I had to extend my trip in Vietnam as there simply was not enough time to get to know the country better.
The money spent on dues for rebooking the flight back and accomodation and tours were very worth it.
I would recommend Vietnam to be your next destination, if possible, but there is no need to stay in Ho Chi Minh which I personally feel is very ‘touristy’.
HCM lacks the true Vietnam culture and people.
I would recommend going to Lak Resort in Dalat – the night view of the sky is literally to die for.
It’s so magical, my friend and I just turned and turned on the same spot for minutes, gawking at the millions of amazing stars in the sky (compared to like 5-10 stars in Singapore sky, bah).
Whilst in Dalat, look for Easy Riders who will have you on their motobikes and bring you to places which tour groups do not visit – including talking to villagers like the M’nong people.
Go out of the tourist areas if you want to know more on true vietnam; talk to the people if you want to know more on communistic vietnam (which i feel the government is actively veiling in HCM city).
I guarantee you leave Vietnam feeling fortunate of the life you are currently in. It made me think twice (or three or four times) about eating more expensive food in which in the past I would not even bat an eyelid at the price.
Needless to say, I kinda lost my appetite whilst eating the more expensive food.
Shopping was good, especially for hand-made goods. Upscale products like Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana are not cheap!
But there was a Nike store (which I think was closing down) and it had a 50% discount off all Nike apparels! I spent like $100 every time i stepped into the store =) I made a last stop there with luggages before leaving for the airport.
With some people living on a daily earning of 2USD, it makes me wonder who steps into those shops. There’s of course those who work for the __________. It’s no surprise this area is steeped in corruption.
The good jobs are allocated to people with connections and money to boot. Education is kinda useless in securing good jobs – it’s so sad I feel for the people and I nearly cried when I hear from the people how educated they are but they cannot secure the jobs they want. It goes to their rich albeit stupid counterparts.
Most of Vietnam are also unable to travel out of the country, once they do that they are unable to return to Vietnam. Only the rich who can afford to pay fees other than air ticket can travel out of the country to visit others, to study, etc.
Most only tell you they have heard of your country but never stepped out of Vietnam. It gets more sad when they are more than twice your age but you have travelled freely to more countries than they can ever imagine.
It’s a country which is in stark severe imbalancement (I see the occasional Bentleys, BMWs, Mercedes, etc weaving through the motorbikes on the streets) but I have to say i’m in love with their rich culture (culture in Singapore is almost non-existent, I sadly do not feel immense loyalty or patriotism for her).
What I feel proud of doing in Vietnam is conquering their crazy streets walking through traffic with ease without getting in an accident.
A clip from Youtube shows how traffic in Vietnam is – and it’s true! =)) It’s so cheap thrills for my friends and myself. LOL. I did not take much videos on the traffic while crossing…I thought it would be deadly for me!
Anyhoo. Here goes:
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