Vietnam - part 2!
A magical road, incredible scenery... and did we ever see our bag again?
Well folks, I left you last time as we eased our way out of a cold, dusty Khe Sahn, and starting on that magical ribbon of concrete, that winds its way through the mountains of central Vietnam and was so historically important in their war efforts. We’d already ridden through the DMZ the previous day and seen all sorts of reminders of the war as we past… but were now heading somewhere far more rural! I got a few questions about Vietnam on my part 1 too, around safety, and packing and various bits so I’ll answer those at the bottom of this in case they’re useful to a few of you!
As before - this is free for all to read - as well, I’ve no idea if it’s even remotely interesting to people! Perhaps one day my travel content will be in demand enough to charge for haha but for now, I’ll save the paid subscriber only posts for the ones I think are most interesting to said subscribers, but, if you’d like to follow along, for free, and aren’t already, please click the button below to subscribe - and of course, if you would like to upgrade to paid subscription I would be only too delighted!
By the time we’d done, we’d completed about 200 miles in this one day. In that time we maybe saw 2 cars… a good couple of handfuls of motorbikes, some small villages, with dogs and chickens roaming free and seemingly cohabiting beautifully, lots of smiling children waving as we went past, running down the steps of their houses, built on stilts by the side of the road and amongst the fields… lots of cattle and buffalo… and that’s about it in terms of people! It really is a place that feels untouched by tourism, or time really and it’s hard to imagine life has changed much in the last few decades.
200 miles doesn’t sound like a lot on a bike, and I don’t generally hang around when riding one… but the whole route, is a single lane, of sectioned concrete, that doesn’t have a straight bit amongst it. (apart from one section of very straight road, actually used as a runway during the war!).
Turn after turn - often of a hairpin variety, with enormous drops to the valleys below, and frequently with little in the way to stop you teetering over the edge should your cornering be somewhat enthusiastic keep average speeds low and being fully laden, with an inexperienced pillion, on a dubiously maintained steed mean I kept risks low (if you asked Cot if this was true, she might have a different answer but perspective is key of course and I was the one riding!).
Combined with the fact that, around every corner, there was a view that made you say ‘WOW’… and I was certainly wanting to enjoy that - plus the frequent stops needed to alleviate ‘bikers arse’ - the numbing pain that comes from the torturous device they call the saddle… meant progress was steady, but stunning! It’s hard to imagine places like this, as untouched as it felt, still exist - so was a real honour to be riding through it and something I’ll always remember!
And all was well, until about 4 hours in, the rain once again settled in… heavy and persistent this time… and a little after that… the mist… the same as the day before except this time on significantly harder roads… made the last little bit in the mountains a challenge… riding a motorbike, especially a heavy, well laden one - in an unfamiliar country, on incredible, but tough roads (which frequently turned ‘off road’), require an enormous amount of concentration, and arm strength. Add in the cattle that could be in the middle of the road at any point - as could their dung - big enough I’m sure to send us into the bushes if I hit it at the wrong angle… and well, it had gone from ‘fun’ to… blimey this is a bit of an adventure!
Of course usually one could perhaps find a little cafe to recover in for half an hour… refreshed and ready to tackle the final leg - but there was no such cafe here… we did stop for 5 minutes in which I drank a Vietnamese red bull (not something I am wont to do typically, but it’s what the shop had and at the time I was very glad of… it was like rocket fuel) and ate some soggy pringles in the rain - they love a pringle out there seemingly… but standing in the rain eating pringles isn’t quite the same - so we ploughed on!
Thankfully as we came down the mountains and into the valley in which Phong Nha sits, the weather cleared too - just in time, in fact for us to find a quiet, beautiful little riverside cafe after we’d arrived at our hotel and gotten washed up… and we were treated to the most beautiful sunset over the river - the boats coming back from caving trips floating beneath us, and as we reflected on a pretty epic day, we were very satisfied indeed!
Phong Nha is a curious little town, in the most beautiful location. The surrounding area has incredible limestone cliffs, and it’s main claim to fame is it’s caves - indeed the world’s largest is here! It’s on the back of these that it’s become a spot for tourists looking for a spot of adventure - whether that’s caving or clambering up waterfalls, there were definitely a good few traveller types here. With that came a slightly better choice of hotel and restaurant than the night before and the whole place really was quite stunning, especially as you got out of town slightly.
We spent our first evening just pottering through the town, marvelling at the cliffs beyond and enjoying a few beers. We’d 2 nights here in total so the next day we could relax (ha!) and re-energise, before the next leg north.
Of course we got up the next day, early - our bodies fairly conditioned to this now (Cot’s a naturally early riser - I am a night owl!), and the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day so… we wheeled the bike back out, and thought we’d do a little sight seeing loop!
A truly beautiful landscape and people… I had a vague loop in mind, but really the best bits come when you ignore google maps (it is built for cars, and so much of Vietnams ‘road’ network is designed for humans, cows, bicycles and motorcycles!), so I’d follow my nose a bit and, as is almost always the way, this is when you find the magic.
And bridges! The sort of bridges you see on travel programmes.. the ones that look like they’re held up by wishful thinking, hope, and bits of string… well, I was in heaven - Cot… somewhat less so - but they led to little villages, hidden corners and basically I’m now convinced anywhere you want to try and get lost in Vietnam, you’re almost guaranteed to just see beautiful things everywhere you look. It truly is just gorgeous and fun and interesting.
Well, inevitably when you get lost and see nice things, we were out way longer than anticipated… but did manage to make it back in time for a couple of beers by the pool, a quick swim and to see the sunset go down over the rice paddies from the pool.
Which brings me onto the hotel.
I mentioned Phong Nha has more options than Khe Sahn, which is absolutely true - but a lot of these are perhaps aimed at a more ‘backpacker’ traveller than us. Certainly it’s something I’m not adverse to… I’ve done plenty in my time… but Cot, certainly has a slightly higher expectation than me where it’s possible to have something just a little nicer… and given she’s already well out her comfort zone on the bike I’m certainly happy to oblige - and my aging, aching body is certainly happier with a comfortable bed now a days!
And the difference between backpacker accomodation and something the next level up in Vietnam, is between £5 and £10 a night, so for us, felt like a worthwhile upgrade - if we were staying for 6 months and trying to maximise our time out here on a budget, we’d certainly be happy to downgrade.
We settled on Karst Villas Phong Nha. For £27 a night you got a large and well equipped bungalow overlooking the rice fields with the most amazing scenes of butterflies and bats and buffalo just outside the terrace. There was also a nice pool, cold beers, and the service was OK!
But what the listings failed to mention was the fact there was an enormous hotel being built next door, almost comically close (you wouldn’t have been able to walk between them)… Cot did a rather brilliant ‘Instagram vs. reality’ shot of me in the pool. Look one way and you’re in Vietnamese paradise, the sun setting over the paddies… turn 90 degrees and there’s billowing concrete dust and the sound of angle grinders!
The angle grinders and power tools started at 7am through to 7pm, 7 days a week.
It’s comical really because this little place was a couple of miles out of town, in the fields, with nothing else around it at all… and we’d picked this spot for a bit of R&R after our big day and it didn’t really deliver so alas, it’s not somewhere I can recommend - but absolutely do go to Phong Nga - it’s wonderful! The hotel they’re building looks good to so - perhaps once it’s finished haha!
After another night, it was time to go to Vinh. A large city, no tourist seems to go to (or have much good to say about it at least). There aren’t really any sights to see… the Vietnamese though are investing hugely in it, hoping it’s going to become a business hub… but, it’s not really somewhere you’d put on your list to visit unless you had to, which - we did… needing to break up the journey before the next stop proper.
The less said about the ride the better… the first hour coming down the mountains was lovely… then it started raining… then everything got a bit industrial and there were trucks everywhere… spraying up the filthiest brown, muddy, silty water from the road that you could imagine! Our bike gear was made of mesh, to allow for cooling in what we thought would be warm, sunny Vietnam, and let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like the trickle of cold, muddy, gritty water through your trousers, pants and puddling under your nether regions to make you wish your time away!
So we arrived into Vinh looking, well, a bit shabby to say the least! And to make things more comical - a brand new, very shiny, high rise ‘Sheraton’ had just been built and for £50 a night I thought that would be a nice little treat…
So as we walked into the very, very glossy reception - leaving footprints in our wake we were feeling a little coy. I have to say they were marvellous at not showing any distaste for our distinctly non-5 star appearance! I’d made good time (desperate to arrive and get out the rain!), and our room wasn’t quite ready so we had a coffee in their lobby cafe, feeling very shabby and, well, were thoroughly entertained for an hour or two!
As the glossiest, fanciest, most happening new spot in Vinh it seems to now be the haunt of the influencer ladies and gents… we were treated to photo shoots happening before our very eyes… there were many outfit and hair changes, many angles and poses, lots of faux work happening on laptops and the same (definitely stone cold) Latte being passed around as the all important prop. Thoroughly entertaining whilst we were sat there very much in our scruffs admiring all the glamour and gloss around
Fair play to the Sheraton - it’s very nice indeed - for £50 it was a pretty stonking room - their cheapest but still enormous - a comfortable bed - a lovely free standing bath - all mod cons… and it included the most ridiculously lavish breakfast buffet I’ve ever seen!
We actually really liked Vinh itself - going with low expectations helps, but we went to see the statue of their beloved ‘Ho Chi Minh’ - this was his birthplace, had a beer or two, and then went for a much more lavish sushi dinner than we’d expected. After eating lots of noodles sitting on plastic stools this felt like a real treat and a bit unusual… again, it seems it was ‘the place to be seen in Vinh’ as people were taking endless selfies and live streaming their very posh looking dinners - and outside was a stage with vast amounts of fake flowers for more selfies and I’m sure later on, the obligatory Karaoke! Lots of fun! I think my favourite bit though was how friendly the kids were - we passed a big school as it was kicking out and there was lots of giggling and nervousness as they came up to say hi and ask questions!
The next day we were heading North to Pu Luong.
The ride was OK… until we got maybe 10 miles away, when it became extraordinary. Pu Luong is I think a big nature reserve with amazing rice paddies, traditional Thai/Muong villages, roast duck, insane limestone scenery, waterfalls and general lovely nature and what not.
I’d decided to include this quite last minute, and goodness I’m glad I did. The scenery was extraordinary! Bamboo bridges, incredible water wheels that raise water from the rivers to irrigate the rice paddies… some tourism, but not all that much and it’s a bit of off the beaten path.
It doesn’t really have a central town as such. Just bits by the side of the road, and honestly there really isn’t a lot there - you’re really there for the nature, the views and on that front it does not disappoint.
We took the bike out for a day and it was so beautiful, and so mountainous we just kept on going - covering another 150 miles when we really weren’t meant to but it was all just jaw dropping and we wanted to see as much as we could!
Accomodation wise, there’s bits there… all a bit mixed looking. We went for one that’s quite newly opened… and looks great in the pictures - it’s quite great too in the flesh, but they could use a bit of MWAH advice (chortle) when it comes to the rooms - especially around lighting! But, all in all not too bad, and a great location for exploring (you’ll need a bicycle at least, a moped or motorbike would be better!).
It was called Asia Tropical resort and spa. There’s not really a spa as such - just a beauty/treatment room (we had a very good, very cheap massage there). Breakfast is chaotic but fine… dinner the same (we ate there more than I expected to - I generally don’t love eating in hotel restaurants, preferring to go exploring for local treats, but it wasn’t walkable to anything - Grab (their uber) wasn’t any good either and obviously drinking beers and riding a motorcycle isn’t a good idea and when on my hols I like a beer with dinner!), but all in all - a nice stay that could have been a brilliant stay with a few tweaks! I think it was about £50 a night. There’s cheaper options there… and more expensive! It’s not a ‘cheap’ stop accomodation wise.
We had 3 days there. Pu Luong itself is truly a bit like paradise and somewhere I’d love to go back for a couple of weeks of lazing and hiking and waterfall exploring at a lovely slow pace - one day maybe!
Then… it was on to Tam Coc, in the Nimh Binh region. I mentioned in the first post, that nothing here was sponsored, an ad or anything else… apart from this next stay. Cot, unsurprisingly, wanted to have just a little luxury after merrily going along with all my adventurous plans… and I was only too happy to go along haha - so, whilst this was Cot’s ad - and this little write up wasn’t required/expected and nothing to do with me - as always I want to be as transparent as I can as I definitely benefitted from Cot’s efforts when she reached out to Jiva unbeknownst to me! I also wanted to include it as otherwise there’d have been a gap in our trip haha!
Again, we arrived looking very dishevelled and at first were a bit taken aback. It had been a really nice ride, and we’d stopped at an amazing bear sanctuary run by an American charity that rescues bears used in the barbaric bile trade. Once we left there, and got closer to Nimh Binh, it wasn’t quite the rural idyll we’d imagined.
Firstly, it was chaotic with heavy industry - it’s a limestone region so I can only assume they’re using that for something - but it was dusty and dirty and crowded with trucks… Then it got pretty… but BUSY with tourists! We’d inadvertently turned up at I think the time a lot of the boats come back from their trip and the next lot get on, and had to ride the (very big, heavy) bike past what felt like a million people (and in all seriousness, was probably about 1000), all wearing orange life jackets and rammed onto the lakeside awaiting their boats!
It was chaos… and not quite the serene retreat I think we’d planned… but we needn’t have worried… we rode past the chaos, and crowds… over a bridge… along the river… and then down a private little drive, nestled beneath the cliffs… ending up at Jiva Hoa Lu retreat.
I’m not going to say too much about it - I don’t want it to feel too ‘adverty’ here for this - Cot did a post about it which covers it beautifully if you’d like to read more - or ask away if you’ve any questions - but, it was in one of the most jaw dropping locations I’ve ever stayed in, and there’s some pictures here to give you a bit of a taste… It definitely wouldn’t have fitted within our budget otherwise, and around Tam Coc there’s lots of options at any budget given how busy with tourism it is, but this certainly was a lovely treat!
As for Nimh Binh itself. It’s billed as 'the Ha Long Bay’ of the land. Now, I’ve not actually been to Ha Long Bay… it is apparently one of the must do things in Vietnam from a tourism perspective - Cot did it last time and enjoyed it… it certainly looks beautiful with thousands of tiny islands jutting out of the sea - but, it requires say a 3 day boat trip, staying on the boat which has never appealed to me personally… I’ve not done much boating… I’m sure I’ll try it one day - but it always seems quite expensive, and I fear I might be bored/miss being able to follow my nose and adventure, find interesting food and places etc.
So, to go to the land version seemed sensible!
The most famous things to do here are the boat trips. One from Tam Coc I just mentioned above, and one a bit further up. Well, after recharging batteries the first afternoon, we went riding to have a bit of an explore… and found that the boaty bits were very, very busy! And whilst I’m sure they’re still beautiful and interesting - we just didn’t fancy it (people do recommend doing them for opening which is probably 5.30am or something - which frankly feels like we’d be punishing ourselves for something!).
I think having the motorbike (and having come from places with relatively little tourism!) spoils you a bit, giving you the opportunity to reach lesser visited spots, and it was no different here as, a mile or two up the road you end up with very few people and the same views.
I suppose that’s one thing social media is doing to travel - making the mega sites more accessible by sharing information - which is grand of course… but means when you want to get away from that, you just have to try a little harder - no bad thing!
So - we didn’t go boating… instead soaking up the views from the bike and on foot… finding little temples to visit, drinking excellent coffee, exploring little tracks and seeing the sites that way…
There’s two main towns in Nimh Binh… Tam Coc and Hoa Lu… and in my humble opinion, neither are much cop during the day. So, when in Nimh Binh your days are best spent heading out to see the sights, or hiking and exploring the nature, or depending on your hotel, relaxing by the pool - we did a bit of all the above though sadly it was just slightly too chilly to really properly relax by the pool - maybe next time!
But, come the evening - both come alive! And both with quite a different feel!
The first night, we walked into Tam Coc. There’s no getting around it, this is a little tourist town… it was very, very busy with tourists of all ages - well dressed couples in their 60’s and onwards… 20 years old backpackers and everything in between with a melting pot of languages and colours.
No one can say it’s anything remotely close to an authentic Vietnamese experience - but - it’s loads of fun. Especially after a lot of more rural stays, I was thoroughly enjoying all the bars, the smoke from the street food stalls, the noise and music and terrible Bob Marley singers… it’s not fancy, but it’s very charming in its own way and has pretty bits. It’s also got some great food and cheap, cold beers and is a grand place to sit and watch the busy street beyond coming and going. I thoroughly enjoyed the couple of nights we pottered around there, soaking up the buzz, snacking and boozing and generally having a lovely time with Cot.
We had one evening at the hotel too just enjoying that… and one night we went and explored Hoa Lu. We’d ridden through it during the day and well, didn’t think all that much to it, so nearly didn’t bother… but when we jumped out the grab, we were both a bit dumbstruck!
The whole thing (well, the old bit and walking street), on the river, are beautifully lit, with a couple of ancient temples… it was bustling with locals (more locals than tourists certainly), and noise and food and kids taking selfies - it was so much fun!
There’s not loads and loads to see, but it’s just lovely to potter and snack and watch this slice of life unfold before you - there was a really nice atmosphere… families out for an evening stroll - kids chomping down sweets - people singing and dancing - lots and lots of food - lots of selfies being taken - boats on the lake. It had the feeling of a tiny slice of Hoi An, from the beginning of the trip, but without the hoards of tourists!
Finally one thing we did do, which was very touristy, was head up to ‘Lying Dragon Mountain’… there’s some gorgeous insta type pics of people serenely standing by this statue as the sun drops - all I can think is that it’s AI.
We deliberately didn’t go at sunset… It’s meant to be stunning (and looks it in the pictures!), but given how busy the boats were, we knew it would be rammed haha - and frankly, sunset is pretty stunning everywhere in Vietnam, and even better if enjoyed with a cold glass of something in hand as far as I’m concerned!
So, we went mid afternoon… and it was still pretty busy! It’s a short, sharp pull up about 500 very steep stone steps… and you’re rewarded with both stunning views, and comical chaos at the top. I absolutely love that Vietnam is, by and large, not all that touched yet by health and safety so, other than a bit of string at ankle height, there was absolutely nothing to stop you plummeting to your death - lots of fun!
Definitely worth the trip - partly for the comedy, partly for the views! There’s some nice bits at the bottom too - pontoons across paddys that they’ve planted with flowers - we weren’t in the right season to see them blooming but if you were it would be stunning!
Well, finally, we were done with our 4 nights in Nimh Binh, and were heading for the last couple of the holiday in Hanoi, braving the chaos of the traffic to return the bike, hopefully get our bag back and spend the last few days on foot!
The traffic in fairness, was fine. I was a bit worried - the year before we’d ridden the tuktuk 1000 miles around Sri Lanka… and it was all fine apart from the last day driving into Columbo where the traffic was insane… and in a tuk-tuk you’re absolutely at the mercy of it all - it was a bit hideous and after 2 hours in heavy traffic I was a bit knackered!
Well, Hanoi has a gazillion motorcycles everywhere… but it all sort of works - bikes are obviously a lot more maneuverable and the whole thing flows - I’m also far more comfortable on one than I was the Tuk, and my bike was bigger and faster than all the scooters around me, so I could basically pick my line - but my point being, if you’re worried about riding in Hanoi - don’t be - it looks a lot worse than it actually is!
We were staying in the old quarter as most toursits do - and basically spent our time walking everywhere and seeing what we fancied, with no specific plans. Cot wanted to see train street - so we headed there first. We weren’t there at the right time to see the train - we could have waited - but, in my opinion, it’s the single most overhyped, touristy thing in the whole of Vietnam that I’ve seen… it’s the only place where the hawkers were insistent/annoying, the prices very inflated - full of tourists… and I just don’t get it - maybe because I’ve walked on the tracks in lots of countries, seen trains roll past inches from us in Sri Lanka and India - I mean, you can see that in the UK if you like - the only difference is that here you can do it whilst drinking coffee at a little table at a tourist trap - I just don’t get it!
So, we took a picture - and moved on.
Beyond that… I recommend just wandering. Seeing the life, the old streets. Hanoi was probably the place most changed in the 8 years I was there. It’s famous ‘beer street’ 8 years ago was charming - a brilliant mix of locals and tourists all having a great time together - now it felt a lot more aimed at tourists, way too busy and a little bit edgy…
We wandered through it once, sat on the periphery with a beer, and then avoided it - easily done - and the rest is loads of fun! It’s a city you could spend a long time getting to know - but also 2 nights/3 days is enough to get a good feel for it.
Exploring the back streets, the alley ways, the unknown spots - there’s nowhere quite like it in the world.
There’s incredible food everywhere - at every price point - the Pho I’m wolfing down was the best of the trip - in a Michelin bib gourmand spot, on the street, for a few quid! It’s colourful and noisy and brilliant! There’s swanky, expensive cocktails… there’s 20p glasses of beer on the street (my favourite!) - often with entertainment… that’s a chap pushing around a massive PA whilst singing Karaoke in the gallery below… there’s people trying to, not very subtly, sell you drugs - thankfully we didn’t see anyone say yes - it’s a great city I loved it!
We stayed at the Peridot Gallery Classic hotel. Absolutely perfect location - a small, windowless room but very comfortable and more than adequate for a couple of nights - a quiet room and comfortable bed. Quite glam area for breakfast - a rooftop bar and big jacuzzi and really good service - perfect for what we needed for a couple of nights and £50 a night. You can definitely pay less but this felt about the right balance - some very swish places too - but we were hardly in the room other than for sleeping so didn’t see the point! The communal areas are definitely swankier than the rooms, which are probably do a bit of a refresh, but it’s honestly fine.
Phew… well… there endeth our little adventure!
I’m going to do a little FAQ now of Vietnam travel generally - obviously we’re not experts and these are just our experiences… but hopefully there helpful and - if you’ve any questions, drop them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Is it safe?
We’ve both been asked this a lot - and someone asked me specifically if Cot would feel safe without me there.
It’s fair to say, I’ve a fairly devil may care attitude towards danger, safety and all that jazz… I enjoy risk (am often blind to it), and am fortunate to be a chap, and a fairly big one at that, so aren’t exactly an obvious target. The two times I’ve had guns pointed at me (Thailand and South Africa - stories for another substack perhaps) I found the experience adventerous and exciting rather than scary… so, I might not be the best judge. Cot, is exactly the opposite, assumes the worst and is generally quite risk averse.
We would both agree, Vietnam felt like one of the safest places we’ve been. Obviously England is a jolly safe place, but Vietnam I would say probably felt even safer. Again, there might be more to it than this, but one of the things I love about Vietnam, is that women, generally, seem to be very safe. Everywhere we went, we saw groups of young girls out on their own, enjoying their evening, eating and drinking and generally doing as they wished. There was more than one example of me leaving a tip, for someone to come running down the road to try and give me my change, thinking I’d left too much… we weren’t once scammed or anything like that. We didn’t see any violence - they’re even nice on the whole to their dogs etc.
So, whilst - like everywhere in the world, there might be exceptions, and you shouldn’t be daft… if I had a 21 year old daughter that wanted to travel around Vietnam, I wouldn’t be too worried - the only real exception was the beer street in Hanoi - and it still wasn’t bad… and the other is for people thinking about doing the Ha Giang Loop…
Most people, when we said we’re doing a motorbike adventure in Vietnam, assumed we meant the Ha Giang loop. It’s in Northern Vietnam and is a short (about 200 ish) mile, very beautiful loop in a rural, mountainous region.
A few years ago, it started getting very, very popular. Social media is full of people doing it. I did lots of research and pretty quickly ruled it out. Literally thousands of people a week are doing it - in large groups - more often than not sitting on the back of a bike ridden by a Vietnamese. There’s often lots of drinking and karaoke in the dorms at night, bad beds, and whilst there’s thousands that have done it without incident, we saw people whilst we were there that got injured doing it and sadly, just after we were back, a british girl died doing it.
It seems its full of young backpacker types doing it now as an experience - and more power to them - but, it’s not for us, and from a safety perspective - I would just say do your research! Were it quiet - we’d likely have loved to do it (probably in a day or two rather than the 4 it takes)… but there’s so much of Vietnam that’s relatively unexplored, I can’t see the appeal if you’re really interested in having a motorcycle adventure (rather than an experience/party with fellow backpackers). I just wanted to stick that in there - in fact, all motorcycling, anywhere in the world obviously comes with a bit of a warning - but I’d say it was safer there than riding in the UK now.
Is it cheap?
Yes. Very. Like everywhere - there’s a range, but Vietnam is undoubtedly one of the cheapest places I’ve ever been to travel (that list includes other cheap places like India and Thailand).
Assuming you’re a bit like me and want something comfortable, I’d say accommodation in most places at around the £25-30 a night mark will be very nice, if not ‘lux’ (and in more rural or less visited places, this might be the top tier of accommodation available!). £50-60 a night will get you something relatively luxurious in most places - fancy swimming pools and breakfasts, large very comfortable rooms.
There’s lots far less than £20 too, which would be perfectly acceptable - aircon etc. and clean. My main issue as you get cheaper than £20, is the beds. The Vietnamese like about as much padding on their beds as they have on their bodies (on the whole they’re a very healthy, slim people!). Alas I need some softness and ache horribly after a night on a hard bed. If I was ever travelling at a low budget, I would always take an airbed with me - the rest I don’t mind - but £5-10 a night is doable if you’re really stretching the pennies - but I’ll assume most of you aren’t looking at extended, backpacking type trips.
There’s another catagory of accommodation - homestays - a bit like a ‘bed and breakfast’ - where you’re staying in someones home, often in STUNNING locations… and you typically have dinner there too - family style.
From my research, these can be hit and miss - some amazing - some less so - and some with very hard beds. With a relatively short stop in each location, I daren’t risk it - I think you could have some amazing experiences staying in places like this and would definitely explore them if I were on some kind of extended travel… but not on this trip, and do your research!
Touristy experiences generally tend to be very cheap - if they’re not, you might be getting fleeced!
Travel is also cheap - whether that’s Grabs (their Uber - always in our experience very safe and does what it’s meant to do - it’s widely considered a good idea to avoid taxi’s and if you can’t, agree a fixed fare), their super luxe busses that you can sleep on, or their trains, are amazing value. As an example, a ride from Hanoi to the airport, at 10pm, in quite a swanky electric car, cost about £7 for nearly an hours journey. A few miles is about 60p to £1.
Food is cheap (more below), as is booze - basically - everything is great value…
Is the food safe (and good)?
The food is amazing! Some of the best in the world. It’s also not that spicy, unless you add your own chilli - I always did - Cot, who doesn’t love chilli heat - didn’t - so that’s really easy! In terms of safety - I’d say it’s the best place in Asia for food hygiene and similar. In three weeks - of eating everything everywhere and not being that careful - neither of us had stomach issues. The ice is safe, raw veggies are safe (what we found anyway) - essentially, because the locals can’t drink the water either, nothing is ever washed in water that hasn’t been treated/boiled etc.
We ate on the street, had snacks everywhere - it just isn’t an issue over there in our experience.
Some things to be aware of. Whilst there’s tons of veggies with most meals, it can be quite meat heavy - even if it’s just a bone broth… if you’re a strict veggie/vegan, there’s tons of options - even veggie only places, but in some places there won’t be anything. A lot of the restauraunt’s just do one dish so if it’s got meat in - that’s what they do. Cot doesn’t eat pork, so it ruled a lot of places out (they eat a LOT of pork. It’s delicious).
There may be bits of meat you don’t recognise. We did see dog in one place on the back of the bike(Cot finds this very sad… but you just have to accept it’s a different culture - shaped by a very turbulent, war torn past), but you’re unlikely to exxperience it close up in somewhere you’re likely to eat. But in a bowl of Beef Pho there might be tendons or intestine - all fine, and not going to make you poorly etc. just something to be aware of - similarly un bo bun hue there’s things like (very delicious) blood sausage and similar. But if you’re a bit squeemish, to be forewarned is forearmed.
Bahn Mi - their sandwiches - always delicious and cheap… their coffee is incredibly good with lots of variety…
Street food is usually excellent - but more formal places good too if you need a normally sized chair.
Other tips
Cash is king. We struggled in lots of places with card and contactless payments. Locals pay on a qr code - we couldn’t get it to work. Most hotels will take card payments however.
You can take money out from cash machines, but they do charge, and have low ish limits per day.
Weather - I could write a whole post on this but all I can say is, do your research, and even if you get the research right - expect the unexpected - the weather should have been glorious when we were there - it wasn’t. It’s a very long country with different weather in different areas. If you’re desperate for sunny beaches etc. Vietnam might not be for you!
Final thoughts
It’s a country I love dearly. Cot loved it too - but missed the wildlife of some other places like Sri Lanka (there’s very little in Vietnam comparitively). The weather can cause some issues, but beyond that - it’s fantastic. It’s also really easy. If you’re new to Asia, it’s not somewhere you need to be scared of or worried about - it’s no more complicated to travel there than it would be in France or Spain. English is well spoken, the people are lovely and friendly and it’s safe, cheap, and the food is amazing.
We both agreed it’s somewhere we could see ourselves spending big chunks of time/living. In the longer term, I imagine both of us would like, if possible, to live for a chunk of the year somewhere else… partly for fun… partly to reduce our outgoings as we maybe move into some kind of semi-retirement/hybrid working one day in the distant future, and Vietnam is likely top of that list for now. Partly it’s beauty and all the things it offers, partly the costs there, and partly just because it would be very easy and comfortable to live there because things work reasonably well unlike some other parts of Asia I might have been haha!
PHEW
These have been long posts! I’m glad some of you have enjoyed them but please do feed back, ask questions and generally let me know how you found them - there’s a few days work between these two posts but it’s been very enjoyable indeed and hope you’ve enjoyed reading… has it made you tempted to give it a go?
Ah that's very kind indeed thank you so much
It all sounds great fun & a huge adventure,thiugh the twisty mountain roads would have me in a gibbering heap on the floor.I think you could add a career as a travel guide to your many talents,it’s good to read an honest “ unsponsored “ post!Great stuff!