Vietnam Travel Notes

"The country has a thousand years of literature, and thousands of miles of travel. After Hongpang opened up, he conquered the south and conquered Tang and Yu." If someone asks, which country outside the Chinese character circle is culturally closest to China? I believe most Chinese people will answer "Japan" or "South Korea". However, the answer I gave was: Vietnam. Just like the poem at the beginning that still hangs high in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial City of Hue, Vietnam, China's influence on it began thousands of years ago and continues to this day. At the same time, its significance to China's past dynasties is also extraordinary, but I'm afraid this will have to be discussed in detail in the history column.

My association with Vietnam happened by chance. Because Vietnam’s economy is booming now, the frequency of flights to other countries has reached an all-time high, and the fares are very low. As a student, I naturally seized this opportunity to transfer there to save money, and stay for a few days to see around. . I didn’t have much interest in this strange country at first, but after I arrived, I discovered that it was much more interesting than I thought (by the way, I think the Philippines is really unworthy of its name. It is said that there are many tourists, but they are extremely boring) . Next, let’s talk about the three cities I have been to: Hanoi, Ninh Binh, and Halong Bay.

Hanoi :

The first stop I arrived was Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. When I first arrived, this country gave me a "greenish feeling": service staff with good attitudes but poor English proficiency, souvenir shops with small stores but exquisite products, and an asphalt road outside the airport that looked like it had just been renovated. All this clearly reveals that Vietnam is in its "fledgling" stage of development. However, as soon as we arrived in the old town (Hoan Kiem District), this "little fresh" image was suddenly shattered: narrow streets, narrow and dilapidated houses, electric cars running all over the streets, and a tangled mess above our heads. of wires. The traffic situation here is extremely bad. Compared with it, the old city of Beijing can be said to be orderly. The old town of Hanoi is also full of "pyrotechnics" - I mean real "pyrotechnics". The streets are filled with smoke, and the air quality is quite worrying. And I don’t know why I always feel that the weather here is like a sauna, extremely hot and stuffy (it’s not like this in other places in Vietnam I’ve been to), so that my friends who were traveling with me sighed after entering the air-conditioned room: "I finally came to life"!

Well, of course, there is a lot of fun to be had in a place like this, right? As the saying goes, "It's so dirty, so messy, and so happy." Let’s talk about eating first. Unlike other Southeast Asian countries whose food is heavy on oil and spicy food, Vietnam's food is very light (I almost never saw fat people there), and the taste is slightly sweet, but it really does not prevent it from being delicious. There is no shortage of affordable and high-quality restaurants in the old town. The locals recommend Bon Cha Dac Kim. I went there in person and thought it was quite good. The per capita price is about NT$90. This Hoan Kiem district is really popular in a district full of foreign tourists. It’s affordable. Especially for breakfast, I recommend eating the barbecue noodles there, which are basically filled with barbecued meat (unlike the "eggplant barbecue" in some stores in mainland China, which is actually filled with eggplants), and the soup is rich and delicious, and only costs 70,000 VND. (Approximately NT$90). I've only been to one high-end restaurant for foreigners (because the price is a bit high, NT$650 per person), called Duong's Restaurant. It's not far from the Supreme People's Court, but unlike many other high-end restaurants that are flashy, its food can be said to be... Best I've had in years. I recommend eating the traditional set, a traditional Vietnamese dish, which costs 480,000 VND (NT$630) plus tax, but it has everything from appetizers to desserts (you may overeat if you have a small appetite), and the quality of each dish is excellent. It's indescribably good. If the budget is not too tight, I think it is still worth a try.

Let’s talk about fun. The famous "Hoan Kiem Lake" has an average scenery during the day. Only the Chinese-style buildings on the lakeside and in the middle of the lake are a highlight. Besides, this place is not famous for its scenery, but its history and legends (which I will talk about later). There are a large number of couplets left by Vietnamese literati on the buildings by the lake (all written in Chinese. In the ancient times of Vietnam (and of course Japan and Korea), Chinese was "elegant language", just as European medieval aristocrats all spoke Latin on formal occasions. ), but level? . . Might as well have written it myself. But by the way, there are many outstanding literati in Vietnam, and they have left quite a lot of outstanding Chinese poems and lyrics. I don’t understand why scenic spots like Hoan Kiem Lake are all filled up by people with mediocre literary talent. As for at night, the lights of the buildings around the lake will reflect the lake beautifully, and you can also see many elderly people dancing square dances by the lake (yes, there are square dances in Vietnam too). Coupled with the dazzling night markets in the surrounding area, you can truly feel the "chaotic" charm of Hanoi's old town when you arrive here, as if you have returned to China in the 1990s as the previous generation said.

There are many museums in Hanoi, but I feel that although they are not unworthy of going, there are nothing too amazing. The wide variety of American and Soviet standard weapons in the War History Museum (most of which were captured) is a highlight, but there is not much to see after that. Next to it is the famous "Thang Long Imperial City", but the real monuments have long been destroyed by the French colonists. They are basically rebuilt and the scale is average. My suggestion is to go there or not. There is also the Vietnam National Museum of History. One main building is full of propaganda about "how great and glorious and correct the Viet Cong is." As someone who has stayed in China for so long, I feel sick after seeing it (this is why I don't recommend going to Hoa Lo Prison. , too much political propaganda that looks fake at first glance). As for Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. . . Foreign individual tourists are only allowed to make reservations with a group, otherwise they will have to queue up after all the tour groups have visited. I think it is impossible to pay homage to Hu's body when traveling independently. I do think that the square outside the mausoleum is modeled after Tiananmen Square to some extent, but it is far less spacious and grand. My suggestion is that as a landmark scenic spot in Hanoi, you can just go there and walk around for half an hour before leaving.

I personally think that the most worth visiting monument in Hanoi is the "Confucian Temple", which is their Imperial College (yes, Vietnam's ancient official system was learned from China, and there were also imperial examinations, which Japan and South Korea did not learn). Although its scale is not as large as the Imperial College in Beijing, if you can avoid the time when there are many tourists, you can still feel the tranquility and cultural atmosphere. Confucius is enshrined in the main hall, and the familiar plaque "Teacher of All Times" hangs in the hall. At the same time, due to less damage caused by the war, a large number of original ancient books shipped from China are also displayed in the Hanoi Temple of Literature, ranging from the Tao Te Ching to the Book of Rites. The value of the cultural relics of the Temple of Literature has also been greatly improved. Behind the main hall is enshrined the Vietnamese "Confucian sage" Zhu Wen'an. His life experience must sound familiar to everyone: the monarch is fatuous and treacherous ministers are in power. Zhu Wen'an ignored the danger and publicly wrote a letter demanding that the traitors be eradicated. When he received no response, He resigned and returned home to teach. Isn't this the "loyal minister" template advocated by all Chinese dynasties? I think the most important thing to feel when you go to the Confucian Temple is its atmosphere: just as King Le Chi So of Vietnam wrote in his poem in reply to people from the Central Plains who were curious about Vietnam, "poems describe the system of the Tang Dynasty, and the rituals and music of the emperors and ministers of the Han Dynasty". If you can feel in the Confucian Temple the respect that Vietnamese people show to Confucius, Zhu Wen'an and other great Confucian scholars to this day and how deeply they are immersed in Confucianism, I believe you will not think that my statement that "Vietnam is the closest to China culturally" is false.

Finally, let’s talk about the “St. Joseph’s Cathedral” left over from the French colonial period. The church itself is not much to see, but there are many coffee shops and souvenir shops nearby and are very unique. One of Vietnam's specialty drinks is its egg coffee. If you want to try it, I recommend going to "Marou" across the street from the church. A cup costs 100,000 VND (NT$130). It's not cheap, but it's absolutely delicious. At the same time, the store also sells chocolates produced in Vietnam, which can be taken back as gifts for family and friends. As for souvenirs, I recommend buying perfume or scented candles. Vietnamese spice craftsmanship was learned from France, and improvements were made to better suit their own aesthetics (the taste is more fragrant and elegant). This is where the famous "Miss Saigon" brand perfume comes from.

Summary: Pay attention to traffic safety, be careful of heatstroke and dehydration, and don’t drink non-plain-packaged drinks. If you don't mind that Hanoi is "dirty and messy", it is still a very unique and cultural city. It is recommended that you spend two days to visit.

Ninh Binh :

In terms of personal preference, Ninh Binh is my favorite among the three cities I have visited. This is a small town with simple folk customs. The people there hardly speak English, but from their faces you can feel the sincere smiles that are different from the professional nature of the service industry. The slow pace of life made me feel like I was back in Chiang Mai? It feels like a very suitable place for retirement. At the same time, the traffic is not as chaotic as Hanoi, the roads are spacious and there are not many cars. Because it is located among mountains, I can clearly feel that the temperature here is much lower than in Hanoi.

The two most famous scenic spots in Ninh Binh are Trang An and Lying dragon mountain. Chang'an is mainly for boat tours. The scenery on both sides of the strait is somewhat similar to Guilin, but in my opinion it is better. First of all, there are fewer people in Chang'an. There are no boats everywhere on the river and people on the shore like Guilin. Furthermore, what impressed me the most here is that the water is extremely clear, and you can see the dense vegetation on the bottom of the river. There are aquatic plants and forearm-long fish, and some waters seem to contain a large amount of copper ions like Jiuzhaigou Valley, which is light blue. The last, of course, is its rich landforms, mainly due to the large number of caves. At first, I was curious about taking a route with more caves, but after entering, I found that it was extremely hot and stuffy inside. It is recommended to take a look, but do not choose a route with many caves. The ferry ticket costs 200,000 Vietnamese dong (approximately NT$260) and takes nearly three hours for a round trip, which is not expensive. You can get up earlier in the morning to go there. Firstly, there are fewer people, and secondly, the temperature is relatively low, and the wind on the river will be very comfortable. It is just the right time to experience what the Vietnamese poet wrote: "It is not warm, it is cold, it is clear, and the morning breeze is waning all the way." .

The scenery on Wolong Mountain is very good, but it is a bit steep, and there are 500 steps (the higher you go up, the higher the steps), which is a test for people's physical fitness, especially for shorter people (anyway, my friend and I, two boys around 170cm tall, are tired. Too bad). At the same time, it is difficult to take a taxi on the return trip there, so be prepared to bargain with the driver at the entrance of the scenic spot, but the final price should be at least higher than the normal price. By the way, when taking a taxi in Vietnam, it is recommended to use GRAB, otherwise there is a risk of being scammed. I estimate that a typical taxi costs NT$25 per kilometer, with a starting price of about NT$40. This price is not low in Southeast Asia. However, buses in Vietnam are inconvenient for foreigners (there are no bus stops in English), and motorcycles are not very safe, so it is still recommended to take a taxi. Here I would also like to recommend the only beverage shop at the foot of the mountain. The sugarcane juice inside is super delicious. It is cut from the farmland next to it and pressed on site. It costs 20,000 VND (NT$26) per cup. For I was so tired after just climbing the mountain that I felt like wine.

As for food, I recommend Restaurant Trung Tuyet, which is of good quality and low price. The menu also includes Western and Chinese food (the grilled pork chop and fried rice are quite good, and free fruits, side dishes and drinks are provided before the meal). Of course, I think it is also essential to experience the most traditional Vietnamese street shop and eat a bowl of authentic Vietnamese rice noodles. Prices here are low, 10,000 rice noodles are about 40,000 dong (about NT$50).

I only stayed in Ninh Binh for one day, but it is said that besides these two classics, there are many interesting places, such as various ancient temples in the mountains, night markets, forest parks, etc. But I think the best experience here is its simple folk customs. Although Ninh Binh’s tourism industry has gradually grown in recent years, it is still relatively quiet and peaceful compared to Halong Bay and Hanoi. I have never been scammed here, many people will be more patient and considerate to you when they see a foreigner (without asking for anything in return), and like I said at the beginning of this post, you can see that here Lots of non-commercial, genuine smiles.

Summary: Try to go to the outskirts of the city as little as possible at night, as it is remote and has poor signal quality (in fact, Vietnam’s security has always been pretty good, second only to Singapore and Malaysia, two more developed countries in Southeast Asia, and better than Thailand). It is recommended to visit for one or two days. Of course, if you want to find a place to relax and enjoy a peaceful life, it is not a bad idea to stay here for ten days and a half.

Halong Bay :

Halong Bay is famous as the movie "King Kong" was filmed there. Its unique maritime karst landform has also given it the reputation of "Guilin on the Sea". However, after playing around, I have to say that Halong Bay is really overhyped.

Let’s talk about the benefits first. First of all, because Halong Bay is relatively close to Guangxi, there are also a large number of Chinese businessmen investing. The popularity of Chinese here is astonishingly high. There are more people who can speak Chinese than English. I can guarantee that if you ask people for help in Chinese on the street, there will definitely be a crowd of people. I'll ask you what's wrong. At the same time, the sea view of Halong Bay is indeed well-deserved. When I went there, it was cloudy and it was still raining on the sea. But unlike the blue sea and green mountains on a sunny day in the photo, Halong Bay at that time was particularly magnificent. I once described a rainy day in Halong Bay as having a "doomsday scene": the mountains are looming in the swirling smoke, but at the same time you can see a ray of setting sun on the horizon, which looks like a large fire burning between the mountains, hanging low in the sky. The large black clouds on the sea looked like thick smoke. When the cruise ship approaches the peaks above the water, they will stand in front of you coldly like rock giants, and the clouds and mist in front of you add a sense of mystery to this scene. All in all, this kind of strange and magnificent scenery is something I have never seen before, and it is worth a trip to Halong Bay for this (by the way, there are more monkeys there, I even saw monkeys swimming in the sea, which is considered It’s a “wonder”, haha).

What about the bad ones? First of all, you can see a lot of garbage in the sea, probably thrown by tourists with poor quality. What's more, the buildings on the shore are really unspeakable. A group of Chinese developers with poor aesthetic standards have built a group of tacky Western-style buildings along the shore, and even opened amusement parks and casinos, forcibly making this beautiful place with magnificent mountains and rivers. The natural scenic spot has become a "liquor and a waste of money". Moreover, due to the large number of foreign tourists here, the prices are higher than those in Hanoi and Ningping (it is common to have enough food at NT$400 or 500 per person on the commercial streets), and it is common for people to be cheated, which has nothing to do with the "simple folk customs". relation.

As for the food, I really don’t have much to say, just try to find cheaper options. Also, don’t be like me. When you see a pretty girl using proficient Chinese to ask you to go to a store to eat, you will be embarrassed to say “no” and run away if the price is wrong.

Summary: I’m not saying that Halong Bay is not worth visiting. On the contrary, I think the sea view here is really worth seeing. But please note that apart from this, there is really nothing else to see in Halong Bay. Prices are high, so only one day is enough.

Next, let’s briefly talk about the historical and cultural entanglements between Vietnam and China :

Historically, Chinese emperors regarded Vietnam as part of their own territory. It was only after the founding of the People's Republic of China that Vietnam's status as a sovereign country was officially established. Before that, it had repeatedly become a vassal state of China (and would take advantage of the opportunity once the Central Plains dynasty declined. Declare independence). Due to its extreme cultural proximity to China and its remote but strategically valuable geographical location, the rulers of the Central Plains Dynasty generally regarded the inclusion of Vietnam as a "grand unification" and a necessary part of the dynasty's strength. It can be said that once If a certain emperor takes Vietnam, the legitimacy of his rule for the rest of his life is basically guaranteed (unless he makes too outrageous a mistake later).

To put it bluntly, Vietnam’s biggest enemy in history is China. When I saw the chronology of the Vietnam War at the Vietnam War History Museum, I joked to a friend: "This is almost the complete list of dynasties in China." Even the legend of Hoan Kiem Lake revolves around the deeds of Le Li, the emperor of Vietnam's Le Dynasty, against Minh. The general idea is that the lake god lent him a sword to defeat the Ming Dynasty army and asked him to return it after his triumph. "The emperor's residence in the mountains and rivers of the southern country is clearly determined in the book of heaven. If the northern invaders come to invade, you and others will be defeated." This poem written by Vietnamese general Li Changjie when he was fighting the Song Dynasty is a must-learn content for every Vietnamese primary school student. It can be said that most of Vietnam's nationalism is directed against China.

However, culturally speaking, Vietnamese people are very yearning for China. Not to mention the influence of thousands of years of Confucian culture, there are also Li Bai, Du Fu's poems and Lu Xun's articles in Vietnamese textbooks. Just from the Chinese songs covered by Vietnamese singers on the street and the Chinese novels and TV dramas flooding the Internet, you can know that Chinese culture is in Vietnam The impact is really significant. I also feel that the Vietnamese are the most similar to the Chinese in terms of thinking habits and aesthetics. In Japan, Korea and Vietnam, there are many poems and literary works written in Chinese. However, although there are no language errors in Japan and Korea, it is easy to pass through certain The way of expression is discernible (I can’t tell clearly, it’s just...it feels different from the Chinese way of thinking), but the Vietnamese one is difficult to discern. Those who don’t know will definitely think that it was written by a Chinese. It may be precisely because of this high degree of similarity in underlying culture that China’s cultural export to Vietnam is so successful today.

All in all, I think Vietnamese people view China a bit like Chinese people view Japan: they hate what they have done in history, but they also admire its economic development and cultural achievements.

Here are some issues that everyone is concerned about:

Is public security good in Vietnam?

As I said, as a country that implements Confucianism, Vietnam has the lowest crime rate in the entire Indo-China Peninsula (in fact, countries/regions in the East Asian cultural circle generally have low crime rates). That’s not to say you don’t need to be careful, but you don’t need to be too nervous either. As for the recent rumors of telecommunications fraud and human trafficking in Southeast Asia, most of them are matters in Cambodia and Myanmar and have nothing to do with Vietnam.

Will I be cheated when traveling?

Most likely, I've encountered it twice. Therefore, I recommend using Grab when taking a taxi. It is best not to buy anything without a clearly marked price. My friend who was traveling with me once bought an umbrella that smelled bad and was about to fall apart for 180,000 VND (approximately NT$250). Later, he thought it was too expensive and went to the travel agency owner downstairs who spoke English to have it appraised. I will never He could never forget the way the landlady looked at him, as if there was someone who had been wronged to the point of June Feishuang, with a complex look mixed with surprise and pity.

Are Vietnamese friendly to foreign tourists?

As an ordinary tourist, I feel that apart from being scammed by unscrupulous businessmen (in Southeast Asia, it is a common impression that Chinese tourists are "stupid and rich"), I really will not be affected by this aspect. One thing to note here is that Vietnamese generally believe that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are very different from mainland China, so the probability of people from these places being scammed is much smaller. Along the way, I met many Vietnamese people who offered their help without asking for anything in return. From the restaurant proprietress who gave us free tea when she learned that we had to walk a long distance, to the police officer who took the initiative to store our luggage at the train station, to the policeman who offered to store our luggage for 10,000 Vietnamese dong. The sugar cane juice girl who chased me for a long time to give me change. . . Most of what I experienced in Vietnam was not discrimination and malice, but the sincerity and kindness of the people there. As Le Chi So wrote in his poem, "If you want to ask about Annam, the customs of Annam are pure. In February and March of this year, peaches and plums are like spring." Generally speaking, Vietnam is still a country with relatively simple customs and a relatively gentle character. I think that Vietnam and Vietnamese should be viewed and understood with a kind and normal heart, instead of using stereotypes with a sense of superiority like "Vietnamese" and "foreign workers" like some people do. Go and experience it.

PS:
Several interesting phenomena in Vietnam:

1. Women there like to wear long sleeves (no matter how hot the weather is), and some even cover their faces, probably for fear of getting tanned. This is very similar to China. The concept of "whiteness is beautiful" has reached a point where it is a bit pathological.

2. Many people like to wear military helmets when riding bicycles (especially rickshaws)

3. Since the face value of currency is very large, the minimum is 1,000, so one thousand is generally called "one yuan" and ten thousand is called "ten yuan"

4. Vietnamese people are just as "face-conscious" as Chinese people, and while they can be very harsh in scolding people online, they are often gentler in reality.

5. Most restaurants only have fans, and low plastic benches are particularly popular.

6. The best place to exchange currency is actually a gold store, and US dollars are often the most popular.

7. You can buy almost any medicine without a doctor's prescription