Disappointing Vietnam Trip: Dirty, Messy, Low Quality, Overpriced, and Unwelcoming to Chinese Tourists
Key points: In the summer, especially for people from Guangxi, there is absolutely no need to go to “Hanoi” and “Ha Long Bay.” The reasons are as follows:
1. Dirty, messy, and poor: Don’t be fooled by the photos with “Leica” filters online; Hanoi and Ha Long Bay are almost everywhere like this, as if you were back in Guangxi 20 years ago.
The hygiene conditions of restaurants outside are worrying, and the chopsticks seem like rotten wood.
2. Terrible climate: It’s as stiflingly hot in the summer as it is in Guangdong and Guangxi. The combination of dirtiness, high temperatures, and almost no shops with air conditioning, plus motorcycles flying around everywhere, makes one completely uninterested in shopping, very disappointing.
3. Low local quality + Anti-Chinese sentiment: Perhaps due to historical reasons, some locals have hostility towards Chinese, and their low quality is not hidden (even customs officers throw passports on the table after looking at them). However, they are extremely deferential to Koreans and Westerners.
4. Lack of uniqueness: For people living in Guangxi, the urban street designs of Hanoi and Ha Long Bay are highly similar to those in China, and the natural scenery is similar to Yangshuo, with a similarly dirty and messy style, making me unsure of what to photograph.
You might think that such a terrible place must be cheap?
Wrong! The cost of living here is generally as high as modern Shanghai. Also, drop the fantasy that Vietnamese generally speak Chinese; at most, one out of ten waiters can speak a little. The menus are mostly in Vietnamese and Korean, and every meal or communication with drivers is a long, hot process (as mentioned, many stores don’t have air conditioning).
The only motivation for me to complete this trip was the non-refundable Da Nang flight and five-star hotel booking I had made beforehand. Otherwise, I would have wanted to take a taxi to the nearest border checkpoint and return home on the third day, not wanting to stay a moment longer!
After arriving in Da Nang, the situation improved somewhat.
After all, the service at the five-star hotels in Da Nang is quite good, and the sea view is nice. Although expensive, it at least meets the minimum standard for tourism.
Summary: I will never choose to travel to Vietnam again, even if Jesus came! If you must “curiosity killed the cat” and want to “explore,” then fly directly to Da Nang or the legendary Nha Trang.
