Anyone travel to Vietnam or any other Asian country?

[Kroze]

OP, as a tourist, you HAVE TO have a visa to enter Vietnam.

I think it is less than $50 to get one. You can wait until you land in HCM City (Saigon) and get one at Tan Son Nhat airport or you can get one from the Vietnam consulates that are closest to your location.

When are you heading to VN? I will be there from Feb to March of this year for Lunar New Year. Want to have the first ever oversea ATOT meet? LOL.

I'm leaving on the 15th of feb.

 

[Locut0s]

Not Vietnam now but I've been to China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan. Combined total of about 4 years.

If you have never been to an Asian country brace yourself for culture shock. I don't mean that in a bad way just make sure you are prepared. South east asia is a WONDERFUL place but it can hit you like a tone of bricks if you don't know what to expect. The noise, the food, the language, the culture, THE HEAT, the dirt, the smells. Add jet-lag into the mix and you might think you are on some kind of unpleasant drug trip the first few days.

A few additional notes. Make sure to bring your own toilet paper when you go out, most toilets won't have it (at least if it's like other south east Asian countries).

 

[Locut0s]

I went to Vietnam last year for a couple weeks.

Book your ticket first. Then just fill out the forms on the Vietnamese government website, send in what they require, I think a passport size photo, and money, 10 days later you get your passport back with a nice visa in it.

Prepare to have the people of Vietnam root your wallet every which way, and bargain with everyone. Also, the side of the road food stalls are THE BEST to eat at. Don't bother going to restaurants.

Make sure you go to the CuChi tunnels, Halong Bay, get some clothing made in Hoi An and eat some cau lau while you're there. Don't rent a moto either, you WILL die, and make sure you carry confidence when crossing the streets otherwise you wont get anywhere.

This is true in most Asian countries. However a few notes of warning. One I would get Hep A and B vaccines (you will just feel safer). Two it will all look dirty if you have never eaten at street stalls before but that doesn't mean it's not good, trust me IT'S GOOD, BUT stay away from anything sold cold or anything that doesn't look scalding hot or not just cooked.

The fact is you are probably more likely to get sick eating at a restaurant in Asian than from the street food.

 

[iGas]

This is true in most Asian countries. However a few notes of warning. One I would get Hep A and B vaccines (you will just feel safer). Two it will all look dirty if you have never eaten at street stalls before but that doesn't mean it's not good, trust me IT'S GOOD, BUT stay away from anything sold cold or anything that doesn't look scalding hot or not just cooked.

The fact is you are probably more likely to get sick eating at a restaurant in Asian than from the street food.

I never once got sick eating hot or cold beverage/food in Asia/Central America street carts. The only place that I ever got sick after eating while traveled was at a 4 stars restaurant in Mexico.

 

[Locut0s]

I never once got sick eating hot or cold beverage/food in Asia/Central America street carts. The only place that I ever got sick after eating while traveled was at a 4 stars restaurant in Mexico.

Well you may have just gotten lucky. Truthfully YMMV. The street food is definitely a lot safer than most people think. It also depends on what we mean by sick. I had travellers Diarrhoea for about in a month in China but I didn't count that as getting sick, would you?

I actually agreed with you there that you are more likely to get ick eating in a restaurant (even high class ones) than from street food.

I would still recommend getting vaccinated against Hep A and B, and maybe typhoid, that way you can feel safer eating lots of stuff.

 

[Svnla]

I'm leaving on the 15th of feb.

Are you staying in HCM City/Saigon? I will show you around

 

[iGas]

Are you staying in HCM City/Saigon? I will show you around

You have that much of free time?