Experiencing Vietnam as a local: An Unconventional Travel Guide

Vietnam is a popular destination in Southeast Asia and is often listed on top destinations of prestigious websites and rankings. However, have you ever thought about experiencing the culture and life in Vietnam from a different perspective?

Besides beautiful destinations such as magnificent Ha Long Bay, the misty towm of Sapa or the country’s rich and flavorful cuisine, you can immerse yourself in the vibrant and colorful rhythm of life like a real local. Below, Ama Journey will give you some tips to both immerse yourself in Vietnamese culture and enjoy your vacation.

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1. Crossing the Street: A Test of Faith

The first time you stand at the edge of a busy Vietnamese intersection, you'll feel like you're staring into an abyss of certain death. Traffic lights exist in theory, but in practice, they're more like gentle suggestions that drivers acknowledge with a casual glance before proceeding exactly as they intended anyway.

Crossing the street in Vietnam

The streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are living organisms, pulsating with thousands of motorbikes that flow like water around any obstacle - including you. Cars don't stop, they simply adjust their trajectory slightly. Motorbikes create impromptu new lanes wherever there's a six-inch gap. And trucks? If you see one coming, just reconsider your life choices.

Here's how to cross without becoming a cautionary tale:
First, take a deep breath. Step onto the road with unwavering confidence. Hesitation is your enemy here. Vietnamese traffic operates on the principle that everyone moves predictably, so sudden movements disrupt the flow.
Walk slowly and steadily, like you're crossing a stream filled with crocodiles. The drivers are calculating your trajectory to miss you by millimeters - a calculation that fails if you suddenly sprint.

Perhaps most crucially, do not make eye contact with drivers. In most countries, eye contact establishes a connection that says, "I see you, you see me, let's not collide." In Vietnam, eye contact means, "I acknowledge your existence and therefore expect you to get out of my way."

Pro tip: Follow a local, preferably an elderly woman carrying groceries. Vietnamese grandmas have an inexplicable force field that parts traffic like the Red Sea. Plus, drivers know that hitting Grandma means facing the wrath of an entire extended family.

2. The Art of Haggling: Channel Your Inner Grandma

In Vietnam, price tags are merely opening statements in an elaborate negotiation. There are always two prices for everything: the local price and the foreigner price. This isn't necessarily a scam - it's just economic relativity in action.

Sometimes, haggling in Vietnam is not really neccessary as the small goods.

If you're new to haggling, start with these techniques:
•    Act shocked at the first price mentioned. Clutch your chest, gasp dramatically, or let your jaw drop to the ground. Vietnamese vendors appreciate a good performance.
•    Start walking away after they refuse your counteroffer. This isn't about actually leaving; it's about demonstrating that you aren't desperate for that particular "Good Morning Vietnam" t-shirt. Nine times out of ten, they'll call you back with a lower price.

For advanced negotiators, try these strategies:
•    Pretend to call your Vietnamese "friend" to check if the price is fair. Even if you're just bringing up your calculator app, the impression that you have local intel works wonders.
•    Use key Vietnamese phrases. "Giá này mắc quá!" (This is too expensive!) delivered with the right intonation can make vendors reassess their opening offer immediately.
•    Deploy the nuclear option: say "Thôi không mua" (Okay, I won't buy) with a resigned shrug and then wait. Don't actually leave - just stand there looking disappointed. This creates an awkward silence that most vendors can't bear for long.

Remember where to haggle:
•    Local markets and street stalls? Yes.
•    Small independent shops? Absolutely.
•    Convenience stores with barcodes and scanners? Please don't embarrass yourself.

3. Vietnamese Coffee: A Caffeine Rush That Hits Like a Truck

Vietnamese coffee isn't just a beverage - it's a transformative experience that will redefine your relationship with caffeine forever. While the rest of the world sips on mild Arabica beans, Vietnam proudly embraces Robusta, which contains nearly double the caffeine. Combine this with a slow-drip brewing method that extracts every molecule of stimulant, and you've got a concoction potent enough to wake Sleeping Beauty from a hundred-year nap in approximately 0.2 seconds.

A great Vietnamese coffee is making for our clients

What truly sets Vietnamese coffee apart is the addition of sweetened condensed milk - a practice born from necessity during French colonial times when fresh milk was scarce. The result is a perfect harmony of bitter and sweet, like finding true love in a coffee cup.

No visit to Vietnam is complete without sampling these varieties:
Cà phê sữa đá (Iced milk coffee) – The gateway drug. Sweet but dangerous, served with enough ice to combat the tropical heat. Don't be fooled by its innocent appearance - underneath that sweetness lurks enough caffeine to power a small village.

Cà phê đen (Black coffee) – Not for the faint of heart. This is coffee strong enough to make your soul temporarily leave your body for a stroll around the block.

Cà phê trứng (Egg coffee) – Yes, egg. Raw egg yolk whipped with condensed milk creates a creamy, custard-like topping that floats on strong black coffee. The result tastes like liquid tiramisu.

Making Vietnamese egg coffee

Side effects of Vietnamese coffee include vibrating hands, sudden bursts of energy, and the temporary illusion that you can speak fluent Vietnamese. The most committed enthusiasts allocate extra luggage space for bringing home Vietnamese coffee beans and a phin filter, ensuring their newly acquired addiction can continue beyond vacation.

4. Bathroom Roulette: Squat Toilets, Hose Showers, and the Eternal Quest for Toilet Paper

Nothing tests your adaptability as a traveler quite like Vietnamese bathroom facilities, which range from ultra-modern luxury to "historical experiences."

The first rule of Vietnamese bathroom club: never assume toilet paper will be provided. Some facilities have it. Most don't. Seasoned travelers carry pocket tissue packs like precious contraband.

The second rule: doors are a luxury, not a right. Some public facilities have proper doors with functioning locks. Others have doors that don't quite close. Some have curtains. And some feature what can only be described as "privacy suggestions" in the form of partial walls or strategically placed plants.

Nearly every Vietnamese bathroom features the notorious "bum gun" - a handheld bidet hose attached to the wall beside the toilet. First-timers, approach with caution: water pressure in Vietnam can be unexpectedly vigorous. What looks like an innocent cleaning device can sometimes deliver a pressure-washer experience.

Get the bidet technique right, and you'll become a convert, wondering why the rest of the world hasn't embraced this superior technology. You might even find yourself looking up bidet attachments online before your plane home has landed.

Throughout Vietnam, particularly in rural areas, you'll encounter the traditional squat toilet - a porcelain fixture embedded in the floor that requires a stance like you're catching a baseball but with more existential contemplation.

The proper technique involves a stable squat with feet positioned on the footpads, weight on your heels, and clothing carefully arranged to avoid unfortunate splashing incidents. If you survive a week of squat toilets, your leg strength will increase by approximately +100%, making your return to the gym after vacation notably easier.

5. Riding a Motorbike: Welcome to the Jungle

Nothing prepares you for the organized chaos of Vietnamese traffic. What initially appears to be a lawless free-for-all is actually a complex, flowing system operating on principles entirely different from Western road rules.

Renting a motorbike grants you ultimate freedom but also comes with a crash course in survival skills. Understand that lanes are theoretical constructs that exist mainly in traffic safety manuals. A two-lane street routinely accommodates four to five lanes of traffic, with vehicles occupying any available space larger than a dinner plate.

The Vietnamese horn has a language all its own. It's not an expression of anger - it's a complex communication tool that can mean:
•    "I'm here" (quick tap)
•    "I'm passing you" (double tap)
•    "Watch out, I'm not stopping" (long honk)
•    "Hello to my friend across the street" (rhythmic beeping)

Helmets are not optional - both legally and practically. Vietnamese police have a supernatural ability to materialize exactly when foreign tourists decide a short helmetless ride "just down the street" won't matter.

If navigating Vietnamese traffic seems daunting, ride-hailing apps like Grab/Xanh SM/Be offer motorbike taxi services. Your role as passenger is simple: hold on, don't wiggle, and maintain a Zen-like acceptance of mortality. The Grab helmet provided will fit poorly and offer questionable protection, but it's more about legal compliance than actual safety.

By day three, you'll be casually checking email on your phone while your driver navigates through spaces that defy Euclidean geometry.

6. Vietnamese Language: A Crash Course in Survival Phrases

Vietnamese is a beautiful language with musical qualities that make poetry out of even the simplest phrases. It's also extraordinarily difficult for non-tonal language speakers to master. Your attempts will range from accidentally proposing marriage when you meant to order chicken, to inadvertently insulting someone's family while trying to compliment their restaurant.

Nevertheless, locals deeply appreciate even clumsy efforts. Essential phrases include:
•    "Bao nhiêu?" (How much?) – The most important phrase in your arsenal. Without it, you're just a walking ATM.
•    "Không cay" (Not spicy) – A phrase that will be acknowledged with nods of understanding before your food arrives containing enough chili to strip paint. Vietnamese "not spicy" exists on a different spectrum than Western "not spicy."
•    "Xin lỗi" (Excuse me/Sorry) – Useful for the countless times you'll bump into people or need to attract a waiter's attention.
•    "Toilet ở đâu?" (Where is the toilet?) – Self-explanatory and potentially urgent.
The real challenge of Vietnamese lies in its six tones, where the same basic syllable can have completely different meanings depending on pitch contour:
•    "Ma" means ghost
•    "Mà" means but/however
•    "Má" means mother
•    "Mả" means tomb/grave.
•    "Mạ" means rice seedling
•    "Mã" means paper offering/code

Confuse these during conversation, and you might accidentally tell someone you saw their mother in a tomb rather than at the market. The potential for accidentally creating supernatural family drama is limitless.

7. Dealing with Vietnamese Hospitality: Too Much Food, Too Much Love

Vietnamese hospitality operates on the principle that the value of a guest directly correlates to how much food they consume. This creates an impossible situation where refusing food is impolite, but so is leaving food uneaten.

Enjoying local Vietnamese foods

When invited to a Vietnamese home, prepare yourself for an unwinnable battle of generosity. Before you've finished your first helping, your bowl will be refilled without consultation. This cycle continues regardless of your protests.

Saying "I'm full" ("Tôi no rồi") is interpreted not as a statement of physical limitation but as a polite formality that must be overcome through persistent offering of more food. The only defense is to eat slowly and accept that you'll leave uncomfortably full.

The grandmother deserves special mention. She may speak no English and appear to be quietly observing, but she is the strategic mastermind of your food domination. She will notice which dishes you show enthusiasm for and ensure an endless supply materializes.

This force-feeding comes from a place of profound love and historical context. In a country that has experienced food scarcity within living memory, the ability to abundantly feed guests represents prosperity and care.
If you thought the food was relentless, wait until you experience Vietnamese drinking culture. The most dangerous phrase is "một, hai, ba, dzô!" (one, two, three, drink!), which signals a group toast where everyone must drink simultaneously.

Even more perilous is "một trăm phần trăm!" (one hundred percent!), which means you must drain your entire glass. The preferred drink is beer - typically light lagers served with ice - but be wary of homemade rice wine (rượu), which appears innocuous but carries surprising potency.

8. The Great Budget Challenge: Living Like a Local for $10 a Day

Vietnam remains one of Southeast Asia's most affordable destinations. The $10-a-day challenge is not just possible - it's potentially the most authentic way to experience the country.
The financial and gastronomic center of your budget strategy should be street food, which offers the mathematical miracle of being both the cheapest and most delicious option. 

For less than $2, you can enjoy Vietnam's greatest culinary hits prepared by vendors who have been perfecting the same dish for decades.

Your day might start with a bowl of phở from a sidewalk stall where plastic stools barely clear the ground. Lunch could be bánh mì - Vietnam's perfect sandwich contribution to world cuisine - for about $1. Dinner presents endless affordable options: bún chả (grilled pork with noodles), cơm tấm (broken rice with grilled pork), or ốc (Vietnamese snails and seafood).

For transportation, Grab bike offers rides for $1-2 across most districts in major cities. The traditional alternative is xe ôm (literally "hug vehicle") - independent motorbike drivers who hang out at street corners waiting for passengers.

Avoiding the "foreigner tax" requires strategy:

•    Speak a little Vietnamese, even if it's just numbers for negotiation.
•    Dress like you've been in Vietnam for months, not days.
•    Shop and eat where locals do.
•    Act confident even when you're completely lost.

Conclusion: If You Survived, Congratulations - You're Practically Vietnamese Now

By the end of your Vietnam adventure, you'll have developed a unique set of skills that would impress even Liam Neeson's character in "Taken." You can cross eight lanes of traffic without breaking stride. You can eat soup for breakfast without questioning it. You know exactly how much to tip without insulting anyone. Your intestinal flora has evolved to handle levels of spice that would have hospitalized you two weeks ago.

These are not just travel accomplishments - they're life skills that will forever change how you navigate the world. You'll return home walking more confidently into traffic, bargaining at department stores to the confusion of sales staff, and wondering why everyone seems to be whispering when they talk.

Rate yourself based on how much of this guide you conquered:
- 0-2 items: Tourist (But honest about it)
- 3-5 items: Advancing Traveler (Instagram vs. Reality coming into alignment)
- 6-7 items: Honorary Local (Vietnamese grandmothers would approve)
- All 8 items: Potential Expat (You're already looking at apartment rentals in District 2 or Hoan Kiem District)

Warning: Vietnam has a strange gravitational pull that affects travelers long after they've left. Don't be surprised when you find yourself researching visa requirements just weeks after returning home. The country embeds itself in your memory - the organized chaos, the landscapes, the food that ruined all other food for you - creating a persistent longing to return.