Vietnam is not a popular tourist destination in Chinese, mainly because Vietnam's cultural environment and tourism resources are very similar to China, there is no sense of scarcity, which is why, until December 2019, when I wanted to find a country with convenient visas (at that time, Vietnam visa was convenient and cheap, less than 200 yuan, upload a copy of passport, three days to sign), to a walk-and-go trip, we embarked on a journey to Vietnam. Unexpectedly, this also became our last outbound trip before the epidemic.
When it comes to the relationship between China and Vietnam, it is really quite delicate, it is not only socialist brothers, the leaders of the two countries call each other comrades, but also the countries that have fought wars. Chinese actually have a sense of superiority over Vietnam, and the little brother who used to work with us in the revolution was defeated by our opponent on the battlefield. However, in recent years, this sense of superiority has changed slightly, and Vietnam, with a population of less than 100 million, has copied China's work, and its economic development has entered the fast lane. Especially in 2022, Vietnam's GDP growth rate exceeded 8% thanks to the outflow of manufacturing from China! There are now some black Vietnamese remarks in China, saying that the United States wants to harvest Vietnam, and Vietnam's economy is afraid that it will "return to the pre-liberation period." I really don't have a say on the prospects of Vietnam's economic development, but I can only talk about some rough feelings about the country and ordinary people three years ago.
The narrow territory of Vietnam
It took us eight or nine days to fly to three cities in northern, central and southern Vietnam, Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, three cities with completely different styles.
I didn't expect much from Hanoi before the trip, mainly to go to Halong Bay, which is more than 100 kilometers away from it. Perhaps the expectation is not high, but the impression of Hanoi is the best.
The first day in Hanoi was a weekend, there was a weekend night market in the city center, traffic control, the hotel was in the controlled area, the driver who picked us up put us not far from the street entrance, pointed us how to go, and watched us turn into the right street before leaving. The policeman who patrols the way is young and handsome, speaks English and has a friendly attitude. The hotel we stayed at was a boutique hotel in the old street in the city center, with a small façade, but by far the best service hotel we have stayed in. Speaking of wanting to see a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show, he immediately said that they could help us buy tickets, sent a guy, and went on a motorcycle. Later, I went back to the hotel early, and I wanted to change an early performance, but without saying a word, I rode a motorcycle to help us change tickets. A mosquito was found in the room, and immediately arranged mosquito repellent, and also went to the pharmacy on the street to buy mosquito repellent water for us. Then everyone in every shift in the whole hotel seems to know that there are mosquitoes in our room, and the waiters who don't know us see us and ask if there are still mosquitoes? In the end, we were all embarrassed to say yes.
The hotel restaurant waiter made cocktails for us
Hanoi's night market was crowded, it happened to be the Southeast Asian Games men's semifinals, Vietnam vs Cambodia, many young people watched the game attentively while eating food stalls, and finally Vietnam won 4:0, and everyone was elated. It can be seen that the audience atmosphere of Vietnamese football is really good, love football, like us before, should not be hurt by the men's team. A few days later, the Vietnamese men's football team won the championship with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia in the final, and the people took to the streets to celebrate. Two years later, the Chinese men's football team lost to Vietnam and missed the World Cup in Qatar.
Hanoi Weekend Night Market
Hanoi's urban construction resembles the Chinese city in the eighties, old and dilapidated, and some new modern buildings are also being built. There are many young people on the street, who love to dance or play in groups on the street, just like us in the eighties: not much money, but very happy, a vibrant look, there was a feeling at that time: this is a country with a future.
A young man in Hanoi who loves to dance
Happy friends who meet and play on weekends
Halong Bay, known as Guilin on the sea, takes a cruise ship to shuttle between mountains and rocks, which is indeed very similar to Guilin. Climbing high and overlooking, it is a bit like Qiandao Lake, the mountains and waters are intertwined, which is quite beautiful.
We found a day trip to Halong Bay from Hanoi on Ctrip, probably Chinese there are not many individual tourists, so there are only English tours. The tour guide for the day trip was a Vietnamese boy, and that was the only time I felt unfriendly to China in Vietnam. From time to time, he mentions China, of course, negatively, for example, China will dam the upper Mekong River, open the floodgates in the rainy season, close the floodgates in the dry season, and cause them a lot of trouble. I was angry and wanted to complain about him, but when I visited the war memorial in Ho Chi Minh City, I felt that my layout was a little small. In the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a large number of pictures and objects describe how the Americans brutally used biological and chemical weapons to maim the Vietnamese people. Later, I figured out that allowing the voice you don't like to hear is also a kind of temperament, and if you only want to listen to what you love, then you will never be able to fully understand that society.
Halong Bay
Leaving Hanoi, we flew to Da Nang, located in central Vietnam. Da Nang is a typical tourist city and very leisurely. Star-rated hotel with beach, coastal area. Seafood food stalls by the sea are clearly priced, and the price is not expensive. There are many Western tourists in Vietnam, especially backpackers, so there are many small Western-style restaurants. There is an area in the center of Da Nang where many seafood restaurants are opened, many of which are Chinese and reasonably priced. Da Nang also has casinos with passports and military guards at the gate, which are only open to foreigners.
My Khe Beach fishing enthusiasts
Another big attraction in Da Nang is the Ba Na Hill, formerly a summer resort of the French aristocracy, with many European-style buildings on the top of the hill, suitable for photos. There is also a big playground on the mountain, you can play after buying a ticket to go up the mountain, so it is very suitable for parent-child trips, and if the weather is bad, the outdoor play is closed.
The weather on the day we went was very bad, the ticket office at the foot of Bana Mountain had a very conscientious live screen on the mountain, the conductor would prompt you, now the weather on the mountain is not good, the visibility is poor, the scenery you see is like this, misty, do you still want to go up? It's all coming, and we decided to go on. In fact, the misty Bana Hills also has a special flavor.
Bana Mountain in the rain
Buddha Hand Bridge in the Mist
Our last stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City in the south, formerly known as Saigon, a city that has left a deep Western imprint on French colonial rule. If Hanoi gives the impression of simplicity, then the architecture of Ho Chi Minh City is more foreign, more literary, many bars, and similar to domestic Internet celebrity shops, but the "Paris of the East" is too prestigious, and Shanghai cannot be compared.
Young man smoking shisha in Pham Ngu Lao Street, Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's largest city, with wide roads and a lot of traffic, especially motorcycles, which stretch and whizz by. There are zebra crossings for pedestrians to cross on the road, with traffic lights, and yet no one lets you. We waited there, watching the traffic lights change several times, but we couldn't get by. A Shanghainese, who has practiced crossing the road since he was a child, can't cross the road when he arrives in Vietnam! Finally, when the green light came on again, we waved firmly at the traffic like great men. A miracle happened, all the cars stopped! This trick has been tried and tested.
Motorcycle stream in Ho Chi Minh City
That time the Vietnam tour was quite complete, there was no customs asking for tips, no speeding party grabbing bags, ordinary people were peaceful and friendly. Chinese go, there will be a feeling of traveling back in time to the 80s and 90s of the last century. If you want to go to Vietnam, it is recommended that you go as soon as possible, and when it develops into a very modern society, it may not be fun.
I will post some videos of Vietnam tour in the video area, if you are interested, you can follow it.