Going to Vietnam! Any tips?

Scam · 8 Oct 2019 at 17:03

We finally booked a last minute tour of Vietnam, departing at the end of this month.

10 days total. Itinerary is roughly Hanoi, overnight boat in Halong Bay, overnight train to Hue, couple of days in Hue, couple of days in Hoi An, fly to HCMC, Mekong Delta tour, back to HCMC.

So, pretty hectic! I know @Nitefly and @MartinPrince had some pointers. Any more would be awesome; we don't have long to get organised! Interested in good photography opportunities, and obviously the food. I've already been recommended a street food tour in HCMC for our last day

Also, did anyone bother with the malaria drugs? My girlfriend is set against it as it makes you feel awful apparently :confused:

Scam · 9 Oct 2019 at 17:21

Yes that's great thanks @martin363 excellent info there. Question regarding the USD posted above, do they use USD there? :confused:

EDIT: Also is it safe to say a lot of Vietnamese food is really 'made' by adding all the accoutrements? Like Pho, you add your extra fish sauce, sweet soy/etc., herbs, chili oil etc? We've tried Pho before and my girlfriend wasn't a massive fan but she is never one for condiments and didn't add any. Do I need to explain to her this is how it should be eaten?

Scam · 10 Oct 2019 at 13:24

Very cool. I'm looking forward to lots of Pho, Banh Mi and Bahn Xeo for sure. Any other foodstuffs we should hunt out?

Scam · 10 Oct 2019 at 13:33

Raymond Lin said:
Egg coffee.

Err pass

But I keep forgetting that Vietnamese coffee should be on my list.

Scam · 11 Oct 2019 at 16:42

Rotty said:
Home Finest is very good in HCM as is Ly Club

Home Hoi An (same owners) is great, Morning Glory in Hoi An also really good

Thanks for the suggestions. These looks quite fancy (although obviously they are not expensive for us). I have saved them. Do you have any less salubrious places we should check out? Or am I kidding myself we're going to be eating in little shacks every night like Obama and Anthony Bourdain?

We managed to eat 99% of our meals at hawker markets in Singapore for example, and the one meal we ate in a restaurant was awful. Is this not the case in Vietnam?

Scam · 14 Oct 2019 at 11:24

Kemik said:
If using a taxi company - use Mai Linh or Vinasun only. Do not use any other, even if they have a meter. I found out myself when we got ripped off at the airport

We're going to book a transfer to/from the airport - because life is too short and I don't want to start a holiday that way. I doubt we'll get many taxis, although this brings to mind the fact I haven't actually investigated the best way to get around the big cities. Are there Tube/Metro systems in Hanoi or HCMC? :confused:

Also, need to investigate vaccinations properly. We went to Cuba 3 years ago so thinking we're still covered. Would like to double check though.