Travel is such a great experience. I firmly believe that if more people traveled, the world would be a better place; but, why must tourist be targets of SO many scams?

We landed in Ho Chi Minh City and got a taxi to our hotel. The driver was the nicest old man. He managed to give a quick Vietnam 101 in between horn honks and weaving through traffic. But, when he asked for 600,000 Dong ($26 USD) at the end of the ride his motive became clear. Thankfully, our hotel emailed us ahead of time that a taxi should cost no more than 160,000 Dong ($7 USD).

Pro tip: If a taxi driver is scamming you, take pictures of the license plate and threaten to report him to the taxi company. It’s a quick remedy and the price will return back to normal.

We noticed a trend in Vietnam that was seen throughout Asia. People like to get pictures of themselves taking selfies. So, meta!

Food –

What we looked forward to the most about Vietnam was Pho. So, we got right on it to find the best Pho in our area. To call it life changing is not an over exaggeration. It. Was. Wonderful. The broth was fantastic and noodles unlike anything in the states. Add, we were really impressed with the garnishes.

We took a cooking a class to learn the secrets of Vietnamese food.

History lesson –

We went to the War Remnants Museum and it provided a different account of the conflict in Vietnam. There, the war is called the American War. And the United States of America is depicted as the evil aggressor. Only a quarter of the museum is dedicated to the history of the war while the rest is grotesque propaganda of America’s atrocities. It’s good to see the other perspective. And, it makes you realize how dependent we all are on the media and governments to provide accurate accounts of history. No matter your view of the war, it’s clear that war is horrible.

We went on a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels where several thousand soldiers and civilians lived underground for years. It was fascinating learning more about the war, but it felt odd to take pictures knowing that some of the most brutal fighting took place here.

Hanoi –

We then traveled to Hanoi to visit the magical Halong Bay. We booked a 3 night cruise. It’s a 4 hour bus ride to where all the cruise ships take off and then another hour by boat to the start of the ever scenic limestone islands. The first day we kayaked around, played cribbage on the deck, watched an amazing sunset and went fishing for squid. Things were quite different the next day.

When we woke, we realized the captain had moved us into a small bay during the night. Typhoon Sarika took an unexpected turn and was quickly approaching. For our safety the cruise was cancelled. As we headed in towards the shore, other empty boats were headed in the opposite direction out into Ha Long Bay for protection from the storm.

Things got more interesting when we left the shelter of the limestone islands. The wind and sea were too strong for the boat and we were forced to turn back.

After radioing for help, the plan was to leave the ship and catch a ride from an incoming ferry. A police boat arrived to take people from our cruise ship to the ferry boat.

As the ferry came into view, we could see the boat picked up other travelers as well.

The ferry was heavier and more powerful and we made it back to shore with ease.

Once back in Hanoi, we spent the rest of our time overdosing on Pho while the storm passed by.

Getting around –

The traffic in Vietnam is legendary. I don’t know of any other place where you’ll find as many scooters on the road at once. The traffic rules are actually pretty easy. They are:

• Everyone has the right away
• Make it happen
• Be creative

What comes out of that is an incredible orchestration of scooters. An incoming lane may be one scooter wide one second and 6 scooters wide the next. Sidewalks can be thought of as express lanes.

Although easy to remember, the traffic rules are flawed. The volume of traffic allows for a very small margin of error. When there’s a deviation from the expected flow, things go wrong. In our short time in Vietnam we saw many accidents; scooter vs. scooter, car vs. scooter, scooter vs. car and something vs. semi truck. One traffic accident ended in a fatality which was morbid as the traffic proceeded without little slowdown around the body.

Waking on the sidewalks is stressful. The never-ending honking and close proximity of moving cars/scooters makes you twitch with anxiety the instant you leave the safe haven of your hotel. If the sidewalk isn’t being used as an extension of the road, then it’s being used as a parking lot which pushes pedestrians into the road. Crossing the street is the ultimate trust exercise. One can stand on the side of the road for hours waiting for a break in traffic, but it will never come. What you have to do is make a leap of faith and walk confidently across the street. What happens next is magical. The sea of scooters does not slow down, but will part around you. The force is strong around you…hopefully.