, who seem to elude any and all traffic laws.  The risk on these roads is heightened when buses and “big-rigs” try and pass each other in the middle of curves and bends in the road.

Coming from a country that strongly enforces traffic laws, the absence of enforcement found in Vietnam was exciting…in the beginning.  But after too many close-calls, and witnessing a few accidents, one involving my friends, driving began to loose its charm.  I found myself becoming frustrated with Vietnam, the country not the people, for being so reckless with human life.  But this is “life as usual” for the people there, and my exasperation didn’t seem to change anything.

3.  The Price Is Always Negotiable

One aspect of travel in Vietnam is that there rarely a “fixed” price.  I expected to do some haggling when we went shopping for souvenirs at the markets, but dickering is part of the way of life!  We negotiated pice on hotel rooms, food, souvenirs, travel, and tourist attractions.  Not every place will negotiate on price, but if you don’t at least try, it’s your loss.

4.  The Food Is An Experience

We were always joking that it felt like the majority of each day felt like we were eating or drinking coffee together…and it was kind of true.  Vietnam is a much more social country than America, so each meal or coffee break is simply a vehicle to spend time together.

I went to Vietnam with the mentality that I will try anything once…and I did.  Vietnam offers many unique culinary experiences!  Here are my 3 favorites:

1. Pho, a broth, noodle bowl, is one of the most common dishes in Vietnam and can be found everywhere.  It can also be found in the States, but I promise it’s not the same.
2. Hot-pot/plate was one of my favorites because it’s such a fun experience!  They bring your table a pot of broth, or a pan, on a burner and a plate of raw meats, seafood, and vegetables…and you cook it yourself!   Great bonding experience!
3. Dog was the most difficult eat, but is on my list also for the experience.  We went to a restaurant that specialized in dog.  While it had a good flavor, with every bite I pictured my dog, Kona.  Hearing the dogs barking in the back definitely didn’t help, but I felt like I was experiencing something truly “Vietnam”.
   

   Dog meat is surprisingly good!

   

   

   

   Beef Pho!

Most places you eat at will have outside seating with kid-size plastic tables and chairs.  Fresh produce, meats and seafood line the sidewalks, sold by family-run produce stand.  Often times when a restaurant run out of an item or ingredient, they will run to a produce stand down the street and get what they need.

5.  The Language Barrier is Real

Before I arrived, I had a lot of misconceptions about Vietnam.  One of them was the size of the language barrier.  I assumed English was more common than it is.  While English is more widely spoken in the cities, it is still a challenge to find anyone who speaks it fluently.  In more rural parts the country, it is hard to find someone who speaks any English.  Most of the time I had Joseph and his cousin around to help fill the communication gap.  To communicate when I was alone, I found myself playing a game of Charades:  Pointing, forming shapes with my hands and sometimes using my entire body to help clarify my message.

6.  The Adventure Is There For The Taking

No matter if you’re a history enthusiast or an adrenaline junky, Vietnam will always leave you satisfied!  Just Google “things to do in Vietnam” and you’ll be presented with list upon list of amazing experiences.  Here are a few things we did that I recommend:

• Take a motorbike trip.  Motorbiking is a common method of travel for tourists in Vietnam!  You can easily get your hands on one, and they provide a certain freedom that can’t be found taking buses or taxis.  It is illegal for foreigners to drive motorbikes without a Vietnamese motorbike license, but many do it anyways.  If you do get pulled over, just give the police officer some a few bucks, or “tea money”.
  

  

  

  
• Tour Ha Long Bay.  If you Google Vietnam, the first images you will see are of the legendary Ha Long Bay..and rightfully so.  This place offers some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world.   The rigid towers of earth and stone jutting from the green ocean water creates an other-worldly experience!  There are several companies offering tours around the Bay, but they pretty much are the same.  With our tour, we got to see a cave, and kayak the Bay!  One of the coolest experiences!
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  
• Visit Ba Be National Park.  Due to a motorbike accident, I had to continue the last leg of our motorbike journey alone.  So I traveled north to Ba Be National Park.  There you can hike the trails, see spectacular waterfalls, kayak the lake, and take boat tours.  Surrounding the lake is an overabundance of homestay’s where you can get a bed and home-cooked meals.
  

  

  

  
• Go off the beaten path!  By far the most epic part of the trip was our visit to a particular island that will remain nameless.  After hearing about this island, we tried multiple times to get a charter boat to take us out there, with no success.  We didn’t want miss this opportunity, so we paid a fisherman to take us.  After a 2.5 hour boat ride in choppy water, we arrived at the island.  We didn’t know until we got there, but the island isn’t open to the public.  Besides two young men, 3 dogs and a few hundred monkeys, we had the entire island to ourselves!  We swam, hiked and kayaked until later afternoon and headed back to the mainland.  This experience “made” the trip!
  

  

  

  

I’m so grateful for my good friend Joseph!  He allowed me to tag along on this epic adventure, and shared his country with me!  My experiences from Vietnam will always be a part of me, and I hope I get to visit again.

Photo cred:  Joseph Doung & Dustin Davis