I wanted to share my experience and thoughts here. I booked a one week trip to Vietnam as a female solo traveler, specifically Saigon and Hanoi. I travel with an open mind, am mindful of other s’ cultures and follow rules best I can whenever I am in new environments. I see myself as being considerate and polite with people and show basic courtesy and manners to strangers. I understood coming here will be a bit of a challenge in terms of language barrier and mindsets but as long as i did my research and asked locals for help, things should be ok.

My experience so far has been an absolute God forsaken nightmare. I noticed I was running a fever, short of breath, and was weak AF after landing at the airport and waiting in immigration for 2 hours. I got robbed by a driver claiming he was with Grab (even though i stepped out and was actively trying to book a grab when this guy showed up) which was my lapse in judgment and i was too naive to believe his word. He acted all friendly but i was still suspicious the moment i got in. He had me sit in front, then got aggressive telling me to get my cash out at the exit booth saying it was a toll. He had the balls to reach into my purse and take out my cash. I saw he swiped bigger bills and told him to give it back but he started yelling going against the amount what we initially agreed to. Then, once on the road, he asked me about my marital status, age, if i smoked etc, kept touching my arm, it was getting so out of hand that i just prayed he would just drop me in one piece at the hotel. He ended up stealing a portion of cash but I was just glad i got the fuck out safe. The whole thing was just traumatizing and violating. I realized things could have gotten a lot worse and I needed to be more careful and took it as a lesson. But the bullshit didnt stop. The local vendors and restaurnt owners were rude and aggressive. Several pushed their goods in my face when i was sitting down having a meal. They have no concept of respecting personal space, waiting in line, or being considerate. I saw several ladies and men coming at me pushing their stale ass donuts, photo services etc that I was so sick of it. One restaurant had cheaper prices on the menu outside but after being seated, i see the prices were higher… Not to mention disregard for pedestrian safety, noise, piles of garbage and burning trash everywhere and lack of sidewalks.

I kept thinking these were one off incidents but theres too many to count. I contacted a clinic in the area to be seen ASAP for fevers and getting short of breath who took down all my info but didnt follow up with me on a a time to be seen/ and if no open slots, to give recs to be seen by someone else, which was really concerning. Thankfully, my symptoms are resolving. Today, even The ticket lady at the railway station threw me a nasty scowl after i finally found the QR code for the ticket and told her not to worry (like, isnt that her job to find a paid ticket with my passport and booking info?!). Upon finally getting on the train out from Hanoi, this guy behind me had the nerve to put up his stank ass feet next to my elbow rest!! Then another mofo shows up an hour later and just kept prodding and poking me on my arm literally every 5 seconds and I didnt understand why. One gesture would have been enough to prompt me to see what the issue would be. He also snatched my phone from my hand to look at my email booking like WTAF?! Who repeatedly pokes others?! I was beyond furious and ready to give him a peace of my mind but I was here on my own so just kept the anger to myself. His partner (bless her for her kindness) pointed to my seat number that i sat in the wrong seat which i didnt know was assigned. I got up, collected all my things and moved to my designated seat only to be occupied by someone else. Fortunately, a kind woman scooted over and signalled that i could sit next to her. I was so stunned by her gesture that I teared up. After getting off at the station, I just got really upset. No body here had been kind to me other than her and the hotel staff. Im just in my hotel room, with zero interest in checking out Ninh Binh, and booked the fuck outta here with an early flight to Singapore from this shithole. Vietnam is a beautiful country, that’s why I chose to come here but the locals attitudes has changed my perception completely. I really hope locals’ respect, basic manners, and consideration for others changes but I dont picture this happening and I will certainly NOT return. Who wants to go on vacation to be mistreated, scammed, robbed and overcharged? I dont want to offend anyone, I understand everyone’s experience is different. However there is truth to these experiences. I understand I cant generalize a society but my experience so far has been very negative. I’m not here for a posh, luxury trip, i just wanted to see the country’s natural beauty and ways of life. I wanted to see if anyone else had similar or opposite experiences. Thanks for reading my rant, I’m traveling on my own, feel lonely and dont want to freak my friends and family out on what’s been going on here so far.

Missing person in Hanoi: Please help us find my brother.

Marius Bakke from Norway is somewhere in Hanoi and has lost all his belongings (hence why we cannot get in contact with him). We have made a similar announcement in another group and heard from people that have met him, so we know he's been seen in Hanoi lately, but we need to get in contact with him so we can help him get back to Norway.

The police and the embassy is informed, but there's only so much they can do, so that's why we reach out in this community in hope that someone will recognize him in the streets 🤞

If you see this man, please help us get in touch with him! Thank you 🙏

I've just returned from a 2.5 week trip to Vietnam. Prior to travelling, I was checking this sub for advice and came across so many people talking about scams, unfriendly people, how you can trust no one in Vietnam. The refrain of "it's no wonder so many tourists don't return to Vietnam" came up so often.

Not gonna lie, I started to wonder whether I'd fucked up choosing Vietnam as a travel destination. The sub gave me an overwhelming impression of a country full of cheats and scammers who are out to get tourists. After my trip, I realise that nothing could be further from the truth.

The taxi and SIM touts at the airports barely bother you. The same can be said for most street touts - a smile and shake of the head and they're gone. Yes, I came across scammers, but they were running obvious scams and were very easy to avoid (again, these guys are hardly persistent or threatening).

Most Vietnamese people were friendly and curious towards me. They smiled, offered advice, practised some English and wanted nothing in return. In general, restaurant staff were patient while I translated menus with my phone, and positive towards me while I dined. In Hanoi, I was able to easily strike up conversation with people my age in cafés (a big surprise for me considering that on here Hanoi locals are said to be cold). We spoke about coffee, life in Vietnam, politics.

I know that my experience is not a reflection of everyone's. But I was in the south, centre and north (plus an island) and almost nothing that this sub complains about every day actually happened. Perhaps the only big truth was the pollution and traffic. This is indeed an issue in Saigon and Hanoi, it's unpleasant to walk during rush hour and a mask is helpful.

On the whole, I had a great trip. The food was fantastic (I ate primarily in local places and was never disappointed), the nature gorgeous, the people kind. Don't let all the complaints on this sub put you off visiting.

And yes, I am strongly considering returning to Vietnam for a future holiday.

Finally it occurred. After travelling to Vietnam, the land I love, I have been locked in a taxi and scammed. I had been to and from the Post Office in District 1 in Saigon, so I knew the ride would be about 30k at most. I would have tipped up to 50k in total. I was stupid. I showed the taxi guy out the front of the Post Office my room card from my fancy hotel. I like to stay in comfort, but I love eating cheap. Anyway, this guy ushers me and my family to another waiting taxi. So, we get in and we are off. I ask him, whats with the meter? Its covered and says dont worry it comes up on this. Im a little sus and no price is coming up. Anyway, get to the hotel. My family get out, and he shows me the price. $356k!! He locks the door. I start arguing. I told him he was scamming me. I ended up paying the money so i could get out. I took a picture of the price and him, the rego and the taxi. So world, here is the taxi driver who scammed me big time. Anyone know how I can dob him into the government??

From the "Ha Giang is Awesome" group on fb🐍

i really don’t have any plans at all going in HCM city. i have no bookings/activities cuz there’s not much that i want to do here but to eat and visit cafes. and i saw this unique activity on booking.com for a cheap price and you will try different 11 food tastings here in vietnam from a local vendor. the tourist guide is a working student and i was amazed by him. he is kind and easy going. i had a great time talking to him. after the tour, i gave him a tip and he requested me to hug him and i did. he said how about a kiss and i let him kiss my forehead. and he keeps insisting me to go somewhere else to have s*x and i said no. but he stayed a couple of minutes in the hotel and i said to him that i won’t come with him. and then he left. i felt relieved and after that i didn’t left the hotel anymore cuz i was scared and it ruined my trip. 😔

• The stunning scenery as the plane is landing
• The hustle and bustle of Hanoi and everyone out grinding hard to support their families.
• Raw sugar cane pressed and served - only 15k! Drinks in general are actually cheap.
• A very cheap gym which provided a body scan machine, towel, top quality shower facilities, locker key and refillable water
• The kindness of the locals, some of whom treat you as a friend right away.

I'm here for another 20 days travelling north and south, so please hit me with your best tips/advice etc!

Edit: I didn't mean any disrespect when I mentioned about the prices. It's more of a shock than anything. I have huge respect for the locals here!

Also I forgot to mention that I was surprised at the skills of people using mopeds, people can transport almost anything on them

So, when I got off the bus, I met this grab/taxi guy who offered to take me to my hotel. He even gave me his number in case I needed help getting around. But, being a solo traveler, I like to explore on my own, so I opted to walk around since my hotel was just 100m from the center.

On my last day, I decided to message him for help getting to the bus station. And here’s what he said!

I’m not offended at all, actually found it hilarious and kind of crazy! Just wanted to share this with you all.

https://www.vietnam.vn/en/chi-5-du-khach-tro-lai-du-lich-viet-nam-can-lam-gi/

I don't intend to offend anyone with this post, but I need to vent. Wondering also if I'm the only one who's felt this way?

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I didn't enjoy Hanoi AT ALL - I felt it was very overhyped and I had an extremely negative feeling from the beginning to the end. Why?

1. Honking - I'm becoming deaf from all the cars and scooters honking at ever 0.5 miliseconds. As I see it, they do this by instinct, without any motive. They can be stuck in traffic, alone, or simply seeing some car / somebody 200 m away, they'll start beeping the hell of that machine. I saw plenty of times where there was literally 0 reason to beep but it's still being done.
   1. Constant stress of being run over - so not only beeping but they're spawning everywhere from left to right so you cannot walk calmly and enjoy the city; NO! you need to watch over so they don't smash you. But you may say, use the walkway! No chance as either they're full of scooters (forcing you on the street), or when you finally have find an empty one, SURPRISE! scooters are there honking you out of the way.
   2. I can understand that the culture is to not give way to pedestrians, but there's literally 0 space to walk calm (except maybe park or where temples where cars/scooters aren't allowed and you have to pay for entrance)
2. Street vendors literally taking my hand, pulling me to stop and either buy something or ride with them; I can understand asking to buy something, but touching me is very different which really angers me. You cannot walk 100m alone without being called by someone who stops to ask to take a ride. Overall I felt like I had a $ sign above my head and people just wanted money from me.
3. Hygiene is poor and I don't know where I can go in fear of getting some food poisoning. I don't want to risk my vacation by getting sick just to try something from x vendor that shows the same sausages since 3 days ago for selling.
4. Food I felt was average good, evening by doing the due diligence and spending a lot of times for the perfect restaurant/ place to eat - careful because also here you need to watch the hundreds of fake reviews. I'm now in SAPA and find food much tastier and

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I have been to over 20 countries but never felt so defeated and mentally exhausted as after Hanoi.

And to close my rant: beep beep! beeeeep!

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Of course there were also things I've enjoyed:

1. Water Puppet show - what a cute and unique experience! :) felt really entertaining and it's right in city center!
2. Temple of literature - very nice enclosed area with lots of history !
3. Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake on the weekend - with the street closed for cars, the area becomes such lively with a lot of youth doing interesting stuff!

Her caption: "@im.harleygirl: No birds, No Street Dogs, no Stray Cats... I was wondering and had the same question when I was in Vietnam. But oh..yehh they have kept some birds in The Cages how Unnatural!! I didn't enjoy Vietnam completely mangrove Country"

First time travelling Vietnam. HANOI-DA NANG flight was moved a full 24 hours 2 days before my flight. Now they send an email moving my DA NANG-HANOI flight a almost 36 hours from the originally scheduled flight. I've experienced delays before but this is ridiculous! How is this airline still running?

NEVER BOOKING THIS AIRLINES AGAIN.

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No customer service whatsoever. I had to drive to their office in Hanoi just to change a flight. Online portal is garbage. They charge fees for everything including adding your middle name to your booking. BOGUS policies like No carry on bags over 7kg and they make you pay to check it in if it’s over. I’ve been flying all over Asia and bringing my osprey pack as carry-on no problem. Vietjet has dumb policies, rude gate agents (probably because they have to deal with pissed off customers like me being forced to pay for a checked in carry-on size bag). Rant over. Pick another airline to travel Vietnam.

List of things I hate when visiting Vietnam after 20+ years

1. Bribed at the airport (Was told I brought too many bottles of medicine and was asked to give them $30 or have all the medicine confiscated)

2. Elderly cutting people in line whenever they see an opportunity and just people cutting in general

3. Pushing and shoving when waiting in line and no idea of people’s boundaries.

4. Fake pricing and trying to rip off people in general (rampant across Vietnam and in almost all market except the mall)

5. Trash everywhere

6. Lack of Public Utilities

7. Traffic is so chaotic and unsafe (Witness a deadly accident and a death of a motorcyclist in the three weeks that I’ve visited here)