Go to Vietnam or Not?

Show all answers

rick m

LMAO, Your mother sounds just like my wife, and she's never been to America. I TOTALLY agree with the Viet posters, this country is far from perfect but it's A-OK in my book. I'll follow "protocol" and deal with your concerns one by one.
1) YES!!! it can be very dirty from an "Amenerican" standpoint. People throw garbage in piles and then burn it. What this country needs is more people like you who can speak the langage to say "that's gross and disgusting". My children know better than to litter. they throw trash in the garbage cans we have situated around our property. I wish the Viet government cared more about their own country.You won't find "public trash cans" here.
2) Petty Theft...watch your stuff and don't be stupid. Some people here will steal the fillings out of your teeth given half a chance. Violence??? No way, unless you wear a golf ball size diamond. Even then, they'd rather just snatch it.
3) The country side can be a bit "rural"., Out-houses instead of hot water baths, etc. But I know people in Saigon who live a much better life than I do in the states. If you can't live without HBO and air-conditioning, don't come to the country.
4) Yes, the majority of people here are superstitious, but you're a grad student for cryin out loud. Is Mom worried you'll go "native", lol.?
5) I have NEVER seen anyone dress in-appropriately in this country. I wear shorts most of the time and I'm probably the least well dressed person I know. My wife (and all her friends) won't even wear a bathing suit when we go to the beach. They swim fully dressed. What a total load of crap that lie is! If Mom knows where the topless girls are, do us all a favor and name the town. I'll hire a hundred buses headed there tommorrow LOL.
6) Viet's may have different manners than you. One of the strongest is to treat each guest as an honored family member. I don't know about farting, burping etc. I DO KNOW that picking your nose in public is not considered gross, as long as you wash your hands afterwards. lol.Some things here are probably considered "gross" back in the states.But I've been coming here for a decade and they haven't killed me. If you're a "PollyAnna" or a "girlie-girl", listen to Mom.
I hope you come and experience Viet culture. Every American should, and you are no more Viet than I am. Only Vietnamese are Vietnamese, it's their culture and I'm an honored (and grateful) guest.

@travel stories; The woman you saw burning "money" in the street was following a Buddhist religious tradition. She was burning cash so her departed loved one would have money in the "after life". I leave cigarettes, beer, food etc, whenever I visit the graves of my friends over here. It's no more superstitious than any other religious practice. Just a way to remember them.

Tony J

All the things your mother has said are true, but, only to a point. I only have a short amount of time so I'll give you some brief answers. BTW, I'm a upper middle class white guy from the U.S., so this is a "true" foreigner's prospective (not VK).

1. Dirty: It depends on where you are staying. District 1 (the main tourest area) is very nice and clean. Cleaner than most big American cities. I would suggest staying in D1 and visiting your family during the day. After you have checked it out you can decide on our own what you want to do.

2. The only crime here is petty theft. No one is going to rape or physically hurt you in any way. I've been coming here for over 8 years and nothing bad has happened to me or anyone I know... even theft.

3. D1 has some of the nicest hotels in the world. If you stay at one of them you'll never notice your outside your home country.

4. She is just trying to scare you.

5. Some of the younger girls wear tight clothing (same as viet girls do in the states) but that's all. You will not see any naked people here.

6. Some people chew with their mouths open and burp (it's not considered bad manners) but that's about all.

You really have nothing to worry about. I wish I could go in more detail but i'm in Viet Nam now and getting ready to go out to eat.

P.S. I'm assuming you're talking about visiting the Southern part of the country.

tracyle2686

Hi Candy,
I am Vietnamese too, I was born and grew up in VN. Base on what you say about your mother's description, I totally disagree with her.
Dirty, yeah, some places, but not all the places are dirty, it depends on where you go to.
Crime, it's everywhere nowadays, not only in VN
VN now has lots of hotels and restaurants, if you cannot eat or stay at your relatives' house, then you still can stay at hotel. More than that, the living condition that your mother said, now it is way better than before
The last thing, I don't understand how come your mother say that Vietnamese have poor manners ???

maybe yeah, she was right about those things, but lets consider, those things she say are existed everywhere
If you haven't go to visit VN before, go back there and see how it is. And plus, You are Vietnamese, you should go to know more about your homeland. You have to know it by your own eyes, your own experiences.
Go and see if you like it or not, yeah, at first maybe you will feel a little bit uncomfortable, but then you will discover more interesting thing over there.
Please remember that, VN is not US, therefore, the life style and the living condition are not like US, so be prepared for their differences. But sure, you would have lots of fun

Trust me, I just went back there last summer.
(Sorry, my English is not good, but I've tried my best)

hearts â™¥â™¥

It's such a sad thing that your parents are discouraging you from going to Vietnam.

1. It's dirty. So, I looked up an article and read an article about people defecating on the side of the roads! She said the sanitation is horrible. (It actually depends on which part of Vietnam you're going, "South, Mid, or North" I don't really know about this one.)

2. Crime. She said if I were to ever visit, I may be a victim or the frequent rape, burglary, etc. (Yes, beware of where you're going homeless or poor people may snatch your purse just to get the money. But please just be cautious.)

3. She said that the living conditions are intolerable and that I would not enjoy my stay. (True, the conditions you may or may not get use to it. But there'll be a fan of course.)

4. She always talks about the supernatural and superstitions in Vietnam. It's very creepy, yet annoying because I would not enjoy it if the majority's mentality was this way. (Yes, that maybe true but don't worry almost all houses have the Asian god, "Buddha"
Buddha protects families houses from spirits and keeps the houses warm and cozy.)

5. Dress. She said some people dress very inappropriate, even go topless or revealing their private areas, which I feel is inappropriate. (No, not true, Vietnam is poor there's no way that someone could dress like that unless they were rich.)

6. She said that I would not like the customs of the Vietnamese people and that they have poor manners, and will burp, fart etc in public areas. (That is not true, most of the Vietnamese people have manners like Americans here at the U.S.)

Hope I helped! :)

Allyson

I am also Vietnamese. I disagree with your mother. It's kind of poor but the beautiful nature of Vietnam is amazing. As a vietnamese person I will always admire its beauty. Saying its dirty and bad manners and bad things happen is wrong as a vietnamese person. Vietnam is a bit dirty because its poor at some places there is nothing wrong with that. They may have some bad manners but who said they burp and fart and all that crap in public they don't! People do not walk around topless they may sometimes take baths in lakes or ponds but otherwise they don't. Vietnam is a great place don't let you parents hold you back from seeing a wonderful and beautiful place.

Hope this helps =D

HQTrang

Is your mother Vietnamese too? If I was a mother, I'd make sure my kids speak Vietnamese well enough and like to go back to my home country. Anyway, here's your answer:

1. Yes, it's dirty, but not that dirty and certainly not everywhere. But defecate on the streets? It's ridiculous.
2. This is even more ridiculous. I'm pretty sure the chances of you being raped in VN are even smaller than in the US. But if you were ever to come here, keep an eye on your things, minor theft is kind of common.
3. Well it depends on how your living conditions back home are. But I don't think my current living conditions in VN are so much worse than an average person in your country.
4. Sure thing VN is superstitious. I'm not sure if it will freak you out. But I've been living here all my life and I myself find superstition ridiculous, yet I hardly recall any time it really annoys me.
5. This is the most ridiculous of all. I'm 100% sure most Vietnamese people reveal much less skin than Americans do.
6. I don't know about this because I'm used to those customs so I find them normal and not sure if they are to your liking.

Personally I think you should go. VN may not be as great as the US but it's not that bad. Plus, you are Vietnamese, don't you wanna experience it just for once?

Phuoc Thien

Hi, my name is Thien and I'm Vietnamese. Now, I am living with may parent in Vietnam.
I don't agree with your mother's opinion.
First, Vietnam is a beautiful country and Vietnamese people are very friendly.
second, Only a few places in Vietnam is so dirty. There're many beutiful destinations to visit.
Next, the Vietnamese foof is very delicios, I like Pho(Vietnamese Original: Phá»Ÿ) best.
Finally, I think you will like Vietnam when you visit Vietnam
_______________A FRIEND FORM VIETNAM__________________

travel_stories

Well, as a tourist rather than a Vietnamese person my view is probably somewhat different............although I visited last year because my daughter and her partner were living in Hanoi - for 18 months.

It is rather sad your Mum feels like that as we found the Vietnamese people very friendly, the country absolutely beautiful and just so much to see and do..............we loved it.

The food is excellent............and while we were warned of taxi scams from the airport, and bag snatching from boys on motorbikes we certainly felt very safe. It may be different for Vietnamese people in the home villages of course.

We mainly went to the central and northern areas rather than Ho Chi Minh where we only stayed overnight..........but I didn't see any dress that was too awful.

They are still superstitious .........we saw a women burning(fake) notes in a dish in the street which I gather is a tradition.

So I would say maybe go.......be aware you need to be careful..........but enjoy it as we did. I personally would recommend it to anyone from my own experience and my daughter always said it was as clean and safe as anywhere...........probably more so than some Western places.They lived in a house owned by Vietnamese locals, worked locally and rode motorbikes etc travelled the country and never had a problem.

Khanh

Is your Mom Vietnamese? If she is, I'm sorry for saying that but I totally absolutely completely really really disagree with her. No I'm not saying what she said is wrong but it's just so unfair. How come she only looks at those bad issues? Did she ever tell you about Vietnam's proudest history, about how beautiful Vietnamese language and culture are? As a Vietnamese, she's supposed to teach their children Vietnamese so they can speak their own language as well as English and courage them to remain our culture, inspire them to love their country, even though they were born and rised up in the U.S. How can she not want their children to come back and see their country, their root, their beginning?
Some of things your Mom said may be true, but not totally. Because:
5. Dress- excuse me! I thought those dress-styles are more likely to be seen in here America? Vietnamese people may dress different than we do because of the different cultures but they don't dress inappropriate at all. Have you ever seen a Vietnamese woman in traditional ao dai? I bet you will love it.
6. Poor manner? Doesn't it sound too harsh? I know they don't usually get lines in stores, markets and waiters/waitresses are not smiling 24/24 like in the U.S. but most visitors said people there are friendly and kind, especially when compareing with fake kindness of some people here in the U.S.
and did you know?
+ Vietnamese food is excellent
+ Nha Trang beach, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Da Lat... are amazing places to visit.
And the most important thing is that you are a Vietnamese. It's enough to defeat all those concerns.Therefore, I extremely courage you to go there.
Hope I helped.

Ã¢?Â¥*Ã¢?Â¥*minituktuk*Ã¢?Â¥*Ã¢?Â¥

so what if it is true. Will you still come here if all your mother's words are real? Well, just come and see!Someone told me that seeing is believing!

ong jon

you go , and make sure you try the watermelon.. it will make up for any shortcomings the country might have !

ps . "rick m" - great answer[ and funny too] "buon" and the rest ,all good answers...
@ "jullie" tu do doc ,hoa binh, ...i never miss a opportunity to pick my nose in public.. freedom is a wonderful thing..
... watermelon and freedom trumps a little garbage in the street ....you go to viet nam.. di choi vui ve nhe...

***Julie***

NO OFFENCE but do your parents hate the culture or something
i was also raised in the U.S and my parents also told me about how dirty it is, the only reason my parents took me there is because..... you can see how they experience and live
but in my case i have a very wealthy family in VN and its very very very beatiful at the beaches and the spas. and you know what they say about "vietnam motto"-Independence,Freedom and happiness
and i hope you have a wonderful time there! :)

Buon_Giorno_VN

Having read your question several times I can't help but feel that your mother's description of Vietnam is more about YOU than it is about Vietnam. She knows you well enough to know you're not going to like it no matter what she says and she doesn't want you busting her chops from the minute you get here. So if you're the whining, picky type then perhaps you should give it a few more years. If you're none of these things then come and experience Vietnam for yourself. You'll have a ball.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: