Vietnam Travel Tips

Vietnam is so incredibly different from Canada, it's really hard to describe. Having said that, here are a few tips I came up with, in case you ever decide to go.

1. Make sure you have toilet paper/kleenex/napkins with you at all times. Toilet paper in Vietnam is like a seatbelt in Vietnam. Most of the time it isn't there, and nobody seems to care. I'll spare you the details, but half a used kleenex can get you a long way in a pinch.

2. When crossing the street, just go. Don't worry that there are 20 scooters barrelling in on you, they'll avoid you. Whatever you do though, don't speed up or slow down. The scooters miss you by so little, that any change in speed may end up with you getting hit.

3. Advertised english speaking tour guides are like real estate listings indicating a finished basement. You have to see it to believe it. In my opinion, sporadic carpeting and some panelling does not a furnished basement make. Similarly, "yes", "no" and "thank you" does not mean you speak english.

4. Take a ride on a scooter. It's madness, and the crazier the driver, the more fun it is.

5. Get a taxi to drive you on a 2 lane highway (that's one lane in each direction). There are literally 3 lanes of traffic going in each direction. It's insane the way they drive there. Totally unstructured, and reckless, really.

6. Be prepared to eat. Vietnamese people are very accomodating and will fill your plate twice before filling their own once. There's always more food coming, so don't eat more than they do, or you'll regret it.