50 Chao Vietnam

I am leaving Vietnam after 3 weeks here. It was the first country I visited in the Sinosphere really, and it blew my mind.

I enjoyed the extended stay on the beach of Da Nang and the hustle and bustle of the cities like HCMC and Hanoi. I successfully dodged all motorcycles and ate some amazing Vietnamese street food.

Entry to Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi Old Town

There are beautiful and exotic spots here that really opened my mind. But I found Vietnam in some places to be very touristy and a little superficial. I know those spots are popular for a reason, but can feel soulless after a while. The train street in Hanoi being a prime example. It’s cool to see the train up close for sure. But really why are we there? Just to take another cute selfie like it hasn’t been done a million times on Instagram? The deeper beauty of nature and religious places I can understand. But some of these Instagram spots remain a mystery to me. Maybe best to avoid those in the future.

Everything is super organized and the service is at such a high level here. The language barrier is another thing that keeps you from interacting with locals in deeper meaningful ways. But luckily a few Vietnamese are undeterred by any barriers and I had some interesting conversations through translation apps.

I’ll take a couple of days rest in Kuala Lumpur now. I think it’s a great hub to explore more of South East Asia. I’m not certain where I will go after that. I hope to get more off the beaten path again after that.