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[nealinthailand]

I am in the middle of my second tour of vietnam and I have to say that once again, I am disappointed. Look there are a few nice sites (haolong bay is amazing and hoi an is great) but there are so many unending ripoffs, unfriendly people and outright thefts that I would reccommend avoiding vietnam all together. There are plenty of nice people here in vietnam and this post is not an attempt to generalize the entire population but the experiences with nice people are erased by the outright hostile behaviour many locals show towards tourists. I have been berated by immigration and have my backpack thrown off of a moving bus. I have had dirty looks and unfriendly shop keepers and people who look upon my tourism as a nuisance. if this is the case then I can take my money elsewhere and encourage others to do so also. If you do choose to travel to vietnam be advised that many times the bus/train will be "sold out" thus forcing you to stay another few nights at the hotel. when you do book your bus/train it is never the accomodations that you were promised. also make sure to hold onto your ticket because they will ask you for it 2 or 3 times hoping you lose it and then they charge you full fare again....how friendly and accomodating of them.

when you do go out to see some of the sites, dont leave anything unattended in your room because things disappear very quickly here. of course the hotel staff has no idea what could have happened and they are very apologetic as they sell your camera on the black market. these are not just my experiences, these are the experiences of a vast number of people i've talked to. Go somewhere that appreciates your tourism. thailand is lovely as is indonesia and cambodia. avoid vietnam!!!

[plashadpobedy2]

I agree. I was only there a week (in Vung Tau). When I went to check in to my flight back to Manila, they would not let me on the plane, saying I didn't have a ticket out of the Philippines. I had been here over 2.5 years. I had to buy a RT ticket Manila/HongKong for US$311 from the only travel agent in the terminal at HCMC, otherwise, I would have missed my flight back to Manila. I had to apply for a refund from the Vietnam Airlines in Manila. What a hassle. I've never had this BS pulled on me in any other Asian country. They did the same thing to my landlord who is married to a Filipina and is a permanent resident of the PI for the last 10 years.

All the people in Nam seemed very nice and friendly, though there is definitely a big language barrier. If you go, better learn a goodly amount of Vietnamese before you go.

I'll never go back there again with the BS I had to go through at the airport.

I am in the middle of my second tour of vietnam and I have to say that once again, I am disappointed. Look there are a few nice sites (haolong bay is amazing and hoi an is great) but



there are so many unending ripoffs, unfriendly people and outright thefts that I would reccommend avoiding vietnam all together. There are plenty of nice people here in vietnam and this post is not an attempt to generalize the entire population but the experiences with nice people are erased by the outright hostile behaviour many locals show towards tourists. I have been berated by immigration and have my backpack thrown off of a moving bus. I have had dirty looks and unfriendly shop keepers and people who look upon my tourism as a nuisance. if this is the case then I can take my money elsewhere and encourage others to do so also. If you do choose to travel to vietnam be advised that many times the bus/train will be "sold out" thus forcing you to stay another few nights at the hotel. when you do book your bus/train it is never the accomodations that you were promised. also make sure to hold onto your ticket because they will ask you for it 2 or 3 times hoping you lose it and then they charge you full fare again....how friendly and accomodating of them.

when you do go out to see some of the sites, dont leave anything unattended in your room because things disappear very quickly here. of course the hotel staff has no idea what could have happened and they are very apologetic as they sell your camera on the black market. these are not just my experiences, these are the experiences of a vast number of people i've talked to. Go somewhere that appreciates your tourism. thailand is lovely as is indonesia and cambodia. avoid vietnam!!!

[anna_nguyen]

I agree. I was only there a week (in Vung Tau). When I went to check in to my flight back to Manila, they would not let me on the plane, saying I didn't have a ticket out of the Philippines. I had been here over 2.5 years. I had to buy a RT ticket Manila/HongKong for US$311 from the only travel agent in the terminal at HCMC, otherwise, I would have missed my flight back to Manila. I had to apply for a refund from the Vietnam Airlines in Manila. What a hassle. I've never had this BS pulled on me in any other Asian country. They did the same thing to my landlord who is married to a Filipina and is a permanent resident of the PI for the last 10 years.

All the people in Nam seemed very nice and friendly, though there is definitely a big language barrier. If you go, better learn a goodly amount of Vietnamese before you go.

I'll never go back there again with the BS I had to go through at the airport.

I am in the middle of my second tour of vietnam and I have to say that once again, I am disappointed. Look there are a few nice sites (haolong bay is amazing and hoi an is great) but



there are so many unending ripoffs, unfriendly people and outright thefts that I would reccommend avoiding vietnam all together. There are plenty of nice people here in vietnam and this post is not an attempt to generalize the entire population but the experiences with nice people are erased by the outright hostile behaviour many locals show towards tourists. I have been berated by immigration and have my backpack thrown off of a moving bus. I have had dirty looks and unfriendly shop keepers and people who look upon my tourism as a nuisance. if this is the case then I can take my money elsewhere and encourage others to do so also. If you do choose to travel to vietnam be advised that many times the bus/train will be "sold out" thus forcing you to stay another few nights at the hotel. when you do book your bus/train it is never the accomodations that you were promised. also make sure to hold onto your ticket because they will ask you for it 2 or 3 times hoping you lose it and then they charge you full fare again....how friendly and accomodating of them.

when you do go out to see some of the sites, dont leave anything unattended in your room because things disappear very quickly here. of course the hotel staff has no idea what could have happened and they are very apologetic as they sell your camera on the black market. these are not just my experiences, these are the experiences of a vast number of people i've talked to. Go somewhere that appreciates your tourism. thailand is lovely as is indonesia and cambodia. avoid vietnam!!!

[barsie]

Bad things happen in every country, I think you were just unlucky.

[ScottWoz]

Actually Neal's not far off the mark. I meet a lot of people passing through here (Cambodia) after spending time in Vietnam and I reckon 9 out of 10 all say the same thing: beautiful scenery/geography/food but a generally hostile experience in terms of people, endless ripoffs, lies, theft and consistent hostility.

My own personal experience wasn't actually bad, though I only scoured the south. Most of what I hear consistently, is generally about the north. I am however planning to take an overland trip up through Vietnam on my motorbike, though I will be taking caution, and travelling a little differently than I usually do..

Good thread..

[aopaq]

I don't doubt the stories and reports by Neal and other travellers but I would never base my decision to visit, or not visit, a country based on what reports I have heard..... but that is just me. I look at travel as an experience (good or bad) and realize that my experiences are not a true reflection of what may or may not happen with everyone else. If anyone wants a "perfect", easy, low stress travel experience then take a well planned tour/cruise and avoid Vietnam. Otherwise, I would not totally cross it off your list but go with an awareness.

Happy travels!

[amburquelin]

Hey Neal,

You know what I am thinking when I read your words- your last words " avoid Vietnam", just these two words you are not welcomed at this country any more or at any other country in the world.

You traveled a lot - to 15 countries, but you don't know what is the meaning of traveling, that's really ridiculous. That 's good you are, you shared your experience but don't just focus on the bad side and advise pp to avoid this avoid that. Just think like others said " you were unlucky". and let share your good experience and st attracted you as well.

If you expect other parts of the world is the same with your United States, you better stay at home and play video game, don't waste more your money for traveling.

P.S. I am a Vietnamese and a newcomer at this site. Nice to know everybody here.

Neal, I had the same experience as you when I went to Vietnam over 10 years ago. It took me 10 years to erase the bad memories! Vietnam is still a developing country under communism. It spells out a lot of things. We have to travel with an open mind as I realized as I got older. I had great and bad experiences. Somehow, the great experiences kinda stuck with me! Sorry that bad experience kinda stuck with you, but the least to say... give others the opportunity to explore for themselves.

And vf072012, you may feel angry with his message, there's no need for you to insult him. It does show hostility in your tone and reflects back to what he experienced. He meant well given that he even considered Vietnam as a place to visit in the first place. It means he had some respects for the culture and country. This is a forum/blog... meaning sharing experience and ideas, not hostility. We express what we experienced; and he gave his honest experience point of view. I hope you take a step back and read his message and try to understand the meaning. Good luck to you both in your traveling.

[quangthanh15]

All of you have the right to express your own experiences about VN. "The two sides of life" have you ever heard this. I am thinking about some Chinese movies(under Thanh dynasty), the King even knows one guide is very bad and one guide is good mandarin(both of them are important mandarin) but he still has to keep the situation for the Dynasty.
Nowadays, you travel that means you learn other habits, countries...

[dzasta]

I just spent a month in Vietnam and Laos. I also thought the people in th enorth were rude. Not angry just rude. I didnt get ripped off, and I also wont go back.
I dont really know why I wouldnt go back but it just didnt do anything for me.

[reinder.prins]

I spent a whole month in Vietnam, driving a motorbike from North to South. Although there are indeed instances were people tried to rip me off, I found that when you keep your act together and tell them when something is not acceptable everything works just fine. They try to rip you off: you tell them this and tell them you are not playing that game and tell them the amount you are going to pay. I understand this is different to most people's home cultures, but bartering is still normal in this part of the world and you can't really blame a bloke for trying to make a dollar. Same with bus tickets / bookings: indeed if you book through your hotel you will get stuck for a few extra days. If you take the time and effort to visit a few other independent travel agencies you'll get sorted right away (I didn't take buses myself, but helped some other people that I met in hotels to get their onward travel figured out)

In general I had a bounty of beautiful experiences, especially when driving with my motorbike through areas where not a lot of other tourists go. The people are friendly, and when they find out that you know how much things should cost and that you are not going to overpay they respect you for it and treat you well. I also never had anything stolen from a hotel and I think that if you are sensible about things and not take too much stuff with you (I traveled my 4 months in SE Asia with just 8 kilo's of luggage in a small backpack) the risk is low.

I know there are people (as mentioned above by other travelers) who've had bad experience; however this in my opinion does not justify recommending people not to go to the country at all. Vietnam has so much to offer that is worth visiting and instead of recommending not to go, it might be better to advise people on how to avoid the negative experiences and be smart about the actions they take.

[kaizen]

Hi there, I am in the middle of a 3 week trip up the coast of Vietnam and I have to say my experience is almost totally the opposite to many posted. OK some people see all westerners as rich and loaded with cash and in relative terms we are, but a lot of what goes on is part of the 'game'.
We have had nothing stolen and we have met many people, with whom once you have shared a smile, are frriendly and helpful. We have had to pay for some photos but once again, when we knew what was the game we could make our own decision and in many cases the $100,000VD made very little difference to me but a lot to them. I know I have been stung in other ways, like on the dragon boats in Hue but it gives me something to talk about when I get home.
I thik if you take reasonable precautions, greet everyone with a smile and say hello, and are prepared for the odd transaction to not go your way, Vietnam is a great experience.
Except for the traffic whizzing past I have always felt safe.

[kenny.grant]

Hi. I'm with Kaizen on all she says. Just back from Vietnam for the 2nd time after 20 days there, travelling north to south with my wife. We are not backpackers but it's how you behave towards them. If you are rude and arrogant then expect the same back. Let's be frank, westerners are much richer so if you were in their shoes would you look to make some cash off tourists. Our trip ended up in New York and in my opinion I would much rather be in Vietnam for the courtesy and customer service, which did not exist in NYC!

[phuong.grtravel]

I must show my thanks to all of you, tourism, whether you love Vietnam or not because at least you used to be interested in my country so you had your trip there. I like Barsie when he say that "Bad things happen in every country." so sorry for what you had in Vietnam, but i want to explain one thing, it's the way people look at you. it's not hostile as you think. perhaps vietnamese stare at you but the reason is that they are curious. you know, you are taller, brighter, blond hair and you talk in your language which they can not understand... and so on. about thief, silly services and even some hostile shopkeeper, I want to say sorry on behalf of Vietnamese. anyway, i want to have some tips for you if you want to travel in vietnam:
- you should find some information about geography, people, and some places you may want to go
- prepare carefully the procedure and official paper like visa, passpost, plane ticket... and if there are any troubles, pl, see the officer to get the assistance.
- if you are an advanturous guy, it's ok to travel by yourself on a motor, cyclo, bus,,but if you are not, you may want to find a travel agency. (like Vietgreentravel agency tel: 0436285414, and other agencies in Ha noi ). they will help you to make the tour better by booking hotel, preparing vehicle, having the tourguide, protecting you from being stoling or cheating....
hoping that you will think about coming VN again, and you'll see that Vn is not as bad as you thought. good luck, my friends