I will be traveling to Vietnam in a few days. any tips, suggestions of what to expect?

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doug_coomer

I've been living in Vietnam for a couple years now, and it's not so bad. If you're a picky eater then you may have trouble if you travel outside the tourist areas. There are lots of "Western" style restaraunts in Saigon and all the popular beach cities. You can get Italian, Mexican, Indian, pretty much any kind of food you want, but they might prepare it a little bit differently from what you're used to. Just depends on what place you go to. There's one place called "Good Morning Vietnam" (named after the popular movie) that's a chain, and you can find it in many of the tourist cities including Saigon. They have excellent Italian food, and you can safely try some Vietnamese food there if you like. If you really want to try some Vietnamese food, you should stick to the noodle soups. There are alot of different kinds in Vietnam, so you'll have to look and see what you like. These noodle soups are kept boiling all the time, so the risk of bacteria and stuff is lower than at the rice restaurants. Those things can be dangerous. I've been laid up a few times by them.
As far as people go, you'll have to be careful in tourist areas. Watch out for people trying to price-gouge you. People don't find it offensive at all to argue and haggle over prices. It's expected. That other person is dead-on when they say they have the most beautiful girls in the world here. It must be something in the food or water, I don't know. But it is unbelievable!
If you want to go to a good beach, you can go to Nha Trang. Its the best in VN. If you need a place to stay in Saigon, go to Bui Vien Street in District 1. It's also known as the "backpacker's ghetto". You can find new hotel rooms(less than a year old) for about $10US/night. Check out the room before you agree to stay though, cause some of the places are kind of trashy.
That's about all I can think of, if you've got any other questions let me know.

ong jon

.... so i guess you wont be trying the "vit loan"....... absolutly not, if you stay in tourest areas you can eat all the western food you want... especially italian.. and its not bad[ not too bad] food in viet nam is especially fresh and delicious. you dont see too many onions in with the food and then usually they are "pearl onions and you can pick the out. onion is said"hanh tay" seafood is" dac san bien " or "hai dac san". if you dont want these you can say; toi khong biet an[ litteraly; "i dont know how to eat"] dac san bien.. or hanh tay. or you can say; toi khong muon[ i dont want] dac san bien...."khong is pronounced "khum" the rest of the words are pretty much as they are spelled..i'm also a VERY picky eater and when i'm on my own i eat what i want.. a lot of italian... but when i'm fortunate enough to be invited to the home of a viet namese i eat what they put in front of me and usualy enjoi it very much. they serve mostly pork, chicken[ its fine]beef, soup, vegies, and lots of fruit...... i do think they have a phobia about drinking water..... i can drink gallons... they hardly touch the stuff!?!?! you will be just fine, there is a huge assortment of food and it is very cheap. di choi vui ve [ have a happy trip].. ps you will be treated as well ask you act... even better... and do go to nha trang.

Guadalupe Joe

hi
i went to VN a couple years back.. stayed mostly in old Saigon. nice went up the road a few hundred miles and that was nice too...

get ready for anti American road signs and posts. commies still hate us and it keeps them in power. food is good. nice place to go really... and probably the most beautiful women on the planet are there.. have fun

paul n

You won't have a hard time at all. There is a choice of types of food in all the major cities and tourist areas. I would recommend the North of the country. Hanoi is beautiful, safe and friendly. A good hotel runs about $12 - $18 a night.The west lake area is the place to stay there. There are no traffic lights or stop signs, so just watching the ballet on wheels is entertainment as the folks weave their way through. I found the Vietnamese warm shy and most welcoming.
Take a trip to Sapa and Han long bay. Enjoy the beauty. I can't wait to get back

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