There are many memorable experiences for travelers visiting Vietnam. Here are top 6 best experiences:
Street Food
“Real” Vietnamese food is best at street side or in small market areas, and though it might be a little grungy or oil-putting to some, dining alfresco in old Indochina offers the most authentic and delicious meals. Prepare yourself for some adventurous dining. If you’re in Ho Chi Minh City, try Quan An Ngon Restaurant for a safe overview of Vietnamese fare.
A couple enjoying street food in Hanoi
Get Lost in the Markets
In Vietnam, the market spelled Cho and pronounced like the beginning of the word could-is the epicenter of culture and commerce. The best market for tourists is Ben Thanh Market in Saigon, which caters to foreign visitors with low-cost T-shirts, souvenirs, and local treats. Every town has a market: Dalat’s market, with its delicious straw – berry preserves; Hoi An’s busy riverside fish market and wholesale silk market; Hanoi’s sprawling Dong Xuan Market; and the hill tribe markets of Sapa and Bac Ha in the far north.
Hanoi night market
Visit Hill tribe Groups
Vietnam’s remote mountain regions, the Central Highlands and the far north, are home to a patchwork of ethnic minorities. Ethnic hill tribe people still practice their own brands of animistic religion and wear colorful traditional clothing.
Travelers among them, in places like Sapa and Bac Ha in the far north or near Buon MaThuot or Kontum in the Central Highlands, can even experience a home stay in some villages through certain eco-tours and trekking companies.
Flower Hmong tribal women in Vietnam
See the Water Puppets of Hanoi
This is one for the tour buses, but the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater in Hanoi is magical. Intricate puppets emerge from the surface of a small watery stage as if by magic, telling tales of old Vietnam. Don’t miss it.
Water puppet show in Hanoi
Take a Wild Ride
Whether through Hanoi’s narrow alleyways and mazelike neighborhoods or on the broad boulevards of busy Ho Chi Minh City, the traffic in Vietnam is a trip. Darwinian road rules mean that any ride by motor- cycle, car, or bus is a test of faith, as drivers swerve and angle through some of the world’s craziest traffic. In Vietnam, “getting there’’ is an adventure in itself.
Motor-cycle through Vietnam is the best experience
Celebrate the Vietnamese Tet Holiday
This Lunar New Year celebration in early February is the most important event on the calendar. Should you be in Vietnam at this time of year, the greatest gift you could get is an invite to a family’s Tet celebration. Bring a little something to eat as a contribution, and enjoy some of the most unique hospitality in the world.
Lion-Dancing in traditional Tet holiday of Vietnam
