so i visited Vietnam with 2 of my friends for 13d12n. we visited Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, Danang, Bana Hills, HCMC (in the same order)

it was a phenomenol experience. the people were very kind and inviting. even old uncles would always greet you with a smile and a hello (which is a big thing considering their lack of use of english).

the cities were clean af. though i really found it quite hard to find a dustbin in hanoi lol. had to carry bottles and food boxes for like a kilometer before we found a public dustbin (we refrained from throwing our garbage into another food stall's bin)

i found the parties to be best at Hanoi (specifically Old Quarters). we didnt party in Danang and in HCMC it was just filled with prostitution (which was really sad to see).

the only drawback i had in my whole trip was food. me being a vegetarian (no eggs) was a major problem for me but even my non-vegetarian friend had difficulty choosing because he himself doesnt like seafood. and according to him, even the meat wasnt that good (we're indian jbtw). even foreign cuisines like italian, american and french were just fine and nothing to talk home about. Only in HCMC did we have really really good food. I visited one pizzeria (dont remember the name but it was on the 2nd/3rd floor) in the cafe apartment building and it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had (i've eaten A LOT of pizzas lol) and the american burger joint Eddie's in District 1 was very nice. even pizza 4p's was good enough and better than most places we ate at in vietnam.

I also really liked the War Remnants Museum in HCMC. I spent like 2-3 hours there reading all the articles on the floors. it was really an eye opener and at the same time, it was a shame that similar atrocities are still happening throughtout the world. after going through it all, i could really connect the dots and felt the differences in culture, accents and even the normal lifestyle of the northern and southern vietnamese people. i wished i knew all those details about the war before my trip. it'd have led to an even deeper connection and understanding.

my favorite part was chilling in a sea facing bnb in danang. it was such a nice vibe. something i'd really like to do for a longer duration (1-2 months) given that i work remotely anyway. the only thing holding me back would be the food lol.

one thing i'll definitely suggest to avoid is staying at Mercur hotel in Bana Hills. it was such a farse and a very mid hotel costing so much money. just do a day visit and try to reach early (8-9am). that'll be more than enough. the only ones i would recommend it to is young couples because of the insane amount of spots to have fun at lol. also, there was this coffee shop called AnBana. they have THE BEST hot chocolate i've ever had. it was the salted hot chocolate. i had it twice (first in the evening and then the next morning) but only the first was great. the second one was just fine. the first one was made by some dude while the second one was made by some woman. the first one was soooo soooo good, damn!

overall, i really loved the country and would love to visit again. next time i'll do the Ha Giang Loop, Ninh Binh and Phu Quoc (among others).

Thoughts from my recent visit :p