So I wasn't sure what to write at the end of Vietnam should I just pretend we had a great time and it was amazing or not. Well I figured its my story and no point in pretending it was something its not just cause you feel pressured by the tourist trail of other backpackers in SE Asia to say ooooo its amazing !!   Don’t get me wrong we had a nice time but its nothing compared to travelling India or China is just felt different – I don’t know exactly why it just is.

Its been an eventful 3 weeks in Vietnam unfortunately I think we saw too much of the tourist side of things and far too many of the locals wanting to rip you off and scam you – don’t get me wrong I know this is the norm in most countries you travel I am well aware of that but to what extent is is acceptable or just plain ridiculous. I definitely think if you went off the beaten track away from the tourist trail you could get to know the real people and life in Vietnam but unfortunatley for us time was not on our side so we left a bit dissapointed. We had been really looking forward to coming here and don’t get me wrong it’s a beautiful country the scenery is amazing and we have spoke to many travellers who felt the same as us yet other who were complete opposite and loved so it’s a bit of a strange one.

I think for us after coming from India & China it was just different, we done the typical "backpackers" trail in Vietnam with so many westeners which means you don’t really get to mix with the locals as we did in our previous countries as us tourists stick together which is great for socialising but also isolates you from the locals I think. It certainly feels like they just want out money and not interested in getting to know us which again was so different from what we were used to.

If we were to come back here I would avoid ALL tour companies and bus companies at all cost or just be prepared that its not always going to be what they say is it, its best to travel independently– I think it’s a country for getting on a motorbike and exploring it that way – get into the villages and see the real Vietnam.

Daily Budget
We could have been a lot cheaper in Vietnam but we went into "holiday" mode and ate out in nice places pretty much every night so we ended up spending about £45 per day for 2 of us including accomodation and also £54 for our visas.