Of the three places I visited on this trip, I would have to say Vietnam was my favourite. I loved how not everything is perfect. In Canada, especially outside the city, everything is too perfect which is great to live in but there is no real adventure. In Vietnam, just crossing the street is an adventure (see below)!
Anyway, I would love to live here to truly experience Vietnam. It was really cool to see some people just stay here and work at local bars/restaurants since they speak English. They would save some money and then travel somewhere else before stopping to work again.
I found the hostels are super prepared. They were really willing to help foreigners – more so than in Hong Kong and Thailand. I think this is because Vietnam’s only recently started to have a lot of tourism.
Most people are honest (but always be prepared to bargain at markets) and a tip makes their day because its not an expectation!
I really liked the Vietnamese music and remember listening to this in a cab on the way to an airport: Thuy Tien Kiss Me. It was my jam! Would definitely have played this before class if I was still teaching.