Name: Jen

Travel Resume: Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Morocco, Belgium, France, Norway, Russia, Spain, Scotland, England, Ireland, India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand and Australia.

I feel kind of dumb talking about traveling to Vietnam after it was called out as an exotic third world destination on Stuff White People Like. But I’m white and I like Vietnam. What’re you gonna do?

After being in Saigon and Hoi An, I got sick of being in towns, so I paid a guy to take me on his motorcycle on a ride around the countryside. This was taken near where his family lives outside of Hoi An. My driver was a toothless, non-English speaker in his 50’s who picked an orange from his family’s grove for me to try.

It wasn’t Vietnamese New Year (Tet), but the people of Vietnam love to celebrate any festival - including Christmas and the Western New Year. I talked to a local woman who explained that the lanterns are lit in honor of loved ones who have died and then set to float down the river. She even taught me how to say “Happy New Year” in Vietnamese. Which I promptly forgot.

Fire safety is not a concern in Vietnam. Bar patrons were lighting bundles of sparklers inside the bar - where everything was made of wood or paper. There were so many festivities for Western New Year - a play that was translated into English, a pop singer, a parade with people in random costumes (among them a Santa Claus, teenage girls in Japanese Kimonos, and a man in a cow mask). I rang in the New Year with a bunch of Vietnamese hipsters.

Important Lessons Learned: Every time I travel, I start out thinking I know what I’m doing. And then I realize that different rules apply in different places. But I think there are a few basic travel principles wherever you go. One, know who you should talk to - and who it’s totally okay to ignore. Don’t feel like you have to be polite; just be safe. Two, agree on a price before you go anywhere (this applies to motorcycles taxis in Vietnam, cab rides in Morocco and tuk-tuk drivers in India).Three, don’t feel bad about being a tourist. I’m not saying you should expect everyone to bend to your will, but you shouldn’t feel bad that you don’t know the [country's] etiquette, and don’t let shyness or a feeling of not belonging keep you from joining in.

Monday, March 3, 2008 | photo albums, stories