Vietnam 🇻🇳

Here we go, after two weeks in Bali I went to Vietnam for just about the same amount of time. What I discovered was that Vietnam is supposed to be the new hot spot: for entrepreneurs, for traveling, for doing it all. And apparently Vietnam is even cheaper than Thailand and other surrounding Southeast Asia locations. The conversion I used was one US dollar to 22,750 Vietnamese đồng, VND. Needless to say, lots of calculators were used on this trip.

Housing was $380 total, split among eight days in Hanoi and five in Saigon. Seeing as we had three people, we AirBnb-ed whole apartments, one for $65 a night and the other, located in a fancier high rise, for $80 per. Overall both living situations were lovely, as each of the three of us had our own bedrooms and all the amenities we needed.

A non-stop flight from Taipei to Hanoi -- but back from Ho Chi Minh -- was roughly $300, plus we added an intra-country flight from Hanoi to HCM, which cost $120. (Who knew Vietnam was so tall!) Overall flights back and forth cost about $400. Taxis to and from all the airports cost $140 total, with most of that cost coming from Taipei, as a cab to the airport is about $40. Going from airport to AirBnb in Vietnam cost an average of maybe $12, even with generous tip. Total housing and travel expenses: $920.

Oh I also Uber-ed quite a bit, and took taxis, as it was most necessary in Saigon and partially necessary in Hanoi. Uber trips in Saigon averaged $0.90 to maybe $1.40 and that made coming back and forth between places super easy. Cabs in Hanoi were actually pricier, probably due to longer distances traveled but even with taxi-ing everywhere, the total cost was probably about $60. And oh right, SIMs were $14 for 10GBs over thirty days. So, about normal.

In contrast to Bali, the food in Vietnam was delicious and it was hard to go wrong. We lived on a beautiful street that served chicken pho right across the way and it was $1.50 for a glorious bowl. Overall the food in Hanoi was roughly $2-5 dollars, and to honest, my daily boba was probably more than most of the meals we had. Oh yeah, I found boba in Vietnam and lots of it! The Gong Cha in Hanoi was about $2.50 per cup and I went like every other day. I think I drank more boba than Vietnamese coffee this whole trip, easily.

Meals down south in Saigon got pricier, as we moved away from street foods and more into restaurants and such. Prices were roughly double for everything, and there were a whole lot more non-street options to explore. Overall I spent about $250 dining out — with caveats below — and roughly $60 on various snacks and boba. The biggest single dining expenses were about $12-18 for more upscale dinners in Saigon such as a catfish place, a vegetarian restaurant, and stuff like that.

I did do one big dinner for everyone in Hanoi, at Ưu Đàm Chay, which was $60 for four of us. I reaaaaally wanted the pineapple fried rice so I made us go to this fancy spot. Delicious and lovely presentation, but also ultimately disappointing from a pineapple fried rice perspective. Lesson I'll never learn: Don't order stuff in fruits just because it's in a fruit...

We watched one movie in Saigon, at about $5 per person. I'm happy to report that there are four popcorn options, and they can all be half/half-ed! We also went karaoke twice, once in each city, for a total of $250. I forgot the hourly rate but I think mostly the bill was drink related. Either way, singing is priceless and the decked out rooms and not-too-horrible electronic interface were doable.

And other than a Bavarian rose showcase we randomly went to that featured a nine-dollar entrance fee, it was just museums, museums, museums, which were about $2 per. In theory we went to some night clubs but Vietnamese night clubs apparently have no cover and you just waltz right in. You basically have to buy a table -- I have no idea for how much -- but we mostly just stood in the back, with the penned peasants, and then left quickly. Overall “play” was super cheap. Keep in mind that I didn’t actually do that much some days except stay-in at the AirBnb playing League and only emerging to eat... So take what you will out of that.

What I did do more in Vietnam than in Bali was shop! I bought a fantastic striped Faguo duffel at L'Usine Dong Khoi for way too much, used some hard American cash to buy bowls for my house, picked out some plastic jewelry and a trinket or two, plus some baby clothes for the nieces. Oh, and a  book I figured I could get nowhere else called A Summer in Sapa, which was located in the War Remnants Museum gift shop. Gotta support local writers you know. Oh wait, she's a white expat... I also got a haircut in Saigon, at a salon, for about $18.

Overall, two weeks in Vietnam cost $1,800 give or take, with half of that going to transportation and housing. I guess overall the bill is more than Bali but it definitely felt like there was more to do. And plus, the food was way better and a lot cheaper. Pho dreams!

Next up: Japan, aka “the place that will take all my money…."