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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHo Chi Minh City<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I arrived in Ho Chi Minh and purchased a sim card at the airport. Mobile 4G data is so cheap in Asia that it only cost me $10 for 7GB over 21 days. I then was able to call a Grab taxi which took me to my Airbnb rental in District 1 of the city. District 1 is where the downtown area is and most foreigners stay. When you leave District 1 and head into other districts, it is much tougher to communicate with people because most don’t speak much English, although I have heard a lot of ex-pats live in District 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taxi drivers are pretty scummy over there (and in most countries in South East Asia) and I prefer to use\u00a0Grab taxi which is similar to Uber, whenever possible. At $.30-$1.00 a ride you really can’t beat it! (They even have Grab motorbike taxis in Vietnam. The ride was about 40 minutes which isn’t bad. I like staying in Airbnb when possible rather than hotels. Don’t get me wrong, I also like 5-star hotels, but Airbnb allows renting full apartments in many cities in Asia, and most of the time these are high-end, newly renovated apartments for $30-50 a night. I’d never stay in somebody else’s home, but of the ten\u00a0times, I have used Airbnb, the majority of the time I have been very happy. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the pictures of the Airbnb off my phone but trust me when I\u00a0tell you an apartment like the one I stayed in for $50 a night would probably rent for $2800 a month in some\u00a0US cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe first thing I noticed about Ho Chi Minh is that the traffic is unreal. There are literally millions of people riding motorbikes in this country and it’s really an incredible sight to see. At first, I was a bit shell-shocked when I had to cross the road but, I soon learned you just need to take a leap of faith and walk blindly and they surprisingly won’t run you over. After I got over the initial shock my first stop was to have my first meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMost people probably picture Ho Chi Minh as a really undeveloped place from watching movies like Full Metal Jacket, but I can assure you this is a relatively modern and emerging city. I really had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. China’s growth may be slowing, but this is not the case in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before traveling to Vietnam I felt Thailand had the best food I had ever tasted but I quickly changed that opinion. Thailand certainly has amazing food, but Vietnam is a foodie’s dream come true. Every single bite has numerous flavors and it’s just absolutely the tastiest food I have ever had. Each individual dish has one or more sauces to dip the various foods and they all seem to provide a foodgasm in every bite! <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, I had never really eaten much Vietnamese besides a bowl of Pho occasionally, but this trip led me to become a Vietnamese food lover. There are thousands of different dishes and it’s wonderful when you are able to order 5 dishes at every sitting (yes I am a glutton). Thankfully all the walking I did on this trip kept me in shape or else I probably would have legitimately gained 25 lbs from all the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coffee is HUGE in Vietnam. There are literally 3 coffee shops on ever block of the city. I am talking thousands of coffee shops. The difference is these also act as restaurants and are generally sit down places. They also turn into bars at night. While the coffee is definitely stronger than our coffee in the US, it’s very good. I love coffee and it was really nice to be able to get a delicious cup on demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n I stayed in Ho Chi Minh for 7 days. Some people may think this is a bit long but I really liked it there and there is so much to do and see, that I felt it barely scratched the surface. I certainly plan to go back but first I want to see more countries in Asia. The weather in Ho Chi Minh was very warm (typically 88-90 degrees each day) but the humidity was lower in November, which made it much more bearable at this time of year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thing to be aware of is that people in Vietnam don’t speak English well. In Thailand, most people speak at least basic broken English but in Vietnam, they are a lot worse. I think it has something to do with the fact that they have a hard time pronouncing many of our words. This makes it a bit tougher to understand them, but it still was nothing like Tokyo where I felt completely lost in translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My next destination was Phu Quoc, an island in the southwest part of Vietnam on the Gulf of Thailand. Phu Quoc was an interesting place. It’s essentially a much less developed version of Phuket. This is like Phuket 20-30 years ago. If you’ve been to Phuket then you know what I am talking about because many parts of Phuket are way overdeveloped. Phu Quoc is a large island and much of the island is still untouched. They have big plans to develop it in the coming years which may be a good thing for the country, but bad for people that like peace and quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stayed at the Salinda resort and I highly suggest it. The location is good and although it was a bit more expensive at $200 a night, it was equivalent to what you would get for $500-800 a night in the U.S. The resort is located on Long beach which was pretty nice and so was the pool, but the highlight was the AMAZING buffet breakfast. It seriously was one of the most spectacular meals I have ever had and it was included in the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would say the best thing I did on this island was rent a motor bike and travel to a fantastic white sand beach on the opposite side of the island called Sao beach. It was about a 50 minute ride and I got caught in a torrential down pour on the way back, but the views were amazing and it seriously was one of the greatest adventures I have ever experienced. The water was crystal clear and the fact that is was fairly secluded and low season, meant it wasn’t too crowded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There were a couple of small restaurants right on the beach and I had fresh coconut (this woman literally climbed up a tree with a machete and chopped it down) and some of the best seafood of my life. The other highlight of Phu Quoc was the night market for dinner and dessert along with some amazing restaurants that completely blew my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also took a motor bike to a deserted beach near the northern part of the island which was very secluded, but currently experiencing major development. Over there I had lunch at a $500 a night resort called Vinpearl which was attached to a theme park which resembled Disney World. The only problem was it was low season, and was so far out of the way, that almost nobody was there. When you stop to think that the average person in Vietnam earns just $148 a month, it’s hard to fathom a $500 resort, but none the less it still exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nCoffee in Vietnam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPoor English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Phu Quoc<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Salinda Resort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBanh Sao Beach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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