Giving Vietnam A Second Chance

Within 5 minutes of landing in the country I had been conned. On my first visit to Vietnam in 2008 I came overland from Phonm Penh via the Mekong Delta. A hypnotising journey, I enjoyed every second until we landed in Vietnam and attempted to make it to the bus station.

“No buses now”, lied the Cyclo driver after we were already onboard and at his mercy. “All bus gone, I take you to my friend.”

We had just parted company with our tour guide on the boat who had reconfirmed there would be a bus from the station heading to Ho Chi Minh City within the next hour. All we had to do was hop in a Cyclo to drop us and our heavy bags there. Sounded simple, but our driver had other ideas.

Cyclo in Hoi An Vietnam

I tried putting my foot down. I tried using my forceful voice. It was to no avail. Eventually he took us so far out the way we missed the bus we were supposed to be on and were forced to take a ride in a minibus with his ‘friend’. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City late and frustrated.

Unfortunately this was just the start. We attempted another Cyclo ride the next day to get to the market. We played the game and bartered hard for a fixed price of 50,000 dong. Except when we got there the driver said, “No miss, you misheard me, I said 550,000 dong,” holding up his fingers and flashing them many more times than he did when we got in. We didn’t have that much cash on us and were forced to flee. The driver and many of his friends followed us until we hailed a taxi to take us back to the safety of our hotel. We had been at the market for 5 minutes.

Market in Hoi An Vietnam

For our last day in Vietnam we booked and paid in advance for a trip to the Cu Chi tunnels through a travel agency near the hotel. We sat on the steps of our hotel for over an hour waiting for a bus that never came. We flew out of Vietnam the next day with the same bitter taste in our mouths as we had experienced upon arrival.

But everybody loves Vietnam. I have read countless blogs and met numerous people who wax lyrical about the beauty of the country, its exquisite cuisine and impeccable service at bargain basement prices. They mentioned the odd bad bartering experience but by and large this is outweighed by all that they love about the place. So I decided to go back to see more of the country. To visit the places I’d stared at in brochures and to see if it really was as bad as I remembered.

And I fell in love.

Nam Hai Vietnam

I don’t know why it was different this time. Was it the fact that we were in the North of the country as opposed to the chaotic South? Could it be because we were travelling out of season and most touts were out of town? Was it because this time my travelling partner was a man and not a woman?

All I know is that the hassle from traders was bearable, the hotels we stayed at were all impeccable, not to mention incredibly well priced, and the scenery (mystical Halong Bay, charming Hoi An) was as spectacular as they say. It took a while for me to find my groove with the food (I generally like to know what I’m eating and consume it in a place with walls) but once familiar with the dishes I could see why so many love it.

This time our first night in Vietnam was remarkably different. We arrived early on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to find a taxi arranged by our hotel holding a sign with our names on it. No need to exchange cash with the driver, the small fare was added to our hotel bill.

At the hotel the staff ushered us to a seat. “Can I get you tea? Some breakfast?” said Duc the hotel’s Customer Service Manager gesturing to tables filled with cheery chatting guests. It was only 10am and yet he hurried his staff to get our room ready early. We were on the 6th floor and there was no lift so 2 men carried our luggage between them. In the room Duc showed us around, a little unnecessarily but incredibly courteously, and then we were left to relax. Pink rose petals were strewn across the bed; they also floated in the sink and decorated the complimentary fruit platter on the desk. In the bathroom the amenity kit included toothbrush and toothpaste as well as a comb, just in case you had forgotten to pack one. The room even came with a laptop, air con and satellite TV. When we left to sail Halong Bay the hotel kept our luggage and delivered it to a new room on our return. They booked us train tickets and delivered them to the door without blinking. And how much did we pay for this room including Wi-Fi, breakfast, fruit and water? £60 a night. That’s what everyone else had been talking about. (This place is the Hanoi Elite Hotel by the way – I found it online & highly recommend it.)

Breakfast at Hanoi Elite

There was one small hiccup. It involved a Cyclo driver again – perhaps I should have learnt my lesson the first time around! He tried to up the price at the end of our journey, and as his friends gathered around to support him and intimidate us, we paid him the extra few pounds he wanted and went on our way. In the end I couldn’t begrudge this man for trying to earn a few extra bucks from us tourists, it clearly meant more to him than us. I also realised I couldn’t judge a whole country based on his actions. There’s a lot more to Vietnam than that.

About the author

I’m Jayne, a travel blogger, content creator and mum to a 4-year-old son. I’ve been blogging since 2010, travelled to 65 countries and share travel guides and tips to help you plan stylish, stress-free trips.

16 thoughts on “Giving Vietnam A Second Chance”

  1. Good for you for giving it a second chance. We got ripped off big time by a taxi driver in Bali and that really got us off on the wrong foot towards the whole island. We managed to forgive the island, but not the driver!

    My sister and I keep wanting to go to Vietnam but we don’t like hectic. We do love anything to do with water though so would want to see the islands, beaches, etc. I’m looking forward to the next installment!

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  2. Not been but a friend did not enjoy it as much as other Asian destinations because she felt she was permanently having to put up with scammers, more so than any other place she had been which I was surprised by. I thought she was completely unlucky but maybe there was some truth!

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  3. Glad Vietnam came good in the end. I had a similarly difficult experience with a tuk-tuk in Bangkok. It is easy for just one incident to leave you feeling negative about a place but I think it is really important to make sure you look carefully at everything else before making up your mind about a place.

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    • Definitely Liv. We weren’t in Vietnam for very long the first time around so I didn’t give the place much of a chance to improve. I’m glad it came good too!

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  4. What a great turn out for giving Vietnam a second chance! And your hotel experience at Hanoi Elite sounds perfect. Also, haggling is something I’m very nervous of doing, never mind trying to do it in another language/country! Thanks for sharing.

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    • Thanks Donna, it was definitely worth going back. And I’m the same when it comes to haggling, it seems to get a little easier the longer you stay in Asia though!

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  5. ahhh Vietnam, what a wonderful experience! we are editing our Thailand guide and right after we will start with Vietnam as well. Keep us updated, we like your work!

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  6. I don’t think I will give Vietnam a 2nd chance…ever! Our experiences there were too negative and we hardly enjoyed a minute of it especially after having such a nice experience in Cambodia and Laos, although I’m sure it would be different in a quality hotel or sponsored trip. I have visited 86 countries and Vietnam is 86 in order of favorites. i also believed everybody loves it but I have found plenty of people who don’t and who have had awful experiences. Maybe i’m being foolish but there are so many places to see yet in the world… 🙂

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  7. Thanks for the insight! I’ve just booked my honeymoon flights for December. We will be flying into Bangkok, then on to Vietnam for two weeks. Looking forward to the next post. Bit worried about the Cyclo drivers, I don’t like people taking advantage. ha ha

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    • Nor does my boyfriend but you soon learn a few tricks yourself and start to adjust to the different ways of doing business. You’ll have a wonderful memorable time I am sure 🙂

      ps Congrats!!

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  8. Hi I’m flying in November to Ho Chi Minh city but from the sounds of it I need to get out of the city and further North. I’m a female older solo traveller and hate the thought of being ripped off!
    Advice on where to head for and how to survive appreciated !!

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    • Hi Lynne, you sound like a very wizened traveller and now you know what to look out for I’m sure you’ll have more success than us! Will you be visiting Halong Bay? We did a junk ship cruise around the bay that was wonderful. Hoi An is also one of my favourite places and far less hectic than Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Have a great trip!

      Reply

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