I was recently asked by some Vietnamese person that I had just met to tell her one thing that I really don't like about living in Vietnam and 1 thing that I really did like about it. This was actually a very easy question for me to answer because I have quite a lot of international experience living in many places in SE Asia.
The thing I didn't like, which I will not focus on too much here, is the noise. Vietnam is an exceptionally noisy country and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of effort to curtail that in any way. Quiet is at a premium here and I really don't know where to get it. Invest in some sound cancelling headphones I guess.
As for the the 1 thing I really do like about this country it would be that of all the places I have lived and visited, Vietnam is the cheapest SAFE place to live in the world. I truly believe this to be the case.
I have never felt as though I was ever in any danger and the only crime I have been a victim of was when my bicycle was stolen from outside of my apartment building. I think that this would be a problem almost anywhere else in the world as well because I left a vehicle essentially, sitting outside in kind of plain view and well, when opportunity knocks, someone is going to answer. It pissed me off at the time but when I saw the state of the person that took it on the CCTV footage, this was definitely a desperately poor person. I wish I could have just given the guy some money because it wasn't a good bike anyway and the black market value of it couldn't have been more than $10 or so.
That is the only crime I have ever been victim to and I know a ton of people and almost all of them have never been victim of any sort of crime either. I can't say this is the case for all the other places I have lived where you kind of have to be on your toes at all times to stay safe.
Perhaps I'll get more into detail about that at a later time but for now I want to talk about my local "everything" restaurant that charges next to nothing and most of the food on there is quite nice.
We'll start with my drink. I only ordered it because I didn't know what it was but it was near the coffees so I just asked the guy who owns the place, "is this coffee" and when he said yes I ordered it. It's kind of like a latte but seems to have a lot of condensed milk in it. It also packs a punch as far as the caffeine is concerned but since this is not my first time with Vietnamese coffee, this was expected.
So this is what that is called apparently and I am quite certain I am going to immediately forget that. This is ok with me because I tend to not order super-sugary coffees anyway. It was good though and would you believe at just over $1, this is actually considered expensive by Vietnamese standards. I am getting charged extra because of the shop's location in an area that is high-priced and has almost entirely foreign residents. Whatever!
Next up is something that you definitely should try if you are here and almost certainly will be offered it at some point. It is called Bo Ne and I initially ordered it not because it was recommended to me but because the sign looked like it said BONE. This is just some beef, a bit of gravy, some onion and a fried egg served on an extremely hot plate right at your table. It comes with a fresh mini-baguette and that was just delightful.
Don't worry, Nadi was with me and yes, she got some of it.
So the price of the Bo Ne was 50,000 VND, which is a deal and a half when you consider what you are getting.
Grand total of the entire meal was 80k and that is just over $3. I think that in most of the world you would struggle to get anything for that price. It certainly is the case everywhere I have ever lived including and especially my home country of USA where the last time I was there and tried to just buy a Coke in a minimart, it was more than $3 for that one thing.
So if you are in Vietnam you can basically just order with reckless abandon because if you are wrong and you don't like it, chances are you are only losing a couple of dollars. This encourages me to try new things because since I learned to speak exactly zero Vietnamese, I normally have no idea what is on offer at a restaurant. A good rule of thumb is to order what everyone else is having.
I think every country should have affordable decent food and even some of my cheap eating hang outs in London have closed down. These places were popular for the food they offered which was a limited menu, but that helped keep the prices down.
In SA on certain days places have specials that you can get serious bargains like the one Portuguese restaurant on the 21st of each month offers Prego's for R21 which is like $1.20 that come with a side salad and chips. Other places have lunch time specials for under $5 and I guess they make it up on the drinks you order.
Eastern food like Thai and Vietnamese has always fascinated myself and one of these days look forward to visiting and sampling what they have on offer. That Bo Ne looks simple yet it would catch my eye for sure.
For someone the size of us though, you need 2 Bo Ne platters to feel full. For me, this is just a mid day snack, not so much a meal. I have to keep in mind that I am significantly larger than the average Vietnamese person and therefore need a great deal more fuel.
Yes these are like starter dishes and you could do a few I guess.
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I totally feel you on the affordability in Vietnam! It's incredible how you can enjoy a delicious meal like Bo Ne for just 50,000 VND – I can't think of many places where you can get that much for so little. It really makes trying new things easy and fun without the stress of spending a lot, especially when, like you, you’re not entirely sure what you’re ordering. And you’re right about how rare it is to find such value in other places – even back home, I’d be lucky to get a soda for that price! Vietnam truly has some hidden gems when it comes to food and budget-friendly living.
it is one of the main reasons to continue living here. The other aspects of life are rather "meh" here but the affordability is just awesome. I think this is what keeps most of the people that are living her, living here.
That Bo Ne looks absolutely delicious. Did they make their own bread in Vietnam before the French invaded and influenced them? That's probably the one good thing to come out of that I would imagine. $3 is a heck of a deal. I remember when you could get the two cheeseburger meal at McDonald's for $2.99, but now it is over $5 I think. It's ridiculous.
I was reading the other day about how McDonalds has tried downsizing their products' size over the years to keep costs low but now they are raising the prices all over the place. The days of the dollar menu are gone. The thing that is frustrating is that this is all in the name of profits. The food could be cheaper but it isn't. Here in Vietnam McDonalds is almost always more expensive than any of the other burger places.
I believe the French were probably instrumental in introducing a lot of the cuisine over here.
Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous, despite how my blog makes it appear, my wife and I don't go out to eat as much as we used to for that very reason. The cost to value ratio just isn't there.
This is one thing that is truly wonderful about living over here in all the countries around other than Singapore, which is more expensive than most of the US. I order out and go out to eat for almost every meal and it is cheaper than cooking yourself. This doesn't mean that it is always good but the only way you can ever accomplish an expensive meal here at a restaurant is if you go somewhere super fancy.... and normally those places, while nice, just seem like a waste of money since you spend like a week's worth of regular restaurant purchases on just one meal.
I don't feel like it was always this way in USA. I recall in college being able to go out to with with $10 in my pocket and expect to return home with change. Those days are long gone.
Yes, you are right, it wasn't always this way. It has just gotten so horrible lately. That is cool that you can eat so well on such little money over there. I'm sure there are plenty of healthy options too if you are the sort who tries to avoid the "bad" but oh so tasty stuff!
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
All for that in $3? I'm pretty sure that is a big bargain for food because most of the food are now expensive. I would love to try this kind of food.
well you can find it everywhere in Vietnam.
That's nice and tasty! Hope I can try that one! Love it! Thank you for sharing.
If you don't like to live in Vietnam then you don't need to do it. And Vietnam also doesn't welcome you.
I read several posts from you and they are all the complaints about Vietnam.
I think you should re-read what is written here: Other than talking about the noise (and be honest, this is a very noisy country) everything in the above is complementary about Vietnam. Every place has their good sides and their bad sides. There is more good than bad here in this country and that is why I stay. Also, yes, Vietnam does welcome me.
I took a look back at my past articles trying to find where I am being endlessly negative about Vietnam like you suggest and other than me mentioning the noise my "complaints about Vietnam" are mostly about the stupid behavior of other foreigners.
tl;dr: I don't know what you are talking about :)