My Passport Experiences: Vietnam

Hello viewers of my blog! I have a new blog series I am doing called "My Passport Experiences." In these post, I will talk about my experiences in other countries. First off, I'm starting with Vietnam! I separate the sections into food and the beaches.

Though Vietnam is still an underdeveloped country, it holds a certain natural beauty to it. The cities are polluted with thousands of motorist on a single street and many mosquitos swarm me like I'm Justin Bieber, but I always love to go back to Vietnam visit my family. I have many uncles living in different parts of Saigon, and many nights, my family would gather together, have a drink, sing karaoke, and have fun. The originally white tables would become green with all the Heineken bottles on the table. While everyone is gathering downstairs, I am surfing the web upstairs to catch up with my friends. They are just waking up in the morning in America while I am just about getting ready to sleep. Vietnam is ahead 14 to 15 hours depending on day light savings time!

A little about the food:

Jackfruit grown right off a tree. It looks like
durian (which can also be found in Vietnam),
but is larger and has a sweet, cotton candy
like taste.

With $50 USD converted into Vietnam Dong, you can call yourself a millionaire, in Vietnam at least. Street food may vary, but you can always find affordable, delicious, and authentic (of course!) Vietnamese food around the corner. My personal favorite street vendor is right in front of my fifth uncle's house in District 8 (it's like the Hunger Games!...not really) that sells Vietnamese beef stew called Bo Khò. The famous Vietnamese noodle soup, Phở, is of course very good in Vietnam. It does taste slightly different from Phở in America because it has a stronger flavor and slightly different ingredients. Even the Chinese food is different in Vietnam! There are many Chinese people who live in Vietnam, but have adapted their cuisine to cater to a more Vietnamese taste. Even Kentucky Fried Chicken tastes different because of the chicken that is grown in Vietnam. Even though it is odd to eat American fast food in foreign countries, its good to try it once in a while to sample the different flavors on your favorite dish.

There are also many exotic fruits! Fruits such as durian, rambutan, jackfruit, and dragon-fruit are everywhere in markets. There are also the typical tropical fruits like bananas, longan, and coconuts. 

Coconuts grown from my
uncle's property

A banana cart. 

Vietnam also has many nice beaches!

On the day I went to Da Nang, the weather was gloomy, but
the beach was still very fine and the water was warm.

Although in the cities, motorcycles and smoke pollute the city, going to the beautiful beaches of Nha Thrang, Da Nang, and Phan Thiết expose warm, relaxing waters. You can do many things on these beaches! I like to simply grab a lawn chair, an oversized umbrella, and some sunscreen to relax to the sound of the ocean. After a nice break, I step into the fine sand that is finer than Morton Salt, and whiter than any sand I have ever seen. Every beach that I have been to in Vietnam was different though. Nha Trang has many small resort islands with its own individual specialty. Vinpearl Land for example was a small theme park in an island resort of the same name. The Fusion Hotel in Da Nang housed 50 individual bungalows, each with its own 10 x 20 pool. Phan Thiết has some of the freshest seafood that I have ever eaten. Phan Thiết is also near large sand dunes with golden-rustic sand that seems nearly untouched.

The sand dunes in Phan Thiết are absolutely massive! For about $2 you can slide down the massive dunes with a sled! If you do sled down these dunes, be prepared to find a lot of sand in your pockets when you are done!

The golden rustic look of the sand dunes in Phan Thiết.

Overall, Vietnam is a wonderful place to visit. Visiting Vietnam is not like any other country. It may seem like a havoc visiting it initially, but when you dig up its wonderful food and bountiful nature, it is definitely a unique country that one has to visit to feel its true experience.

Note: All photos used in this post were taken by either my mom or I.