1319efd4-ae5f-4518-ac06-e7d25b28d9e3Fun Hanoi foodie adventure to blow your mind A foodie adventure in Hanoi that will blow your mind Episode 8 S3-08 Food Adventure 00:00 / 23:08 If you are a foodie and looking for something adventurous in Vietnam; Something fun and a bit out there! My guest Fleur Sharpe has the goods! Let’s just say, the menu for lunch in Hanoi took a turn for the wild side when Fleur and her husband decided after checking the reviews, that eating at a snake restaurant in Hanoi, could be just the thing!! Let’s go for the top of the range she said - “Let's see what a Cobra tastes like”. With a bottle of French Champagne under their arm, off they went in the middle of summer to the Hung Restaurant in Hanoi. I really hope you find this adventure as funny and side splitting as I did. If you’d like to find more about Fleur and the cooking classes she runs online you can find here here - https://cooklivelove.thinkific.com/collections Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

237094e6-207c-48f9-8161-68f4458ddf60In this session, I talk about food, people and experiences. Vietnam Travel Planning Episode 1 S1-01 Vietnam Travel Planning 00:00 / 27:16 In this session, I talk about food, people and experiences. What's in store for history buffs, adventure seekers, and luxury travellers. They say that the best way to understand a country is through their food. boy, are you in for a treat. I’d like to share with you my experiences with the people and what you can expect from their hospitality. What kind of trip do you want? Let me share with you my top 4 main categories of experiences. And where you have to go to find them. I invite you to the Vietnam I know and love. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

ed10c13c-1fb0-41e6-adce-273e1b6a9b72How should you travel to and in Vietnam and is it safe? Travel within Vietnam Episode 3 S1-03 Travel within Vietnam 00:00 / 18:54 This might sound like a crazy question, however as the world offers us many choices as in,:- How should you travel - As part of a tour; As an individual through a travel agent or do it all yourself online and commit to everything before you arrive? Or do you just book your flight and do everything off the cuff when you get there through Tour desks and local guides? Do you bring your family? Is it safe to travel solo? Is it okay to bring your elderly parents? Is it safe? Let me cover these questions and more in this episode. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S5-E24 - Ha Giang: Insider Tips for Adventure S5 – E24 - Ha Giang: Insider Tips for an Unforgettable Adventure Kerry Newsome : Now, Ha Giang is characterized by towering limestone casts, winding mountain passes, terrace rice fields, and changing colors with the seasons. You know, words like breathtaking, unbelievable are often referred to about this area. The last show I did on Ha Giang was with Tom Stone back in series 3, Episode 5. And that would be another reference point for you. And I'll put the link in the show notes if you want to go and explore there. Now, In some way, it's kind of an area that is steeped kind of back in time. Visitors can immerse themselves in the culture of various ethnic groups in the area, each with unique traditions and festivals. Let's welcome Ying to the show. Ying, it's a pleasure to have you with us. How are you? Hello. How are you? I'm very good, thanks Ying. It's really great to have you on the show. I am very excited to chat with you. Ying Hang : It's really nice to meet you here too. Looking forward to that. Kerry Newsome : Okay, Ying. Now, I'm going to ask you lots and lots of questions, as I'm sure when you have your travellers and you go around Tarzan, they do the same thing. But firstly, can I ask you a little bit about your personal background and growing up in Tarvan village in Sapa? Tell me a little bit about that. Ying Hang : So I'm from Ta Van originally. I grew up in the farm, like normal farming. And even today, my family still farm. So then when I was a kid, I had a dream that I don't want to farmer. Then I had to find some way to leave the farm and do what I, because when at that time, it was like the year of 2000. And I was only nine. So I see some tourists come to my village. And I thought, yeah, maybe this is a good job for the future. And then I had a dream that I want to be independent. So then I start to learn English. So I start to sell the handy crafts to the tourists come to my village. Then I start to learn English. I think it's about two years later that I moved to Sapa town. It's very small and small town at that time. We have like 30,000 in the whole area. Then I start to learn more English and I make more friends and that's how I become a tour guide after all. Kerry Newsome : Wow. So, you actually got to, you got your dream. Mm-hmm. I got my dream because I want to be a tour guide. That is fantastic. I love that you you had that vision for yourself. Was there something else in your family or were there people in your family that kind of encouraged you to do this? Ying Hang : Inspired you to do this? No, I don't have any family members were doing the tour like selling handicraft, but My cousin, she was, she speak English and she was already gay at that time. So I think, I say to myself, I want to be like her. And this is my dream job. And I would, I have to get there. Kerry Newsome : And so this is part of Dragon Mountain family group. Yeah, that that is you and your cousin, right? Ying Hang : Yeah, me and my sister and my cousin. Oh, fantastic. Kerry Newsome : Okay. Yeah. All right. Now, for my listeners that, you know, look at Instagram and, you know, TikTok and all the social media, there's lots and lots of photos and videos and everybody's an expert and everybody's doing it differently. So, let's start at the very beginning by talking about Ha Giang as in where is it? Where is it located in connection to Hanoi? Ying Hang : Hanoi is, Hanoi is north, north centre of Vietnam. So, you go directly from Hanoi to Hanoi. Because now where my hometown is northwest and Hanoi is north, north. Kerry Newsome : So, from Hanoi, it's about 300 kilometres, I think, roughly? Ying Hang : Yes, that's correct. 320 kilometres away from Hanoi. Okay. And it's about six or seven hours by car? It's about six hours by car or even like a bus is about six hours as well. Kerry Newsome : Okay. I think with motorbike maybe a little bit longer. Ying Hang : Yeah, not normally if the people do the motorbike, they would have to travel by province by province, not straight from Hanoi, it's too far. Okay. Kerry Newsome : So, essentially, Ha Giang is located kind of so far north of Vietnam, it almost borders China, correct? Ying Hang : Yeah, it's near the border about from Hainan City to China is 20 kilometers. Okay. Kerry Newsome : And if we were to describe this area, tell me if you think this description is a good one. So, it's kind of known to be rugged and very remote, and it features a lot of dramatic landscapes. And sometimes it's so deep and the valleys are rich in a like a colourful array of vegetation. And sometimes when it rains, some of those hills, they collapse onto the road. And sometimes when it's in the right time of the year, it is golden yellow in flourishing rice fields. Ying Hang : Yeah. Yeah. So, Ha Giang is A little bit warmer than in my hometown. They are the same weather in Hanoi. So they can do two harvests per year in the valley, but in the mountain, like, let's say, 20, no, 10 km away from the Ha Giang city, there is much colder, higher up. It's about 2,000 m from Ha Giang. so we do have a very green valley and have like a rainforest and national park map and lots of rice fields and the red zone people and the Hmong they are living in that area so during the beautiful season of visiting if you like green that is in July It is raining time, but if you like the weather, you like sunny and hot, then I recommend October is the best. Then you see all the yellow valley, because that time everybody will go to harvesting. Some people harvest, some is not yet, but most likely it's ready for harvest. Kerry Newsome : As far as Ha Giang town is concerned, talk to us a little bit about the town itself before we actually start on the loop. Ying Hang : Okay. So, Ha Giang city is Right at the valley with a lot of mountains on the side and there is a river. So the name of the river is Lo and they are crossing in the middle. So both sides is the Hazan city. And they are 7000 square meters around there. and we have 750,000 people live there and this day is quite remote but 10 years ago was much better and also now for tourists to go to Hazan it's a lot easier because there is many hotel many hostel and also a lot of easy rider they start from there as well so Hazan city is good for the first night you are arriving you spend the night and the next day you're ready for the tour right so Kerry Newsome : For people planning, you're going to arrange transport from Hanoi. It's going to take you about six or seven hours and you're going to have your first night in Ha Giang City, correct? Yes. Okay. So that's one day, because I'm going to get to the part about how much time you need to allow. Because sometimes people say, Oh, you know, I just, you know, going to go up and come back in two days. And you go, actually, no, that's not possible, because it takes you a day to get there. So it's important for people to appreciate the timing. My next question is around Like, while it's possible, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, to explore the area by yourself, tell us a little bit about, you know, do you need a guide to do this well, or can you do it by yourself? Ying Hang : You can choose because a lot of people, they also do by themselves too. But one thing that you don't learn much about the area. You will go and you'll see the beautiful part, but then you don't learn any culture or you don't know what they're doing there. Kerry Newsome : From my perspective, this is what I think. Firstly, I think people would struggle with the navigation, just knowing where to go, how to go around things. So I think, you know, it's challenging. It's got winding mountain passes and unpredictable weather. The second thing I think, as you say, is sometimes when, you know, us mere travellers get there and we're looking at things, we don't really know what we're seeing. We don't really understand it. So, unless you have a guide like yourself or someone to tell us about this, it doesn't have quite the same impact on us, I think. That's another reason I think having a guide is good. The second last thing is I think about safety. you know, I hear some stories of some tragic things that happen. And, you know, even things like getting pulled up by the police and, you know, getting fines and things like that. So, there's a range of things that could happen on your trip up there that you wouldn't know how to handle. Yet if you have a guide with you, they can explain it. They've obviously got the language and things like that. And then there's just the convenience. I find a lot of comfort in being with someone who knows that area. Like I've done a lot of traveling. I've got a very close Vietnamese friend. And her and I go traveling a lot to places. And just the advantage of having her with me to A, speak in Vietnamese, but B, also to explain something to me, tell me to avoid something, you know, all that kind of stuff just helps me get it right. So, I think navigation is important, getting an understanding of the culture, So, you know what you're saying, safety and I think convenience, having someone by your side to explain things. So, they're the things that I think having a guide is all about. Tell me some of the things that when you're taking people around, what are they saying to you? What are they asking you? What are the things that come up for them instantly? This is a good question. Ying Hang : So, they will say, how did the tourists found this place? Because a lot of time, if they were in their country, they could not found Hazan. I think it's because we spelled it different, and if they want to look online, they spelled it different. So, that's why it's harder for them to find. Kerry Newsome : Can't find it, that's right, because it's G-I-A-N-G, but it sounds like Zang. Ha Giang. Yeah. I can, that's good, I haven't heard that said before. So what else do they say when they arrive in Ha Giang and they have lots of questions? What are some of the questions they ask? Ying Hang : I think I pretty much I tell them everything and they don't ask me too much. Kerry Newsome : I can imagine that. I can imagine that happening. Absolutely. Ying Hang : They will ask me, like, how many people live in here and what do they do for a living and how do they survive in this rocky mountain? But I also explain, like, from the beginning, this is how they live and they have, like, they don't have rice in that mountain. They cannot plant rice. They have to plant corn. and it's only one crop per year. And we have to start from March to June, July, they collect the corn. And during that time, when they collect the corn, they have to sell it to buy the rice, or they make a rice wine and sell it to make the income. Kerry Newsome : So they sell the rice wine, the happy wine. Ying Hang : They sell the corn wine. Kerry Newsome : The corn wine. Yes. Ying Hang : Yeah. Kerry Newsome : Okay. That is strong stuff. I've tried a little bit of that and my head nearly blew off. So, yeah. It is quite strong. It is quite strong. Absolutely. And not really easy tasting either. I don't like the tasting. No, it's not so smooth. It's very whiskey taste. Yes, absolutely. If you were to paint a picture for a person about Haozhang, what would you put in that picture? What are the key things that you would put in that picture? Ying Hang : I think I would paint Lolo people or Hmong in between those two. What people are they? Explain. Lolo. Lolo. Lolo people. Yeah. Have you heard much about them? No. More about Hmong. They are very… Thai and Dao. Yeah. because why I want to put them in there because they're very colorful. The dress are very flower and very pretty. In Vietnam, we don't have many of them. We have like over 4,000 people and they're living in Hà Giang and basically Mèo Vát, Đông Văn in Bảo Lạt district. They're very Chinese look. They are also farmers? Kerry Newsome : Everyone is. Everyone is farmer in that region. Unless they get a dream like you and work hard to become guide. If we're talking about getting back to our timing aspect, a day to get there and a day to come back, how many days do you suggest people allow to go around the loop? Ying Hang : So I suggest three nights, four days, but you can take the night bus from Hanoi. By the night time, you arrive in Ha Giang about midnight, and then you stay at the hotel. The morning, you pack. Then you, a guy and a driver pick you up. So you have three nights in the mountain, and then back. So basically, four days and six nights, or five and a half nights, something like that. Four to five days, yeah. Kerry Newsome : minimum. Yeah. Okay. This gives you time for a bit more of a pacing, because as I understand, you are traveling long distances each day. So, let's talk about also the way to explore the region. So, If we're talking about the loop, talk to us about how many miles you do per day and which is the best way to do it by car, by bike, by passenger on a bike, etc. Ying Hang : because everybody have a different experience and everyone wants to try different right so mostly the younger one like 18 to 30 most of them want to go in the easy rider because they want to experience how like the 1d road but also it's very dangerous if you don't know how to drive you must have an easy rider and beside that you need to have an international driving license for the police checking. We have like four or five different police station checking for the license. And if you don't know this, then you get fined. Every stop, they stop you. You have to pay like $100 per time. Okay, I want to stop you there. Kerry Newsome : So that means you have to have a license, a bike riding license in your own country. Yes, that in Vietnam is recognized. Yes, and that's only come up in the last couple of months. The laws on, you just can't have a car license, you've got to have a bike license and you have to be considered an experienced rider. So like I had someone contact me this week and they want to do the Ha-Zang loop, and they wanted to know about this license. And they have been writing for 15 years in their own country, in New Zealand, and, you know, so they're going to be coming with the right qualifications. But as you say, it's not the place to come to, to just jump on a bike, hire it straight away from Ha Giang and then go around. That would be considered very dangerous. Now, back to you. So, if you don't want to do that way, you can be a passenger on an easy rider. That's what easy rider is about, right? And that's the kind of younger people and we understand that. If you don't want to do that, what's the option? Ying Hang : If you don't want to do that, then you can take a car like a tour guide and a car. So it's much safer. You definitely will see more and learn more because your guide is with you. And then you can do some more walking, hiking into the villages. And they will show you like much more than you go by Easy Rider or you drive yourself. Because we will measure the time when we're doing the day. Every day we have a schedule. So we have full day to do the activity and we know what exactly to do. Kerry Newsome : If I come to you and we leave Ha Giang on a day, how much of that day would be on the road? Ying Hang : So for the first day, We drive about 150 kilometers away from Hazan. But on that way, we stop many places. So then we have a fully scheduled life. First place, Heaven's Gate. Second is the twin. And then the third is where the lady who's weaving the fabric and making the clothing. And then the fourth, we stop in one of the town called In Ming. That's for lunch. And then we go to the King Palace in Laos and then Dong Van for the night. That's just day one? Kerry Newsome : Yeah. Right. And where do you stay in the evening? Ying Hang : We stay at the hotel in Dong Van. You can choose like a hotel or homestay. Kerry Newsome : Right. Can you explain the difference about a homestay versus the hotel and the standard? Ying Hang : yeah so hotel it's in the mountain there is very basic it's like two-star or one-star hotel it's nothing fancy because it's open for tourism not long ago and to develop it's not very okay because it's a unit school so you can't build too many fancy but the homestay you can stay with the family and spend the night with them and have dinner and see their life, learn about their life and culture. In the evening you get to share with them. Okay. Kerry Newsome : Now, I know this is going to sound very basic, but like things like a shower, private bathroom, toilet, things like that. I know some people don't care at all about it, but For me, I'm an older lady, and those things are important to know. If I know what to expect. They have everything. So the hotel, would you have a private toilet? Or would it be shared? Ying Hang : You own bed. No, the bathroom is in the room. So you have everything private. But sometimes homestay have to sharing. Right. Depends what you order. Because they have like a little private room that you have everything in the room. If you want to share in the dorm, you can have a dorm. If you want a private room, they give you a private room. Kerry Newsome : Okay. Good to know. All right. So, that's day one. What would be day two? Ying Hang : So, day two, we have more options to choose. So, we can choose to have breakfast at 7.30 normally that's what I do basically because it's a long day yeah so breakfast 7.30 then we drive to Lung Ku flat where the Lolo people living that is where the border China about three kilometers away and with a beautiful view landscape with the Lolo, Hmong, Thai and where else? Nung people living in that valley Then after the view, visit, learn a little bit about the culture and the history about that mountain. Then we come back to Dong Van. Then we drive to Ma Pi Lan mountain. That is the most beautiful place the whole trip. Then we can do, we will do some hiking. Okay. Kerry Newsome : The evening, after a long drive, everyone tired. Because it's been a busy day. Yeah. So, they stay in another homestay, another… Another homestay. Another homestay. Because I would think… Every night we stay different. Right. Second night. Because not many hotels out there. More homestay. Ying Hang : No. We stay different, yeah, different homestay every night. Kerry Newsome : Right. Okay. So then on day three, are we nearly on the loop coming back to Ha Giang or still a long way from Ha Giang? Ying Hang : We go further to Yiming and Suzhou. so that it's beautiful and discovered not long ago and it's quite popular for tourists who want to swim and there's a waterfall so everybody want to go there and visit but Zouza village is very beautiful it's in the valley of the big Yeah. Kerry Newsome : And when you go to these places, is there a lot of other tourists there? Like, is it super busy and lots of… It is super busy, but you choose where you want to be quiet. Ying Hang : Ah. Kerry Newsome : It's less touristy. And this is where you come in very handy to explain and take people to areas that they couldn't find by themselves, right? Yeah, yes, that's correct. Okay, so now we've been three days around the loop. What do we do on day four? Ying Hang : So on the day four, breakfast, same, same, every day morning, every morning, same hour for breakfast, then we drive back to Quang Ba with a Thursday. We have to travel different direction to the first day then we were going back to Ha Giang in the afternoon and some people can take the bus like four o'clock or they can take the sleeping bus to Hanoi or they decided to go to Sa Pa by that direction okay so yeah so day four basically return all right so you check me and tell me if i understand correctly okay day one i travel from Hanoi to Ha Giang city yes Kerry Newsome : Day two, three, four, I am traveling around the loop. Day five is the last day and I come back into Ha Giang, but a different way. And I can, but if I got back late, wouldn't I want to stay the night and then go back to Hanoi the next day? Ying Hang : Yeah, you can also do that or you can catch the late night bus at 10 o'clock. Kerry Newsome : At 10 o'clock. Wow. Ying Hang : At 10pm. So, you can, you can leave late in the night time. Right. Kerry Newsome : And you are arriving at about 3am. So, now I'm going to ask a very tricky question, as in, who are the type of people who this is best for? Like, I'm not the most… No, I'll say this another way. I am… I'm not the best outdoor person. That's the best way to describe it. I am very circumspect about where I travel in Vietnam and if I'm capable of doing the level of trekking involved so that I don't injure myself for the rest of the stay. So, like, is there, like, for you, do you try and guide people that are mostly younger people or older people or, like, I need some kind of Ying Hang : understanding of level of fitness yeah yeah so there I mostly guide the my customer around your age they're not always young you're kidding Really? No. Yeah. They are around 50 plus. Yeah. Mostly. That's me. And family. So yeah. So for the options of trekking you can choose. If you cannot do this trekking and I can always find you another direction that it's easy for you. So there is always option because it's like I know the area well. I don't have to just take only one trail the whole time. I can always change it. When I normally do tour, I always say, how far can you go and how is your health condition? So then I can decide on that day what schedule we're taking. Kerry Newsome : That's very comforting to hear. But like your experience now, you've been doing this for quite a long time. what would be the, I'm trying to understand the general population of people that would come to you. Are they mostly 50 or, because firstly they have to find you and I just want to let everyone know that's listening. I'm going to put Ying's link in the show notes so you don't have to remember everything she says. You're going to be able to communicate with her directly through her website. I also advise a lot of people on putting trips together. So, I plan the trip. So, someone arrives into Hanoi and maybe they do Ninh Binh and maybe they do Sa Pa and then I can arrange to come to you and I plan everything. What do they need to know before they come? Like what is like about clothing, about health and fitness, about everything like that? What would you say? Ying Hang : So for the, because different season, I would, I will tell you what to bring. So in summer, usually in the nighttime temperature drop in the mountains, so you always have to bring one long sleeve, but mostly long, Long pants or long trousers is always good because we have mosquitos when you do the hiking around the villages. And in summer, it's quite hot so you always have to bring a lot of sun cream. In case if it's raining, you need to have a jacket like a rain jacket or umbrella, whatever. Sun cream, mosquito sprays, insect sprays. And clothing, in summer, it don't really have problem but winter, Winter for us sometimes is not as cold as in Europe or in Australia. But to us we are cold. Like 5 or 10 degrees is quite cold for us. Kerry Newsome : I have been to Sapa and it's been freezing. I have had a big puffed jacket on and I go straight to my hotel, I get under the duna and I am freezing. Like January is freezing. So, September to November is the best weather for golden, right? March to May is pleasant and blooming flowers. Yeah? This is just what I write to myself. December to February is cold, very cold. But it is, it's kind of misty, isn't it? It kind of gets a little bit… Yeah, now it's very misty. But you're sitting there with a big puffer jacket, a North Face puffer jacket. So, and it is March. So, yeah. And then June to August is green, very green. Green, very green. Yeah. Okay. So, Everyone, please go back and check those months of the year and plan and pack accordingly. I cannot stress it enough. I ran around Hanoi desperately trying to find a puffer jacket because I was only going to Sa Pa and Mai Chau and I froze. I was really cold in February, beginning of February. So, I learnt my lesson. So, I try to tell people, wise up. It's really important. And if you're on a bike or an easy rider or whatever, even colder. Oh man, is it cold. If you were to tell people anything else that they need to know, what would that be? Ying Hang : Whatever you plan, you have to know what you want to do. Like if you go by car, you don't need to plan like carry Too many things, but motorbike, you definitely want to have good shoes because when your shoes get wet, you're cold if you're easy rider and you need to have a good rain jacket. When you get wet, everything is not feeling good and cold. Correct. Kerry Newsome : Yeah. Ying Hang : Yeah. Kerry Newsome : I'm terrible at packing, really bad. So, I have suggested to people in the past that they arrange with their hotel in Hanoi when they come back to stay in that same hotel and leave the bulk of their luggage in the hotel and the hotel will look after it. Because you don't really want to be lugging around 23 kg luggage and a backpack and another carry-on and whatever, because you've been shopping or whatever. Ying Hang : Bring just enough for you, if you want more you can always buy. Fair achievement. Kerry Newsome : Ying, I wonder if you could tell us just maybe one story about some travellers that you took around, like a story about their experience and explain what you did and what was the highlight. Ying Hang : the local authentic and basically local and the market. The market, it's very beautiful. I highly recommend. It's Mil Van and Dong Van market. They are the most beautiful and colorful and it's still very traditional. They don't have like too many tourists go in that market. Only the people who stay overnight in the area, they go. Okay. Kerry Newsome : If there was one story that you could tell about something that happened along the way around the Ha Giang Loop, what would that story be? Ying Hang : Beautiful story. It's the market in the Kanya. It's very beautiful. So a lot of people want to go to the boat riding below the Mapilin Mountain. that's beside the China border and Vietnam so wherever you go and you will experience beautiful and basically lots and lots of people go there because they're so pretty the one thing we only have like 40 minutes on the boat so you can take a swim in there And you can have lunch there. And then you come back on the boat, off the boat after you finish. Kerry Newsome : Oh, okay. And what day would you do that on? Day three? We'll be on the day two. On day two. Okay. All right. And the other thing I didn't ask you about was the food. Tell us a little bit about some of the unique food in the area. Ying Hang : Okay, so the local food up in Hazan, it's a little bit more like Chinese. The way they cook, normally we're sharing the food together. We order like pork, one plate pork, chicken, or duck, or veggie. We have lots of greens, so we will order like few different dish and we're sharing with the group. In the night time, we have a steam bowl, like a hot pot. So that is very Chinese and a lot of time everybody like it. Mostly I always have that for dinner because it's a little bit colder in the night time. So we have that for dinner. Then you can go to see the in Dong Van there is a night market. on the Saturday night and on the Friday night, they do a little bit dancing. You can also join them too. Kerry Newsome : That brings up another point then, like should people come on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, those days rather than during the week? Ying Hang : Yeah, that's, I also recommend that too. In the week it's a little bit more quiet if you don't want to see too many people, because on Saturday and Sunday it's a lot of Vietnamese travellers, they go to that area. It's going to be busy, but it's beautiful too. Kerry Newsome : As far as the language is concerned, not many people speak English up there, do they? Ying Hang : Yeah, Hazan don't have too many people speak English. It's now start some younger boy, they want to learn and they want to do the Easy Rider, but to be a tour guide, there is no. Kerry Newsome : What would you say about, is it safe for a woman solo traveler to come on their own to this area? It's safe. Ying Hang : Yeah, it is very safe. Okay. But what you plan, you have to be careful with the company, that's all. Kerry Newsome : Yes. Ying Hang : Yeah, because when you book, they don't refund you. Kerry Newsome : They don't refund you. Yeah. You know, like I know some very adventurous women who travel from the US and Europe, because they do lots of trekking in their own countries, etc. So I want to make sure when I say, you know, you can feel safe to come, I would get them to get in touch with you so that you can set them up. Because to me, part of the safety factor is in about who you deal with. So, like I always make sure that I deal with reputable companies that I know and trust, that I've dealt with, and I'm confident then in sending them up that way. Ying Hang : Yeah, definitely. Understandable. Kerry Newsome : Yeah, definitely. Now, I mean, there's lots of talk about the future of Ha Giang tourism. What would you say the future is for Ha Giang? Ying Hang : The future is going to be touristy and very, very remotely. I mean, lots of things are coming up now. Building homestay, On the roadside, it's a little bit not so pretty anymore. Day by day, I'm traveling there every week. So I see change very much. Kerry Newsome : And is that change not so good? Do you think it will spoil it? Ying Hang : Yes. Well, too many buildings and they are not traditional. So it's not pretty. But there is a place you can go just a little bit further. You just have to find it out. Kerry Newsome : I really do want to encourage my listeners to explore, do your research about this area. I'll definitely put Ying's details in the notes, as I said. I just want to say thank you, Ying, for coming on the show and for giving us this information because it's truly valuable. Ying Hang : I am very happy that you invite me to. I really appreciate it. Links – What About Vietnam S3-E5 - https://www.whataboutvietnam.com/series-3/episode-5/the-ha-giang-loop---vietnams-final-frontier Ying’s website: dragonmountainfamily.com , Her WhatsApp number :+84338805995 Note: Please forgive any background sounds and any words misspelt in the Transcript.

S5-5 - The famous Hai Van Pass experience: Insights from a seasoned traveller S5-5 - The famous Hai Van Pass experience: Insights from a seasoned traveller Episode 05 S5-5 - The famous Hai Van Pass experience: Insights from a seasoned traveller 00:00 / 30:13 When you start researching Vietnam for your holiday, especially if you have an interest in motorbike rides and scenic routes, it won’t take you long before you come across the famous Hải Vân Pass (Đèo Hải Vân) The Hải Vân Pass is a legendary motorbike route located in central Vietnam. This scenic route gained attention from the BBC and the Top Gear crew in 2008, further solidifying its reputation as a must-visit destination for motorbike enthusiasts and adventure seekers. The Hải Vân Pass is not only famous for its scenic beauty but also for its historical significance as it was a crucial route during the Vietnam War, connecting the north and south of the country. Today, it serves as a symbol of Vietnam's resilience and progress. To gain more insights into the Hai Van Pass, I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Moonie, a seasoned traveller and media professional. Chris has been living in Vietnam for over eight years and has explored the Hải Vân Pass multiple times. His firsthand experiences and deep understanding of the area make him an excellent source of information for anyone planning to visit this iconic route. Together, Chris and I explore all the ways you can experience this incredible route. And guess what? Traveling by motorbike isn't the only option, so there's something for everyone. Chris's journey to Vietnam began in 2013 when he visited Hoi An with his son. He fell in love with the country and its people, particularly the charm of Hoi An. Chris's connection to Vietnam deepened as he met a special lady during his visit, further cementing his decision to relocate to Hoi An. Since then, he has been living in An Bang, a small village that has transformed into a vibrant tourist destination just out of Hoi An. Overall, the Hải Vân Pass offers up Instagram heaven, however for me it is the unique stops along the way, such as the oyster farms and Dream Springs that make the Hải Vân Pass a super day’s excursion, and a must-visit destination for motorbike enthusiasts and those seeking to explore Vietnam's rich culture and history. In summary, the switch backs will set your heart racing but the views are next level! You can reach Chris here directly for information here - https://www.facebook.com/chrisminvietnam Watch this Video here - https://www.facebook.com/chrisminvietnam/videos/866528168426706/ Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S5-E4 - Exploring the Case for living and working in Vietnam S5-E4 - Exploring the Case for living and working in Vietnam Episode 04 S5-E4 - Exploring the Case for living and working in Vietnam 00:00 / 51:03 Welcome to another exciting episode of The What About Vietnam Podcast. In today's episode, we're diving deep into the world of expat life in Vietnam, shedding light on the importance of doing your homework before taking the plunge into this vibrant Southeast Asian nation. Vietnam is a country that's been capturing the imaginations of many with its rich culture, stunning landscapes, and a rapidly growing economy. But, before packing your bags, it's crucial to consider the vital aspect of due diligence. Our guest today, Kate Boardman, an experienced expat in Vietnam, shares invaluable insights on the need to verify job opportunities and ensure that you meet the legal requirements for working in the country. The last thing you want is to encounter legal troubles or job scams. However, it's not all cautionary tales in this episode. Vietnam's expat landscape is changing rapidly. The rise of digital nomadism has opened up new avenues for professionals to explore Vietnam while working remotely. With its booming tech industry and dynamic startup scene, Vietnam has become a hotspot for those looking to combine work and travel. Kate takes us through their journey, highlighting the incredible opportunities this evolving expat scene offers. From sipping Vietnamese coffee in Hanoi's quaint cafes to exploring the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City, there's so much to discover in this diverse country. So, if you're considering a move to Vietnam or are simply intrigued by the idea of combining work with wanderlust, this episode is a must-listen. Join us as we uncover the nuances of becoming an expat in Vietnam, emphasizing the need for due diligence while celebrating the exciting possibilities that this dynamic nation has to offer. Tune in now! Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S5-E24 - Ha Giang: Insider Tips for Adventure S5-E24 - Ha Giang: Insider Tips for Adventure Episode 24 S5-E24 - Ha Giang: Insider Tips for Adventure 00:00 / 47:10 Join me as we uncover Ha Giang, Vietnam’s breathtaking last frontier, with Ying, a local Black H’mong guide, who shares insider tips and cultural insights for an unforgettable adventure! . Key takeaways from this episode:- 1. The Ha Giang Loop time allowance – How long do you need for your adventure through stunning valleys, waterfalls, and cultural sites like Lung Cu and Ma Pi Leng Pass. 2. Best Time to Visit – Times of the year, and days of the week. From September to November, the golden rice terraces are at their most beautiful. Cooler temperatures make this the ideal season for trekking and sightseeing. Find out more. 3. Cultural Immersion – Ying talks us through engagement with ethnic communities; traditional farming practices, and the joy of a communal hotpot meal. 4. Guided vs. Independent Travel – The Pros and cons. The value of a local guide in managing language, safety, navigation, and cultural understanding. Options exist for all fitness levels. 00:00:00 – Where is Ha Giang
00:01:06 - Guest Introduction: Ying
 00:01:26 - Ying's Background and Early Life
 00:12:06 - Common Questions from Tourists
 00:15:24 - Recommended Duration for Ha Giang Loop
 00:16:27 - Modes of Transportation
 00:18:50 - Licensing and Safety for Motorbike Riders
 00:20:00 - Day 1 Itinerary
 00:20:40 - Accommodation Options: Hotel vs. Homestay
 00:22:10 - Day 2/3/4 Itinerary
00:26:18 - Suitable Travelers 00:28:12 - Fitness and Health Considerations 
00:29:17 - Packing Tips
 00:35:06 - Local Cuisine 
00:36:09 - Best Days of the week to Visit & why Reach out to Ying’s at https://dragonmountainfamily.com/ Her WhatsApp number :+84338805995 Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S4-16 Mystical Ninh Binh What About Vietnam - S4 - E16 Ninh Binh The mystical rival to Halong Bay Kerry Newsome: [00:00:36] Xin Chau and welcome to What about Vietnam? Well, believe it or not, this is going to be the last episode for 2022, as I'm going to take a short break. As to be really honest, I really need a short break as we've got a big year planned for 23. So, you can expect to see us back early in the new year. I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for your support. You've been absolutely fantastic. I hope you're getting a lot from the program. We've, been going now two and a half years. We've got over 70 episodes. So to my guests, to you, my listeners, just my deep gratitude and thanks for your support. [00:01:28] Just a couple of other things that I thought I'd mention before we start this show. Firstly, is just wanted to say that you can reach out to me directly through the website. What about Vietnam .com I'd love to get your reviews, get your feedback. I absolutely love getting mail from you, so please do that. And you can also follow the program on social pages. So your Instagrams, your Facebook, etc., we're there. I also have a YouTube channel. So if you're not sure which show that you might want to watch, if you go to the what about Vietnam YouTube channel, you'll be able to look at some trailers there and just get a feel for an episode before jumping in if you wish to. So that's just something I thought I'd add, that you might not know about. The last thing I wanted to mention was my book. I finally got to complete my book called Book Pack and Stay - a Travel Guide to Vietnam. Kerry Newsome: [00:02:40] To give you some context to the book, It's actually been inspired by my little book of notes that I've carried with me over the years back and forth to Vietnam, where I write little bits and pieces down from experiences. And these are not only my experiences but experiences from travellers. Some of the things that they've said that I've taken note of that, you know, had they known or had they had got that information, then they may not have found issue with that. So it's quite an interactive book in the sense that there's lots of links to podcasts, to YouTube channels, to apps, to how to get a visa to all sorts of things. So I'm hoping you're going to be able to read it fairly quickly, but keep it as a bit of a go to when you want to start your planning. And while it may sound on the surface like a total do it yourself guide, it is in a sense. But it I'm hoping also it's going to give you the the questions to ask a travel agent so or to mention that you know these aspects are important to you so you want them included in your trip. So it's kind of like your soft skills guide to to getting it right. I mean, holidays are special. We don't always have that much time on our hand, so I'm hoping it's going to be your companion guide to your research. When you look at planning a trip to Vietnam. And just before we jump in the show, I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please make it as special as possible. Kerry Newsome: [00:04:32] I think one of the things that we've all learnt from the pandemic is about time and about time with those we love. So, it's up to us to make it as sweet as possible. And I just want everyone to know I'm sending you my best wishes for this time of year. [00:04:51] Now, I wanted to make the last show a bit special in the sense of featuring a special location that I certainly have an affinity with, and that's Ninh Binh. Now, Nin Binh doesn't come up that much in dispatches I guess, or social media, but it definitely should, as its probably biggest rival would be Halong Bay. [00:05:19] But as my guest and I agree, Ninh Binh is probably even more special. That's a big statement. I know, I know, but I'd like you to meet Jack Taylor. Jack Taylor produces some. Absolutely outstanding cinematography through a YouTube channel he started a few years ago called 'I Go Cool Places'. [00:05:45] The link will be in the notes. Of course. Jack is actually an English teacher by trade. He's travelled quite extensively, lived overseas most of his adult life. So, you know, four years in China and three years in Spain. And so he's really got some good life experience to use as a comparison when he's traveled in Vietnam. And I'm happy to say that he's fallen in love with Vietnam as a country to visit in Southeast Asia. I hope you'll enjoy the episode, please. As I said, stay tuned for what about Vietnam as it comes back on in 23, thanking you again. And please welcome Jack Taylor to the program. Jack, welcome to What about Vietnam? Jack Taylor: [00:06:47] Thank you. Thank you again for having me. Kerry Newsome: [00:06:49] It's great to have you back on. I really I couldn't let you go without talking about Ninh Binh because you've done this fab YouTube video. And I just yeah, I fell in love with Ninh Binh all over again due to your fabulous filming. So congrats on that. , let's talk. Let's talk Ninh Binh Jack Taylor: [00:07:12] Yeah. Ninh Binh was towards the end of my northern Vietnam trip after visiting Hanoi and Sapa and I mean it's really hard to choose a favourite place that I've been in Vietnam, but Ninh Binh is definitely up there. I think it's got some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Vietnam. They call it the Halong Bay on land and you can see why these tall, pointy karst mountains that are unlike most places I've ever been before. Kerry Newsome: [00:07:42] And that's my problem with it. I find it really hard to describe to people, you know, and they say, like, what's so fantastic about it?I don't know. It's the limestone peaks, you know, the the caves that you go on, the boats are managed by those rowers that row with their feet. You know, I don't know if somebody said to you tomorrow, okay Jack, describe Ninh Binh for me, What would you say? Jack Taylor: [00:08:14] Yeah, I would say it's almost like it's a semi mystical place to me as to how I described it in my video, because you've got these mountains that don't really look like mountains that you've ever seen before. Also nestled in amongst them are temples, and then you've got this, this kind of river system. And I think I found that out most when I took my drone there to make the video. And you've obviously seen my video. It's got these structures that you've never seen anywhere else before. So if you're a drone enthusiast, this is probably the best place I've ever been to fly my drone because you've got some of the best shots, some of the most interesting things you could see. Kerry Newsome: [00:08:51] And you know why I love the drone photography a lot is because in some ways you get to see things that your own eyes at street level can't see. So you're not always going to be able to get to vantage points to get high enough to be able to look down and so the drone gives you that that absolute 360 degrees view, which is just spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. So talk about your stay there, Jack. Like, how long did you decide to invest in your stay there? Because timing, as we said before, is always a challenge in Vietnam, trying to fit as much in as you can. So how long did you have for this trip? Jack Taylor: [00:09:45] So I spent two nights and three days there. When we arrived, this was towards the end of my trip and I'd had like I'm sure many people in Vietnam when they backpacking round. We'll have a very hectic trip. And the first day that we arrived, maybe early afternoon, it was, we just relaxed and I think Ninh Binh is a good place. If you have a day to spare where you just want to chill out and Ninh Binh is probably the place to do it in northern Vietnam. The reason being Hanoi obviously as you know, is hectic wherever you go. I don't know how relaxed in a city is Sapa, as we talked about the last time I was on, can be a little hectic as well. But Ninh Binh we arrived, we made a point to stay in a hotel which kind of took advantage of the nature. I see a lot of stuff online recommending that you stay in the town. I assume there's more bars, more restaurants there. But actually I found the best thing was, and I don't usually do this staying in the hotel, we could stay in the hotel. There was a pool and you can see the mountains from the pool. You open the curtains, you can see the mountains. Our hotel was like built into one of these mountains as well. So it was a really beautiful place. And the first day we just relaxed, took it easy, maybe rode our bikes a little bit, and that was all we did the first day. The second day we did more of the traditional touristy stuff. Kerry Newsome: [00:11:19] Okay, So let's talk about some of that touristy stuff because I remember it back. My visit there was very much touristy. There was nothing in the town like you were. You were barely lucky to find a restaurant to eat at. So it was, it was very laid back. And a lot of this development has happened in the last maybe four or five years. It's kind of really stepped up in that commercialisation and development side of things. So talk to us about the most touristy things to do. Jack Taylor: [00:11:54] Yeah, there's two must do things and they are the Hang Mua viewpoint and the Tam Coc or Trang An and Boats. And let's start with the viewpoint. The viewpoint. It's like, like it says in the name, it's a viewpoint you've got to hike up. I think it's 500 and something stairs. It takes you to the top of this mountain and from the top there you get one, a view of the town. You get a view of some of the rice paddy fields nearby, and you also get a good vantage point to see the mountains from above. It's pretty high up, so you get to see the tops and the peaks of the mountains and it's probably the best, the best view in all of all of Nimbin. Kerry Newsome: [00:12:39] Is there a pagoda? There's a pagoda at the top. Jack Taylor: [00:12:43] Yeah, there's there's two actually, there's two peaks that you can climb up to. One of them has one of them has a pagoda and one of them has this long Chinese dragon statue built in the top of it. Kerry Newsome: [00:12:55] Yeah, that's, that's what I was thinking. Yeah. And I think one of them dates back to the 15th century. It's that that old. So Yeah. So if you can do the 500 stairs once again, that's not, not for everybody. But if you can do it, that view is outstanding and you don't need a drone to get some of those views. Like if you buy a trip in Hanoi to do Ninh Binh a day trip. That's probably mostly the two things that you'll do. You'll do the boat trip and then the stairs get back on the bus and come home. Jack Taylor: [00:13:37] The boat trip, I think is probably the best thing you can do. I think it trumps even the viewpoint. And that's because, like I said before, I've never seen structures like this. I've been in places where it's similar with the coastal mountains. So Gullin in China, they had it also. But what it didn't have was quite it didn't quite have the river system that was kind of running all around these mountains. So you just get an amazing view of these mountains. But it's also they've went and built temples into there. This is where I get this mist. That's why I say it's mystical. It's got a mystical feeling to it because you're pulling up on the small boat, someone's rowing, you're along, they've got the traditional Vietnamese. . Kerry Newsome: [00:14:22] The conical hat. Yeah. Jack Taylor: [00:14:24] Yeah. And you're pulling up on boat to these mountain, to these temples built into the mountainside. There's monks there praying. And that's why, that's why I say it's like a mystical feeling or a mythical feel, because it feels like you've gone back 1000 years in time. Kerry Newsome: [00:14:43] And maybe talk a little bit about the rowing technique. Jack Taylor: [00:14:47] Well, my rowing technique was let my driver do it. Kerry Newsome: [00:14:52] But you do it. Technique is going to be definitely different to yours, I bet. Jack Taylor: [00:14:58] Yeah. Yeah. So when you do it, someone you have someone who's glad to row your boat and they're well trained. So at one point ours, it was a woman, she was doing it with her feet at one point because they are so skilled. Kerry Newsome: [00:15:15] That's mostly. Jack Taylor: [00:15:16] What they take it nice. Yeah. They take it nice and easy. Nice and slow. So you get, you get full experience. I was surprised how long it was. It was two, maybe even 3 hours, two and a half, 3 hours I think it was. And the point where it must be the most difficult to navigate is they go through these cave systems so the rivers are not only going around the mountains, you're going through the mountains and out the other side as well. And it gets it gets pretty dicey at some point. There's low hanging stock, right? So you'll see the driver of the person row in the boat. They'll lean back and they'll just do it with their feet and they'll navigate through. I did bang my head at one point, so you've got to be careful. But yeah, these these cave systems, they're beautiful. I was surprised how long they went. One of them, the longest one, is a kilometer long through the mountain. It's really special. Kerry Newsome: [00:16:08] You know, I don't know whether it crossed your mind when you were there, but for me, it was like, Gosh, why haven't I known about this place before? Like, these are so unique, so, rich in just not being discovered or talked about or known about. Jack Taylor: [00:16:28] I mean, yeah, I mean, when you think about they call it the Halong Bay on land, but you could easily call Halong Bay, the Ninh Binh, the Ninh Binh on water. You know, it's, it's not necessarily less, it's not necessarily less than Halong Bay. Yeah. I was surprised that it's not it's not more famous, to be honest with you. I wouldn't be surprised. I think it's becoming more and more famous. So if you can get there sooner rather than later, I'm sure tourism will only continue to grow in the area. Kerry Newsome: [00:16:58] Yeah, and as I said, you know, from a commercial development side of things, it's really come on in the last five or six years, it used to be typically SAPA like that was the number one spot to to venture out from Hanoi. But now you've got more openness around Mu Cang Chai and Mai Chau and you know, all of those places are starting to get very big with your Instagramers and and all the rest of it. Jack Taylor: [00:17:34] Yeah. I mean, I think it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There's still plenty of places in Vietnam that I need to explore. But I think I think Ninh Binh has got to compete with even the most beautiful places in the country. Kerry Newsome: [00:17:46] I think if you love Ninh Binh Jack, I don't know whether you've been to the Phong Na Caves yet. Jack Taylor: [00:17:53] No, But it's my next trip. My next trip to Vietnam will probably be Ha Giang and then, and then the caves. Kerry Newsome: [00:18:00] Yeah, I definitely would highly rate the Phong Na caves for sure. Did you have any great food or. Jack Taylor: [00:18:15] Well, the most interesting food is goat is the local speciality. And I believe it's wild Mountain goat. From what? From what I read about it, you'll see once you go up the viewpoint, the staircase, you'll see some some goats hanging around there. And I believe they just catch them from around there. It wasn't my favorite dish I've ever eaten. I think it's worth trying. I told you my last time we did a podcast that I like to do the stuff that's a bit more out there, and it was a bit chewy for my liking. But it was interesting. I never had goat before. Kerry Newsome: [00:18:52] Did you have that corn dish that they do where they fry the corn and they kind of scrape the bottom off it and then they put like pork and stuff on it. Did you try that? Jack Taylor: [00:19:03] I did, yeah. Yeah, it was delicious. I came up with the name of the dish. Yeah, but. Yeah, yeah, it's. Kerry Newsome: [00:19:08] I can't say it right now. Yeah. Com cha. Jack Taylor: [00:19:12] Yeah, It was delicious. Yeah, that was one thing. As I was doing my research going into it, I was surprised how much culture is actually in the city. So we just talked about two speciality dishes that are unique to the area. Also on top of that, Nimbin is the former capital of Vietnam and there is an ancient city there that marks a monument. But yeah, before the capital moved to Hanoi, the ancient capital was here in Ninh Binh Kerry Newsome: [00:19:40] And I've also heard I didn't experience it, but I've heard there's a lot of snail restaurants too. Did you see much of that about. Jack Taylor: [00:19:49] I did see a little bit about that. I've had snails before so I didn't feel the need to try it again, to be honest with you. But yeah, they also had some snail restaurants. Kerry Newsome: [00:19:57] Okay. What do you think's a good amount of time to spend there? And when's a good time to go? Jack Taylor: [00:20:10] So here's the mistake I think a few people make when it comes to Ninh Binh, and this is how I decided to stay that a little bit longer is I met people who'd done the tours, the day tours, and they pretty much all said they wish they had more time. I usually avoid the the tour groups if possible, so me and my wife, we decided to do it ourselves and we found that spending that extra day and just kind of taking in the environment really kind of improve the experience for us. We did a much more leisurely pace. The two big tourist points that I said before, the Ha Mau viewpoint and the Dragon boats. But we were able to do that our own pace. And the key to that was we just rent the bikes and we were able to cycle around. It's not particularly far in between those two, maybe like a 20 minute cycle. And as you make your way around, you can one stop and take photos. For me, I like to fly my drone, but it's you're kind of riding through the mountains anyway. So even though it's not necessarily a tourist experience, it's not something you certainly paying a ticket for. That really added to our experience too. And like I said before, being able to just spend time in the hotel and sit up and look at these mountains really improve the experience for me too. Kerry Newsome: [00:21:27] And like with the accommodation, I've got to ask you like, you know, was it modern? Would you class it as a four star boutique? Is it more like a homestay? Can you tell us a little bit about that? Jack Taylor: [00:21:40] They call themselves a homestay, but it was more like a small boutique hotel to me. It had a pool. It had nice big rooms, really comfortable beds. It didn't have hot water. At one point we had to get that fixed. But the hotel owner was very kind and she got that fixed, made sure it got fixed. We also left our passports there and this hotel owner made sure that we got our passports sent up to Hanoi and to our hotel. So a big thank you to the hotel owner. Kerry Newsome: [00:22:11] How wonderful. Jack Taylor: [00:22:12] I think it was her fault mind. I think she I think she kept the passports on. Kerry Newsome: [00:22:17] When. Jack Taylor: [00:22:17] When you never got them back. Stay out in the countryside. Stay in the stay in nature. Kerry Newsome: [00:22:23] So two nights. Is a good stay. Two or three nights. Jack Taylor: [00:22:28] I would say two. Two nights is you probably good, but you can spend more time there like we spoke about in the last podcast. Most people are a little bit pressed for time and the trips to Vietnam two nights is enough. I'm sure you could spend a week there. There was there was other things on the list which I didn't do. We went to go into the ancient city. However, we were a little bit pushed for time. We kind of got to cycle around the outside of it, but there's some other temples in the area. I think they have the biggest temple in Southeast Asia, nearby Ninh Binh and also nature reserves just an hour away. So if you wanted to go spend a week there, I'm sure you'd have plenty to do as well. And this was towards the beginning of October. Kerry Newsome: [00:23:20] October, beginning... Jack Taylor: [00:23:21] October, on the first day, which was the day we were spending the most time relaxed anyway. It was a little bit gloomy, but therefore not too hot. It was quite comfortable temperature on the days we were riding bike, it was still a little bit overcast and it wasn't too hot. As soon as we got back to Hanoi, the sun came out. So I'm sure that may have it would have been a little bit more tricky riding about on bikes in that kind of heat, but it was still comfortable. I feel quite comfortable. Kerry Newsome: [00:23:55] Yeah, I. October is a tricky month in the centre and the south of Vietnam, but in the north I've found I can get away with it. You know, you might get a little bit of rain or mist or a little bit of gloom and then you get, you know, big, big kind of chunks of sunshine and not too pressing heat. Jack Taylor: [00:24:19] And that kind of adds to the experience as well. Like in my video, I call it the Misty Mountains, because it you've got these tall, pointy mountains and then with this kind of fog over them, which makes it even more beautiful, in my opinion. Kerry Newsome: [00:24:31] Absolutely. Certainly more magical. Absolutely. Look, great to have you on the show again, Jack, and thanks for sharing. I'll make sure that I put the links in for everyone so that they can check you out and get inspired to to visit. Jack Taylor: [00:24:46] Thank you very much. Speaker1: [00:24:48] Thank you for listening. Check out the episode notes for more information. What about Vietnam? Don't forget to subscribe, write and review, and stay tuned for more fun adventures in Vietnam. Time Stamps:- 8.14 How best to describe Ninh Binh 9.45 How long should you stay 11.19 Must do things 15.16 The cave system 18.00 Foods unique to the region 19.57 How to spend your time wisely 20.10 Stand out experience 21.27 Best accommodation experience

S6-E4 When is the best time of year to visit Vietnam < Back S6-E4 When is the best time of year to visit Vietnam S6-E4 When is the best time of year to visit Vietnam 00:00 / 36:31 Series 6 Episode 4 Question: When is the best time of year to visit Vietnam? It sounds simple… but this might be the most misunderstood question I get. Vietnam isn’t one climate. It’s three distinct regions — North, Central and South — each with their own weather patterns, typhoon seasons, rice harvest colours, humidity swings and “why didn’t anyone tell me that?” moments. In this episode of One Question at a Time , I break it down clearly and practically: • The best months for Northern Vietnam — including when the rice terraces turn golden yellow (Instagram magic) and when they’re lush green • What to know about typhoon season and how it affects Central Vietnam • When the South shines (and when it steams) • Why “a few bad weather days” are almost normal — and how good trip design works around them • How fixed-date tours handle weather changes • What families can do on unexpected rainy days in places like Hoi An or Hanoi There isn’t one perfect time to visit Vietnam. There is, however, a perfect time for you — depending on where you’re going, what you want to experience, and how flexible you’re prepared to be. This episode gives you the clarity to choose your dates wisely — and avoid planning the wrong region at the wrong time. If you’re sweating over finding the one set of dates that will magically cover every base, it might be time to let that idea go — and instead lean into flexibility, aim for the best possible window, and embrace what the Vietnamese do so well… go with the flow. For a month by month guide you might like to check out our blog here – https://www.whataboutvietnam.com/blogpost/a-monthly-travel-guide-to-your-best-experiences-in-vietnam Do you have a travel question or wish to give some feedback? You have 90 seconds. Click to read the voicemail recording policy Previous Next

S4-02 Fine Dining Vietnam What About Vietnam S4-2 Fine Dining in Vietnam Kerry Newsome: 00:18 Xin Chào and welcome to "What about Vietnam!" When you think about Vietnamese cuisine, I'm not sure whether you do the same thing as I do. But the first thing I think about is bánh mì, my absolute favorite snack food. I think about Vietnamese phở and I'm thinking about all those beautiful, fresh aspects of Vietnamese cuisine because they're fruit, vegetables, seafood, etc., is just so fresh. It's straight from the farm to the table. And the flavors are definitely rich. I think it's those flavors and the variance there is available for chefs coming to Vietnam or developing their skills and their training in Vietnam that is really springing forth some “fine dining” experiences that are worth talking about. 01:34 And worth talking about with my guest, Raj Taneja. Raj has a very deep level of understanding of fine dining, as he's very heavily involved with La Chaîne. He’s going to tell you more about that involvement, and really where that fits in developing the Fine Dining industry within Vietnam. We're going to meet some chefs. He's done a fabulous job in being able to step inside some of these restaurants to have a quick word with some of the chefs that are really changing the landscape of what the “Fine Dining” experience can be for us in Vietnam now. So, we really get inside their heads. 02:21 I'm hoping that's going to make it a richer experience for you, when you go and visit some of these restaurants. I know certainly, I'm going to check them out. So, stay tuned for the episode. It's a real different mix this time because we do have some interviews, so you'll have to be a little bit forgiving of some of the noise which really belongs to Vietnam, it's a bit of a noisy country. So, it's really hard to clip those out. Raj has got some great insights for us to better understand the growth of fine dining in Vietnam and what we've got to look forward to at those tables. Please welcome Raj to the program. And please enjoy. So, Raj, maybe tell us a little bit about what you do and how fine dining with great chefs, hotels, sommeliers, is broadening the scope of food experiences in Vietnam. Raj Taneja: 03:26 Right. So, Kerry, my name is Raj Taneja, and I'm the president of an ancient culinary organization called La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. We were founded in 1248. So that's 774 years ago, by King Louis IX, now known as St. Louis. He was an epicurean, a very special king in the era of the Crusades of France, and very well respected for his love of food. And also his straight pointed approach towards things like law and settling disputes. So, the way that I got involved with this organization was that I started as a chef when I was very young, at an Institute in my hometown, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And I became aware of the chain at that point in time. 04:15 The organization itself was very difficult to join, so they actually have a limit on members. The organization is a group of people that enjoy or love fine dining. And the idea of this group is to both celebrate conviviality, so celebrate coming together on the table, but also to challenge and improve the world of fine dining and hospitality. So, here I am in Vietnam, looking around, and going where’s this great organization that promotes fine dining culture and is great with hospitality? I’d go to the host hotels and know everyone and that didn't exist here. 04:54 So, it was kind of odd to see that Vietnam, such a vibrant food country and such a rapidly advancing country didn't have this association. So, I put my hand up. And I thought it would be easy. I thought I'd come to Vietnam, and I would basically find my successor and make some friends and have some great dinners. Then be able to go on my way as sort of an advisor, what it's really become is my life's work. It's become a really hands-on thing. And I'm really grateful for being able to do this here. Kerry Newsome: 05:25 Okay, well, I imagine with that kind of challenge on your plate, so to speak, no pun intended, there would be a lot of opportunities for exploration and experience and meeting new people, trying new food, testing out different locations, all sorts of things. So, talk to us a little bit about just how you've gone about establishing this. And what are some of the experiences that you can share with us? Raj Taneja: 06:01 Right. So, look, I've been active in this market, would say I've been looking at this market or looking at Vietnam since 2014, hosting events or dinners almost monthly since 2016. We consider our dinners to be challenging dinners. So, when we go to a hotel, or we go to a restaurant, we say this is who we are as an association. Although most expats chefs and most expat hoteliers will know who we are, they understand that we carry a lot of weight. They understand that when we host an event, their peers are watching. So, their peers are actually evaluating whether or not they're doing a good job. And it can mean a lot for career advancement for people, if they do a great event with our association, we make sure that it gets to the right people. 06:50 We have been doing that type of work since very early on. And that's very similar to what you'll find in many other countries, whether you go to the US or to Germany or France or Italy. But really our work in Vietnam is a lot more. My job as the president means that I'm continuously in the air. I'm continuously trying all sorts of food throughout the country; I'm trying all sorts of hospitality. So, if there's a new hot five-star hotel being built out there, if there's a new restaurant that's opening, I try to get there. I try to interact with the chefs and the owners, as well as, the hoteliers in this country. Really, that's the first step of it. 07:31 Behind what we do, obviously the dinners are great, they produce great photographs, they produce great media and attention for this country. And because of that, certain groups are definitely looking at Vietnam to invest in this country, because they see us as a trusted organization within Vietnam. So, they can look at Vietnam through our lens and see how Vietnam is performing, whether positively or negatively based on the type of activity and the amount of activity we're getting. We also do things like, we work with young chefs, and we're actually trying to host international and national competitions. 08:10 The other thing that we try to do is we're trying to provide international food support and aid to those in need. So, we're working with groups like STREETS International and La Boulangerie Frances, two great groups. It's actually a unique opportunity, they take the impoverished people and try to break the chain of poverty. This country has a really beautiful set of indigenous people that really could use the help. And I think it's a great idea to be able to tap this fantastic resource of people and bring them out of what they're doing now into what could potentially be the world's greatest chefs in the future. So, it's a huge opportunity to take the indigenous and teach them some skills that will change the course of their lives and of course of their family's lives forever. 09:00 Finally, we're also working to develop training in the hospitality, food and beverage industries. What that means is by bringing an accredited organization, accredited school, not just vocational but something that carries weight. So, someone can go to school in hospitality, or someone can go to school in food and beverage and use those papers, use that certificate to work anywhere in the world that will then open a lot of doors for Vietnam. Kerry Newsome: 09:26 Okay, so if I am an international luxury traveler, and I'm aware of your organization, I possibly have attended some dinners in other places. How would I go about finding those restaurants or tracking those restaurants down? Do you have some particular favorites you'd like to share with us that we can warn everybody about including myself? Raj Taneja: 09:58 I'm certain that we're going to grab dinner at some point in time when I get back to Vietnam. So yeah, there are some favorite restaurants. It's unfortunate because of COVID, some people have packed it in, but others have persevered. So, the top of my mind is obviously T.U.N.G Dining. Tung is a very special chef. He's now been in Vietnam for three years. He comes from a fairly humble business family and had never wanted to or had been told not to go into the culinary arts. He found himself in Scandinavian countries, really falling in love with this and came back to Vietnam. 10:36 I believe it was something like 2017, he competed for the James Beard Foundation here in Vietnam solo against hotel teams that had five or six people and came in third place. That's when he sort of said, "Maybe I need to be here in Vietnam." I guess a few months later, he founded this company called Tung Dining. This is the first chef that has brought the biggest tasting menu to Vietnam. So, imagine going to a restaurant and they say, "Okay, this is the menu." And someone might say, "Well, I want this and this." And they say, "No, you get everything on this menu." People are really perplexed. He changed the food culture in this country and he's a maverick. Kerry Newsome: 11:17 Raj managed to catch up with the Chef at Tung Dining just very recently. So, let's just go to that interview now and then we'll be back to the main program. Raj Taneja: 11:33 How would you describe the food here at Tung Dining? Chef Tung: 11:36 I think, I really don’t do the fusion because it’s about a lot of different things from me, but I do a lot of modern cuisine, and contemporary cuisine. I don't want to make any borders for the food, like I feel the need to cook specific kinds of food such as French, Vietnamese or Western. My duty is to bring the best flavor, the best experience to the guests through the tasting menu. It can come from different corners of the world. Maybe I get inspiration from Nordic, get some very local hobo in Vietnam or something but for me, I'm a person who combines everything to make a slightly more memorable journey for the flavor. It's quite contemporary modern and for me I cannot specify what type of cuisine it is. I mean, it's quite International. Raj Taneja: 12:28 Well, now that we're recovering from COVID, have you thought of your cuisine? You thought about this restaurant, is there anything new you're bringing to the table? Tung Hoang: 12:37 The menu I'm thinking about coming up with is always questioning the local things. What does the Western world think about that? I put my foot on the balance so both the experts can enjoy it and most locals can enjoy it. It's quite an international flavor. And that is the way I want people to get used to. I don't go too extreme, you need to do a lot of fish sauce, and you need to do a lot of different kinds of local things. I don't go too much or borrow too much of everything. Because I'm Western chain, I use a lot of high Western techniques, but I also try to put some touches that can satisfy the Asian flavor. 13:22 That's the way I think and how I come up with the food here and COVID is just the right thing to do. Before COVID 60% of the Western, 40% of the local, something like that. And after COVID, locals still come to us because our flavor also can satisfy them. If the experts are not here, tourists are not here, but we still fight on the way around. It's a good test for us. Our concept is the right way to make both locals and foreigners enjoy it. Raj Taneja: 14:03 So, what is it that you would say is the ideal person that comes to this restaurant? Tung Hoang: 14:07 I mean, open minded people because I think for this cuisine, the most important thing is open minded. Because the cuisine is very diverse and the taste is also very personal. So, whenever you come to the testing menu, the beauty of that is that you try things that you never tasted before. You have the experience of some techniques. If you don't have an open mind, like you have already had a real-life stereotype, you shouldn't come. If you say phở need to be like phở or something like this needs to be like this. For me, it's not a tasting menu. For a tasting menu, you need to be open minded, the cuisine has no borders, and when you come to a restaurant it means you go inside and you test their work. To me it is the most important thing to be open minded. Raj Taneja: 15:01 Okay, final question. Where are you located and what's the best way to book? Tung Hoang: 15:06 My restaurant located in the 2C P. Quang Trung, Hàng Trống district in Hà Nội, and in Saigon we have another restaurant in the 31-33 DANG DUNG STREET TAN DINH WARD, DISTRICT 1. To book at the restaurant, we have the same booking system. You can book through our social media. Many people are booking through Facebook, Instagram or an email or even you can call directly to us to book. So after that we will send you the confirmation asking you about how many people, allergy, any notification or some special event. We will make sure you have a good reservation, and you can reach us through different channels. Now, we have the social media world so it's very easy to get connected with yourself. Raj Taneja: 16:11 He has two restaurants in this country now. We have one in the north, which is T.U.N.G Dining. And then we have one in the south which is "Å", it's actually "au" because it's the A with the circle on top, it's a Scandinavian letter by two. So, those are two restaurants you must absolutely try. The second one is beautiful, and they are both equally delicious to eat at. We also have a restaurant called Cugini, which is helmed by Chef Nico Ceccomoro. And Nico is an Italian chef who works from the heart. He is extremely skilled. I think he's probably one of the two top skilled Italian chefs that I know in this country that is really just balanced, smiling, lovely, and always positive and constructive. Just someone I have the ultimate amount of respect for, and his food is great. Kerry Newsome: 17:04 So, let's just jump very quickly with Raj again, as he was able to catch up with Nico, and Nico was talking to Raj in Hà Nội. And we're just going to have this little quick grab, which I know you're going to love. And then we'll get straight back to the main show. Raj Taneja: 17:27 I'm sitting here with Chef Nico who is the owner, partner, Chef, and mastermind behind the restaurant called Culina which is in Hà Nội. So, chef, please introduce yourself. Nico: 17:40 Hi, everybody. I'm Nico. I'm an Italian chef and I have lived in Hà Nội for over eight years. And we finally launched a new restaurant with a different concept where we are focusing on delivering a new kind of dining experience to guests. So, our cuisine is mostly focused on delivering worthwhile products with the best quality that we can find in the markets. And we match them a little bit with local spices and herbs, and with the vegetables that are actually beautiful in Vietnam. So that's thinking about something tropical like the fruits that we have, the super fresh herbs that we have here. 18:23 And so, the idea behind this is actually to be able to deliver some food that is suitable for most nationalities. We don't have any flags to expose ourselves as a particular restaurant that could be another one like my Italian restaurant, which is called Cugini. So, this one is more focused on developing taste that doesn't represent any nation whatsoever, but it's still very suitable for most people that can go there and enjoy it. Over that we are specializing ourselves on doing dry aging. This is not only about beef, but we also have a nice selection of game foods. So, ducks, pigeons and quails. Sometimes porks from three different countries, including Spain, Japan and Australia. And then we also are doing a new batch of seafood at the moment. So, we are searching for fresh seafood, such as tuna or Buenos or salmon. And these kinds of beautiful fishes and we dry age them to then serve to guests. Raj Taneja: 19:28 Have you had any experience during COVID time, and did it change your concept at all? Or were you always focused on this no flag dining? Nico: 19:37 Yes. Actually, COVID was very effective in not having much success because the restaurant would have been launched about a year ago now. So, it was a pretty long time ago. But unfortunately, we had these lock downs and whatever else coming through that didn't allow us to complete our mission. We changed a little bit and we tried to unify the concepts. It's still offering pretty nice and versatile grand options for our guests. But right now, besides continental breakfast, we also have a menu that's got larger choices for lunch than for dinner. Probably, you know we have a very nice open space with a view on the lake. The kitchen is right in front of guests where they can see exactly how the food is cooked for them. 20:28 And now we keep our equipment and the way that we treat our ingredients. So, I think this is a new thing in Hà Nội because they are still missing a little bit of contact between the back of ours and the guests that come into dine. That, I think, is one of the strong points that we have in our place. Raj Taneja: 20:53 Right. With the open kitchen and the ability for people to look into the kitchen. But not only that, see the smiling chef. And by the way, you have a very smiling chef back there. Nico: 21:01 Thank you, Raj. Raj Taneja: 21:02 Who is your ideal customer? Nico: 21:04 Well, ideal customers are whoever are happy to share time with each other and enjoy time together with a drink and some nice food. So, we do not target somebody in particular, we definitely are in Vietnam. So, I obviously would like to focus mostly on Vietnamese people, because I am welcomed in their country. So, in exchange, I like to give them a service that is missing. So, I think that's really important. But then we have Japanese customers, Koreans, and whatever, from Europe or somewhere else. So, it's actually multinational restaurants so far, which is pretty good. I think that's also because of where we are based. A lot of experts live in the area where we have the restaurant. So, it makes sense for them to be kind to our place. Raj Taneja: 21:57 In terms of your restaurant, what is it that makes you stand out? Or what differentiates you from other upscale dining in Vietnam or even in Hà Nội? Nico: 22:07 Well, I think there's a lot of beautiful places these days in Hà Nội, or in particular, in Vietnam. In my case, I think we are lucky to have a location where there's so many restaurants, but I wouldn't say most of them are actually pretty good. So, I think restaurant owners are still a bit confused on how to develop the business and some of them, maybe copy paste successful restaurants somewhere just because they want to become successful as well. 22:46 In our case, I think we have a lot of passion inside. We try to dedicate our thoughts and our philosophies on the food in a way to actually be understood and appreciated by the guests. Every time we do new concepts, we are trying to do market research, and give guests what is still missing and not what is already existing. So that, I would say, is one of the strong points that we have. Raj Taneja: 23:16 So, where's your restaurant located? Nico: 23:19 Karina is located in the Tu Hao area, or better called West Lake. And it is right in the street in front of the lake, very close to the Sheraton Hotel. Pretty easy to find us. Raj Taneja: 23:33 Perfect. Thank you very much, Chef. It was a great pleasure to interview today. And he's just opened up a new restaurant in Hà Nội called Culina, which is funnily enough, Australian modern bistro dining. So, it might be something of very big interest to you Kerry. Kerry Newsome: 23:54 Yeah, funny about that. I don't necessarily go to Vietnam to have this trade. Just note to self. Raj Taneja: 24:05 Well, let's see where that leads us. The other one, of course, the other Italian chef, that is very dear and close to my heart actually is in Da Nang. His restaurant is somewhat of a question mark right now, because it is temporarily closed because of the harsh closures in Da Nang. It's a restaurant called EL PECK and the chef's name is Alessio Rasom. So, Alessio has a very decorated past in culinary and is a really interesting guy. He never considered Vietnam and what happened is working, I believe it was at Mirazur in the south of France and working for the executive chef who was touring around the world. 24:47 He basically took a short trip to Machu Picchu in Peru and met this lovely lady, Miss Bing, at the base of Machu Picchu and fell in love with her. And then after their climb to the top of the mountain, somehow, she went back to Paris where she was working. He went back to Italy, where he was working with France. They continued to communicate, and then he decided to move to Paris. He was working in Paris, and at some point, in time, they both decided, "Well, let's go back to Vietnam." So, she convinced him to come back to Vietnam. They got on bikes and rode 18,000 kilometers over the course of two years, from Paris to Vietnam. 25:34 It's an extraordinary story. And he's an extraordinary chef. And he's extraordinarily skilled. He's the type of chef that wakes up in the morning at like four in the morning, goes out to the fishermen's boats and picks whatever's fresh, and that's on the menu for the day. So, the concept is, obviously, tourism has to be in full swing in order for his restaurant to be viable, but that's the concept. So really cool. Another chef that is really notable is a chef by the name of Joonhyuk Chi and currently, he's in Hà Nội. He has one restaurant called Labri. And they're about to open another restaurant. Chef Chi is a Korean chef that was trained in Osaka and did his stash in Tokyo. So Japanese trained Korean chef, doing an interpretation on French food in the north, really fantastic dining. Kerry Newsome: 26:27 We jump very quickly to the noisy stash in Tokyo. Once again, Raj has been able to catch up with Chef Chi. and I think you're going to be very interested to just hear his interview. So, let's just jump to that very quickly. And then we'll be right back to the main show. Raj Taneja: 26:52 Chef, please introduce yourself with your full name and your restaurant. Joon Chi: 26:57 My name is Joonhyuk Chi. I'm from Korea, and I'm the owner and chef of Labri Bistro. Raj Taneja: 27:06 Tell me what type of food you serve. And what's the dining experience here? Joon Chi: 27:12 Yeah. So, we are looking for the fine dining quality of food and wine. But the atmosphere and price are like a bistro concept more casual, like street, fine dining concept. I'm an Asian chef, so I wanted to put some Korean, Asian and Vietnamese things on my food. So, based on French techniques, our concept is oriented neo-bistro, which means the dining experience is the most important part of our restaurant, to dine and enjoy the bite and drink wine, it's a different story. Raj Taneja: 28:00 What makes you different from other fine dining in Vietnam? Joon Chi: 28:06 I don't want to be really serious about the food and fine dining culture. Because sometimes when you go to a fine dining restaurant, we are kind of nervous. And we want it to be posh but sometimes we really want to enjoy it, and be very comfortable. Raj Taneja: 28:30 So, it's about comfort and accessibility. Being able to have people that come to your restaurant and feel at ease. Joon Chi: 28:40 Yeah, just enjoying food and wine. Because Labri means shelter. So, escape. So, don't think about other things, just focus on the food and wine, and just enjoy. Raj Taneja: 28:54 It's been lovely talking to you. Thank you very much for this tidbit. This is a Kamsahmida. Joon Chi: 29:02 Kamsahamida. Raj Taneja: 29:10 If we go to the south, like I said the South was probably hardest hit. So, if we go to Ho Chi Minh City, I can say that we're at a real dearth for what I think qualifies as fine dining at this point in time. I think there is still upscale and there's still casual dining, but it’s something that has come to my attention. Starting to hopefully come my way. 29:35 But right now, we only have one restaurant that I think is really notable, or I should say one chef that I think is really notable. And his name is Sakal. And Sakal, he's a Cambodian native, but he went to France, grew up in France, served with the military in France, basically was cooking for top brass and generals in the French military and wound up here in Vietnam. 29:44 And again, Sakal is the always smiling, humble, but extremely skilled chef. He's got two restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. So, he's got one restaurant called Le Carto which has been there for ages. I think I might even say 1999, if I recall correctly, because he did the dinner for the state visit of Fancois Mitterrand, when he came to Vietnam. He's also got a relatively new restaurant called P'ti in Thao Dien, or district 2. So, I'm hoping to see more chefs come back to Vietnam. I think that there is a great amount of talent in this country. Kerry Newsome: 30:42 What's so lovely about talking to you, Raj, is that when people go to these restaurants, normally, they wouldn't know these background stories. They wouldn't know the journey of that Chef to be in that location, to be cooking that style of food to have that origin. So, it's really beautiful. And I'm really delighted that my audience, everyone listening, is going to be able to go there and say, "Oh, is this the guy that rode the bike from Paris to Vietnam." I think I read or heard that on Kerry's podcast "What about Vietnam!" This guy named Raj Taneja was talking about it. That's really gold in my book. 31:28 I want to talk a little bit and maybe take a step back in the sense that is there something about Vietnamese food as in its natural produce, as in its seafood, is that what draws chefs to Vietnam? Or is it the opportunity to bring that wonderful fusion together? You've spoken about Italian, French, Korean, Japanese, and that kind of eclectic mix must really produce some exquisite food. But is it actually the produce in Vietnam because everybody talks about Vietnamese food being so fresh, very fresh to the table. Seafood in particular, is high quality, and it certainly has been in my experience, but everything kind of tastes richer? I don't know. Even the vegetables, the herbs, and the spices seem to have strong aromas. They seem to just have more to them, than possibly what I'd find in my supermarkets here or even in the organic tables that I would buy from. Is there any truth to that? Is there anything that inspires chefs to want to be in Vietnam and explore that further? Raj Taneja: 32:59 I do believe there is a correlation when people do land here, especially if they travel through the region. So, if you've been to Thailand in Laos and maybe you've been to Indonesia or Cambodia, Vietnamese produce is the standout. Whether it's the chicken eggs, which are almost like neon on the inside, and just taste beautiful. If you're making chicken and the confit that comes out of that is superb. I cannot describe the flavors that we get from the local produce. 33:32 Vietnam has been in the produce game for a very long time. I think what put Vietnam on the map in the 1960s was the export of lettuce and cabbage from Da Lat. And we still see that there's a lot of products that leave Vietnam not even touching local shelves, because it's so good. So, Vietnam is a great growing region. I even learned from your podcast that tulips that are in the Netherlands are actually grown in Vietnam. So, there we go, you’re a wealth of information for me, as well. Kerry Newsome: 34:05 I've spoken to people about pepper in Phú Quốc, and I was talking to Miguel. And he was telling me, "Don't just think about pepper. What about the honey?" Apparently, the honey is amazing, as well. So, you do find those golden nuggets of information that you would have just kind of strode past and not even given a second thought. I mean, I know there's a lot of talk about fish sauce as well, the quality of fish sauce with anchovies, and that sort of thing. I mean, I don't have a lot of knowledge, but just the little bits that I've picked up from some of the food people that have been on my show have really opened my eyes. 34:50 So, I actually go into a place now and when I'm tasting something, I'm thinking of it in a different way. I'm thinking about, do those peppers hard or the chili, or I can taste the marine flavor that's coming from that, the fish sauce. It just gives me a kind of a richer experience, I guess. And that's what I want for the people who listen to the podcast. That's what I want for them. So, it's just good to get your feedback on that. Raj Taneja: 35:20 Well, you don't need to go too far about the fish sauce item. Actually, a lot of the fish sauce in Vietnam gets repurposed into Western brands. So, you may have heard of worcestershire sauce or you might have heard of even the soy sauce, Kikkoman. Some of that is partially made in Vietnam. It comes from there's fish sauce factory in Phú Quốc, there's also a fish sauce factory in Phan Thiết that supplies to these companies. So, they are doing their purchasing here because obviously, we produce a great product. With respect to pepper, I think Phú Quốc gets a lot of credit for their pepper. But there are multiple varieties of pepper throughout Vietnam that are really great. 35:20 There's the Verbena Pepper as well, which can be used both as a skin product, as well as a food product, which is located a little bit further up into Vietnam. I think that also Vietnam faces really harsh competition from the Cambodian pepper component, which is actually very close to Phú Quốc. So, that whole region is full of pepper. Thanks to the influence of Indochina and the French in the past. Kerry Newsome: 36:14 Raj, tell us about some of the five-star hotels. Raj Taneja: 36:36 Well, maybe I shouldn't be saying this. A great hidden secret of Vietnam is that luxury is extremely affordable. Kerry Newsome: 36:46 You should be saying it! Raj Taneja: 36:47 A five-star hotel in Vietnam, sometimes less than $100 US a night. It's okay, maybe they'll raise the prices after I say this. Sometimes, it's very enjoyable to be able to go. For example, I go to Sa Pa and stay at the Hotel de la Coupole, which is an Accor hotel, but run by the General Manager. His name is Joseph Colina, and he's quite an epicurean. He's also a really friendly guy, and he knows how to run that place. The food and beverage in that hotel is spot on, if you want to try fusion. Kerry Newsome: 37:23 I'm trying to get him on my show. Raj Taneja: 37:25 All right, okay, well, I'll send them a good note. Alright, so I will let him talk about that at some point in time. So that's one. We have these mystic hotels like the Legacy Yen Tu. Again, it's Accor hotel, it seems like I'm going to have to talk about a different brand after this. The Legacy Yen Tu is situated at the base of Yen Tu Mountain, which is a trek, I think, 3.5 kilometers up, which leads to a shrine. It's quite a dramatic experience. It feels like you're up in the clouds when you're able to maybe possibly talk to the monk if he's there. So, that's pretty interesting. 38:06 We have a new hotel that just opened in Hà Nội called the Capella hotel, the Capella Group of Singapore, making waves with ultra-high end luxury and they've got Bill Bensley trying to put a story together for that. So, I think Bill Bensley was also in the Legacy Yen Tu and also at the Hotel de la Coupole in Sa Pa. So, those are three hotels that I think are notable. Within Ho Chi Minh City, there are currently hotels being built. We will see how they are after launch. I can't comment before they're open. One of my favorites that I typically stay at regularly, just because it's relatively modern, and has a great rooftop bar, is the Mgallery and being a member of their group brings a lot of privilege. So, I like to go there. Basically, I'm stuck in the hotel all day due to the privileges that they give me. So, there's a lot of that. 39:04 One of the things that I get to do now that I've experienced a lot of the five-star hotels throughout the country, is I get to now go to boutique hotels. So, although I've been spending a lot of time in the upper range, you're going to start to find that a lot of my intelligence will shift down one notch. The other thing that we're working on with the Chaîne is actually creating a guide. Because we're in 90 countries, we have 25,000 members. Our membership, 7,000 of them are professionals in the food and beverage and hospitality industries. It's poignant. 39:38 You mentioned that you don't know these stories about these chefs. Well, if I was to say, Kerry, here's a guide that talks about, here's the chef, here's the restaurant they're at, there's a small little story about who they are. Basically, being able to do this food, beverage, hotels, maybe even suppliers and groceries because if I'm coming to a country. If I might not just want to go out and eat, I might actually want to go to a fine grocery and cook for myself at some point, especially in Vietnam. 40:06 So, it's basically, being able to launch in Vietnam, we're going to launch probably this year in Vietnam, and it will be ready and radiate outwards. So, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, maybe Indonesia, and then probably I have to go back to my home country and give some homage to the chefs that really supported me early. So, we'll do Canada. Hopefully at some point in time, I'll be able to come and shake your hand in Australia as well. Kerry Newsome: 40:31 And this guide, you're saying this is for Vietnam? Or will this be all the countries that you kind of mentioned? Raj Taneja: 40:40 Yeah, so we'll do it addition by addition, based on, obviously, we don't want to make it a humongous direct rate. Kerry Newsome: 40:48 It could be a big book. Raj Taneja: 40:51 Yeah. So, it's going to contain a lot of content based on one-to-one interaction. So, to tell the world that this is someone special, we'll do an addition probably to start for Vietnam. Then I might have to, because obviously, the content for fine dining in Vietnam is quite small. So being able to say, okay, we'll do Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, maybe in one edition. I think it's still something that can fit in your suitcase, and then we go, we'll do another edition for other countries. Again, I don't think it'll be 90 editions immediately. There is a goal to maybe have several 100 editions, depending on how many markets and the size of our guide. 41:35 The other thing is, I think street food is a very important aspect of eating culture in a lot of countries, whether it be Rome, or whether it be Hà Nội. So being able to not invite these street food vendors into our association, which is incorrect, but to say if someone within our association probably is an expert in that realm. Having them curate a piece of the guide, saying, okay, give us five or six venues that you absolutely adore. Let's go and eat at those places, and let's take photos, and let's put them within our guides. So, people have options now. So, I think it's a little bit better than what's currently available to the market. I think someone would want to put that in their handbag, they probably would want to read it on a plane over and then be fully prepared and fully interested in the life story of some of these chefs that they are going to meet. Kerry Newsome: 42:28 Well, certainly for this show, we'll be able to put the transcript together. So, all of your restaurants that you've mentioned, your chefs, etc. and links to your website will all be there. I imagine with your events; you do kind of an announcement to that and obviously send out invitations. Is that how it works? Raj Taneja: 42:53 We certainly do. So, what we do is have a mailing list for Vietnam. We typically like to say that we have our events planned out for the year, although they tend to get canceled with COVID closures and restrictions. And we're hoping that now that Tet is over that we will see some clarity, we expect the reopening. So, let's cross our fingers, Kerry. I need you on this one. Kerry Newsome: 43:17 Raj, I've got big hopes for the year of the tiger. So, let's be brave. Let's be bold. I'm going to be bold in asking one last question. Do you have a favorite dish in Vietnam that is kind of your go to favorite? Raj Taneja: 43:34 I spent a lot of time in the south. So, although there are some phenomenal dishes in the north, for example, the origin of phở so phở is always a treat. It's always some sort of comfort food for me. I find myself in the south enjoying broken rice. So, cơm tấm, sitting there with the grilled meat out on the street corner. There are some special places that used to exist in Saigon, some of them closed. But being able to go out seven or eight at night and sit there with that chili sauce, and that piece of pork and the rice is something that touches my heart to the point where I was in Nha Trang about two weeks ago. I walked by a stall and I was getting late for my flight and I said, "You know my flight can wait." I sat down at the stone, and I had a lovely natural compound which isn't exactly as good as what they have in Saigon, but pretty good. Then I rushed off to the hotel to get in the car to go back to the airport. Kerry Newsome: 44:36 Way to go. It's been really great to chat with you. I'm looking forward to staying in touch. I'll make sure we put the links in especially those two Streets International. I know you have a very deep heart and affection for that organization. As I do. I've had Neal Bermas on the show talking about Streets. So, we really want to see Streets international back in Hội An. Obviously the work you do there is much appreciated. Any last words for my guests before we close out? Raj Taneja: 45:14 One thing that I'd love to say is that for those that are looking to come to Vietnam, and really make an impact, definitely you do need to touch base with these organizations like Streets International , and basically see how you can help. So, I'm happy to be a liaison for that. They're always looking for something. So, let's see what can happen. My heart goes out to anyone who's trying to support the people in this country. Kerry Newsome: 45:44 Okay, thanks very much for being on the program, Raj. Raj Taneja: 45:48 Thank you very much, Kerry. Restaurants featured during the show: Labri Bistro - http://www.labribistro.com/ Le Corto - http://lecortovietnam.com/ T.U.N.G Dining - https://www.tungdining.com/ Cugini - https://www.facebook.com/cugini.tongocvan/] Hotels mentioned:- Hotel de la Coupole Legacy Yen Tu Raj Taneja – Representing Chaîne des Rôtisseurs

S5-E4 - Exploring the Case for living and working in Vietnam S5- E4 - Exploring the Case for Living and Working in Vietnam 00:01Kerry Newsome Xin chào and welcome to What About Vietnam? Becoming an expert and traveling and working abroad, I think most of us would appreciate can be a life-changing decision with numerous benefits and I guess some challenges along the way. I'm delighted today to be talking with Kate Boardman and we're going to explore the case for becoming an expat in Vietnam. Now, Kate's very qualified to speak on this topic, having lived in Vietnam twice for extensive periods of time. A little bit about Kate before we kick off. Kate's almost 36 years old, from a small town in Western Massachusetts. She's lived abroad in 10 different countries, including the US, Germany, France, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bahrain, Australia, Bali and Guatemala for a total of 14 years. It's staggering to note she's traveled to 53 countries. Kate, as I mentioned, lived in Vietnam twice for two and a half years. six months in 2012 and two years in 2014 to 2016. She's traveled back to visit several times, most recently in November. She says in no uncertain terms, Vietnam is one of her favorite countries of all time. She's worked as a teacher at international schools and as a gap year instructor. She's now back home growing a dynamic travel content creation business under the name Wildcat Wanders. Links to that and for you to contact her directly will be provided in the show notes. As one of the aspects of coming on this show, she really hopes to inspire others to live, study, work and travel overseas. Kate, it's a delight to have you on the show. And I look forward to chatting with you. Welcome to What About Vietnam 02:05Kate Boardman Thank you so much, Kerry, for having me. I'm delighted to be here. This is really exciting. 02:10Kerry Newsome You know, Kate, I'm sure my listeners are keen to know just what makes Vietnam a good choice for an extended working stay. So let's start there. 02:22Kate Boardman So I'm actually hesitant to recommend Vietnam so much for fear of over-tourism, because it's really such a special and unique place. And I just hope that what I've seen in other countries around the world where over-tourism has become a thing won't happen to Vietnam because it is so unique. But at the same time, it's one of the most amazing places that I've been. And I also feel that everyone should see it. So it's kind of this I don't know how much to recommend it but there are so many amazing things and I think For me, what stands out the most about it is that there's no place like it, especially in Southeast Asia. A lot of the countries, of course, they have their own personalities and aspects that make them amazing. But a lot of them can be a little bit same, same, but different as the saying in Southeast Asia goes. But Vietnam is truly its own place. And I think what makes it so special is the people. They're super friendly, but also ruthless, and they know what they want and how they want it. And they're very direct. Obviously, culturally, the country has been through a lot, a lot of wars, a lot of situations in the past. And so they kind of just do what they want and say what they want. And I really admire that about the people. I think what also makes it special is that life really takes place on the streets. And so you're just surrounded by this fascinating culture and vibrancy all the time. You look outside and there's the ladies with the conical hats and their matching pajamas and the honking of the motorbikes and all of the smells from the food and this organized chaos of the motorbikes and traffic. So it's just, you can't escape it. So when you're traveling there, you just really feel that you're somewhere different. The food is amazing, you know, both local food and Western food. I've got loads of friends who have lived there long term from other countries and they've opened up restaurants that have been really successful with really delicious Western food for an affordable price. And then obviously, you know, you can eat for two to three dollars a delicious bowl of pho or banh mi. And there's so many amazing types of food that change with each region of Vietnam that you visit, too. 04:46Kerry Newsome I think what fascinates me, which I think is in line with what you're saying, is that the street life is so dynamic in the sense that there is old and new residing alongside each other. As you say, conical hats next to you know, very well established buildings and fancy coffee shops and, you know, boutiques and things. But then, you know, a little bit further down the street, there's a little bit more of history that you can see still alive and well and happening. And the smells, for some people, Kate, I've got to say those smells are a little bit overwhelming. And, you know, you've got to tune your nose. But I think you and I have both visited a fair few places in Southeast Asia, and I don't find Vietnam as bad as some others. So, maybe my nose is just tuned to it. But yeah, for some, I think it's a little bit overwhelming. And then, of course, there's the motorbikes. which I think everybody gets a little bit overwhelmed by and a little bit taken back by how to cross the streets and all of that kind of stuff gets talked about and people become quite nervous about it. So, talk to us a little bit about that frenetic life. I mean, you've spent most of your time, as I understand, I think in Hanoi? 06:19Kate Boardman Yeah, so I lived there for two and a half years. I've travelled the country from top to bottom. Obviously, there's so many places that I haven't been to explore yet, but I've been to all the main ones, you know, like Hoi An and Sapa and Saigon. But yeah, I think what makes Hanoi special as well is that there's this love-hate relationship. And like you said, the honking, the motorbike traffic, those are all things that are super frustrating. And it's funny because each day living there, you might die like five times a day just trying to cross the street or get yourself to work. You know, and people will always joke about that, but it's like if you can't beat them, join them. And so, having a motorbike as frustrating as it can be in the traffic is also one of the funniest things about living there and cruising around on your motorbike. amazing sense of freedom. And it's really fun once you kind of get to know the rules or lack thereof of the traffic. And, you know, if you want to go through a stoplight, you just got to beep. If you want to drive down a one-way street going the opposite way, you just got to beep. If you want to drive up on a sidewalk, you can, you just have to beep. And so it's kind of fun once you feel confident enough to do all of those things. .07:37Kerry Newsome Yeah, and then you can pull up right at the front door of the shop or the restaurant or the cafe or wherever and you can park your bike and get off your bike and either someone will kind of park it for you for, you know, a few dong or you can just, you know, put the pedal down and take your helmet off and off you go, you know. I haven't seen you know, as yet, the parking stations that absolutely take over my cities here in Australia, and I'm sure you're the same in the US. So, you know, those little nuances, those little differences, I think also keep that spark alive, keep that kind of difference alive, which is quite energizing in itself. Kate, I want to take you down the route now of talking about getting a job and doing some research and just looking at the option to have an extended stay in Vietnam and working in Vietnam. Talk to us a little bit about how that was for you. 08:47Kate Boardman So the first time I moved there was 2012. So things have obviously changed a lot since then. And for whoever's looking to move there, it would obviously be important to research the ever-changing visa laws and regulations. I know that they're making new changes and that those do change a lot. Oftentimes, depending on who you're going to be working for, if it's an international school or an organization, they would most likely sponsor your visa. So if that's not going to happen, you need to be aware of if you're going to need to be doing visa runs or anything like that. I went there having a job lined up. So that was a little bit easier because I knew exactly where I was going. So the first time that I moved there, I was teaching at a bilingual school. A lot of the expats that are there are teachers, most are working in language centers teaching English as a foreign language, but there are also international schools where you can teach, you know, whatever subject you would teach back home, but over there, which is what I did as well. you've just got to be careful with finding a reputable organization or school. I think the problem with Southeast Asia in general and even in the world is that education has become such a business and there's a lot of schools that are popping up, you know, with the buzzwords that are popular in education at the moment, whether that's Montessori or Reggio Emilia or Waldorf, but it's really just a business or a marketing buzzword to attract parents, but the school doesn't actually embody that concept. So you've got to be really careful with who you're working for and how they're conducting business. So there's a lot of Facebook groups for expats that are moving there, especially for teaching English to find out and to, you know, do a little bit of research, ask for feedback from other teachers who've worked there. So that's a great way to get insight. If you're working at international schools, there are websites like International School Review, where you can do a little bit of research ahead of time to make sure that the school is legit. So I definitely recommend doing your due diligence. and also making sure that you have the right qualifications to be able to work legally in the country and for those places. But now with the digital nomad kind of popularity happening, there's a lot of other ways that you could work and and live there. So if you are able to work, you know, from home on your laptop, then I think it's a great place to be able to go. And, you know, living in Hoi An by the beach is an amazing option, you know. So and I think that there's a lot of co-working spaces that are opening up to be able to provide the right kind of internet connection that you need. So I know that the whole expat scene is definitely going to be changing over the next few years of people being able to do more than just teaching or working for an embassy, which is kind of what the past was like. 11:44Kerry Newsome Yes, and I think it's a developing economy and I see a lot of trade and relationships between countries growing and certainly since things have changed with China. I think, you know, there's more opportunities in the industry sector and working with different chambers of commerce that I get the chance to do, I see a lot more of that. So, I totally agree with you. In fact, I've just done a podcast talking about becoming a digital nomad in Hoi An and talking to a guy who runs the hub in Hoi An, which As you say, if you're going to pick a nice place to set up your laptop and operate digitally for work, and that pays you a salary, well, all the better. So, as you say, I think since 2012, and because I also have a lot of contact with expats over there, the opportunities for jobs has increased, but doing your due diligence is absolutely imperative. There was a time there where there was a lot of people that were going there to retire, and they took up the majority of expat kind of locations and, you know, but COVID kind of unfortunately stripped a lot of those people out and it has become much stricter for people to get the right sponsorship and get things like, you know, a temporary residency card which they need to have for the certain benefits to live in the country. So, you know, as you say, there's a lot going on in that space and doing your research, talking to other expats and hearing from you, I know is going to really help. 13:45Kate Boardman Now they're being much more specific on the qualifications and certifications you need. You know, you should have a TEFL, potentially a college degree. So there's definitely, they're upping the calibre for teachers that they're allowing to teach their students. And I think that that's important because a lot goes into teaching. So you should kind of have a little bit of background if you're putting someone else's education in your hands. 14:10Kerry Newsome And it's a good point. And you're right. And I think there was a lot of opportunities for people that, yes, had good conversational English skills and could get away with it. But as you say, unless you've got a TEFL or you've got some kind of degree in, you know, dip ed or, you know, educational degree, you're just not going to make the grade now. So that's good. I'm glad you mentioned that. Kate, I want to take you down the path of just how it was for you and talking about just immersing yourself into Vietnamese day-to-day life as it is so very different from, you know, us Westerners and, you know, how we start and finish our days. So, can you talk to us a little bit about just, you know, was it easy for you to kind of immerse yourself in Vietnamese day-to-day life? 15:05Kate Boardman So I think the thing, the most important thing is, if you're an expat, you're always going to be a foreigner. And we kind of live in this in between place of never really ever fitting in again in our own home because we've seen the world and broadened our perspective in ways that people from home might not be able to really relate to. But then we're also never going to fully fit in in the culture where we're moving. We can do our best to learn the language and learn about the culture as much as we can and have as many local friends as we want. But I'm 5'11 and a tall, curvy white girl, so I'm clearly not going to blend in. to the streets of Hanoi. So you're always going to maybe get some inquisitive looks. A lot of the shopkeepers, I'd go into stores to look at clothes. 15:58Kerry Newsome I know what you're going to say. 16:01Kate Boardman Oh, yeah, the amount of times that they'll like, grab your arm and literally, like, shake it and be like, No, no, no, like, you too fat, you're too fat, like, and I'm like, No, but I wear a medium, like, I know that this is gonna fit me. And they would refuse to even let me try it on. And it would be like an H&M shirt that's immediate, you know, I buy this back home, I know it's gonna fit, no They won't let you. So you've got to have a bit of a thick skin to get by. And also, if you are single and you are past the age of 28, you are expired milk. So I would constantly get asked on a daily basis from my Vietnamese co-workers, are you married? Do you have a boyfriend? Why not? Like, what's wrong with you? And now like 10 years later, I'm still single. So they're really going to wonder what's wrong with me. But no, I think as far as immersing yourself, it's a really easy place to kind of get adjusted. You know, you can move there on a Monday and by the weekend have friends, a place to live, a motorbike. You know, I think the expat scene is extremely welcoming and the Vietnamese as well. So it takes Moving anywhere takes time to adjust. There's always that initial culture shock that you have to go through, figuring out where to buy things. And luckily, that has changed drastically in the 10 years. So in 2012, you know, finding contact solution, For example, you couldn't just go to the grocery store, which is where I would buy contact solution from back home, or the pharmacy. You had to go to Glasses Street in the old quarter to find the street that sells glasses, and then there was maybe one contact shop, and those contact shops sold the contact lens solution. It was a mission to find something that you would think would just be an easy enough thing to find. But now, there's so much convenience there. you know, loads of Facebook groups like Hanoi Massive, where, you know, if you need to know where to find something, there's answers, there's grab delivery. So basically, anything that you want, you can have delivered, you know, at the snap of a finger. So that has definitely changed and made things a lot more convenient and easy to navigate. And like I said, with all the Facebook groups, there's groups such as Hanoi Beautiful. So if you're moving there and wondering, you know, where can I go get a haircut? Where can I get my nails done? Where can I, you know, what's a reputable doctor, there's all of that information there, which wasn't necessarily there before. So I think that definitely makes a huge difference. Language is definitely challenging. Obviously, it's tonal. So I think even if you're able to learn a lot, you know, you could still be saying the wrong thing. You know, you could be saying penis or pomelo. They mean the same or it's the same word, but if you say it wrong, you could be ordering the wrong thing at the market. 18:57Kerry Newsome Yeah, but I know exactly what you're saying. And I know I got warned. My boss at the time, her name was spelt T-H-U-Y, which is pronounced “twee”. But if you say “tui” it actually means poop. So, you want to be really careful how you say that then. I'm not surprised that you're mentioning a lot about Facebook groups. For a time there, I really thought that Vietnam was run by Facebook. Like everything, every place, seems to have a Facebook page. And the beautiful part about that is, even though it may be in Vietnamese, you can still message it in English and then you get someone at the other end that messages you back in English and responds. I can, you know, book a hair appointment, Talk to my tailor. I can do a hundred things through Facebook. It's just amazing, isn't it? 20:08Kate Boardman Right. And I think as far as countries in South East Asia go, the level of English in Vietnam is definitely up there. especially now compared to a few years ago, there's such a push for young Vietnamese students to go to bilingual or international schools, to go to all these language centers. There's a huge push in the country for them to study abroad as well, which has its flaws, you know, even though as an international teacher, have obviously benefited from working at these schools. I hope that it doesn't take over their own culture by becoming so Western and so capitalistic that they're trying to, you know, be like the US or other countries in the West where they lose their own identity. 20:57Kerry Newsome Mm, it's a good point. And I'm right with you, I don't really want it to change, yet I know in my heart of hearts it's going to, it's all ready. I mean, I've been going back and forth for 14 years, and even in that time, each time I go back, and I go back twice or three times a year, and even in between visits, things have happened, things have changed. So, it's a bit scary and it's growing fast, really, really fast. Let's get on to accommodation because as you say, that's gone through some drastic changes too. So, did you find anything more about that when you visited in November in contrast to what it was for you back in 2016? Yeah. 21:42Kate Boardman So, when I first lived there, I was paying... One of the cool things was that a lot of people live in house shares. So you get these big, beautiful villas, especially where I was living in the Tejo, Westlake area, which is kind of the more expat neighborhood of Hanoi. There's a lot more now that are popular, but that was definitely the most popular when I was there. And it still is. And so a lot of us would live in a shared house with about five people in a house. I met some of my best friends in the world that way. And it was really great to have that kind of family away from home. If you are moving to another country, it's a great way to live with other people, have a group of friends that we would have holiday dinners together and Monday nights. So it was really special. But we would pay about 250 US dollars for a room often with an en suite and a balcony. And like I said, that would have been in a big five bedroom house. I then lived in a Lakeview apartment with a beautiful balcony overlooking Tay Ho and the two bedroom would have been about 600 US dollars. A month. I think that now, a month. And I think that now that would easily be well over 1000. So I've just spoken to my one of my best friends just moved to Saigon. So she's going to be teaching at an international school. They've given her about 700 US dollars to find a two bedroom apartment. But she said that when she was looking the other day for the amenities that she would want, which would be a pool and a gym, she's looking about at about $1,000. So A lot. Those are definitely Western prices, but obviously you're not going to get a pool and a gym in your building for $1,000 in New York City. So it's comparable to what you're getting, but it's still really expensive to think that you could be paying that much in Vietnam compared to what we paid years ago. 23:42Kerry Newsome Yeah, absolutely. And I think the interesting thing that I've learned from expats too is, you know, in that shared house and in the accommodations that you have, your style of living is so different to Western, you know, like, you know, you don't have ovens and you're not there cooking and baking like you would be at home. You're mostly eating out because it's just so affordable and, you know, you've got maybe somebody to come in and do the cleaning and, as you say, access to the pool, to the gym. So, it's still quite comparable, isn't it? Western life, but how does it compare to the salary? Like, do you go there to save money, or do you go there as an expat to just be an expat and live in another country to experience another country, or do you actually come home with savings, or I don't know. I'm not quite sure what I want out of this answer, but yeah. 24:42Kate Boardman No, so this is a big thing to consider when you're looking to move abroad. So, especially having been a teacher in so many different countries, you kind of get to know the countries that pay really well, or that you're mostly living in for an experience. And it's often supply and demand. You think of the countries where people really often want to live, the pay is obviously going to be a little bit less because they know that you're going to want to move there, even if the salary is low, whereas countries that might not be as enticing are often going to pay you more because they want to attract people to get there, which is why at a time the Middle East was paying a ton of money. Now, obviously, people want to go and live there. so the salaries have kind of dropped to reflect that. But Vietnam, when I first, so my first job there, I was earning about $2,000 a month. And after paying for rent, a motorbike every month, or no, I think I bought my motorbike, but paying for a motorbike, eating out, essentially every single day, partying and going out every weekend, traveling on every holiday, I would easily save half of my salary without even thinking about it. So I think the most important thing to think about is your earning to savings ratio. It's not necessarily how much money you're making, but the quality of life you can live with that and the amount of money that you can save. So I definitely was able to save half of my salary. So Even though $2,000 a month is not a lot by Western standards, I would never have been able to save $12,000 in the US working a job that paid more just because of the cost of living. That would just not be possible. Now, obviously, with the cost of living having gone up in Vietnam, I think that that would be much more challenging. But I think the jobs also reflect that in their pay. So you can, and again, it's up to how you live, you know, if you are eating at a Western restaurant, every single day, you're going to be paying about seven to $10 for a meal. But if you're eating a bowl of pho, you're going to be paying about two to three So it depends on what you spend your money on. You can obviously get a cafe soda from a local cafe for a dollar, or you could go and have a latte at Starbucks for six. So it's how you choose to live your life. And I think the great thing about Vietnam is that you have that balance and you have those options to be able to live as cheaply and inexpensively as you want or to be as lavish as you want as well. 27:25Kerry Newsome Yeah, I mean, you're totally right. It's definitely a lifestyle choice and how you live because, you know, I know even myself, if I stay, you know, a couple of months, if I have an extended stay, I find myself totally flipping on the way I live over there to how I live back home. How I eat, what I do, where I go, and where my money doesn't go. So, it's not going on parking fees or tolls or, you know, the eating out is nowhere near as expensive as it is over there. I adore Vietnamese food. So, you know, I can get fed very well. I can get a grab bike for you know, so cheap to get where I want to go. So, you know, you're right. You've got to really weigh up those pros and cons and what the experience of travel and immersing yourself in that kind of culture is going to do for you. 28:25Kate Boardman Also, just one thing to add to that, like the price of being beautiful. I joke around with my friends all the time. I'm like, oh, you're so lucky. You can be, you can afford to be so much more beautiful there because, you know, I always just felt so much I don't know, you're able to afford, you know, getting your nails done, getting your hair done, getting massages, you know, on a weekly basis, whereas back in the States, I can't do that on a regular basis. So I joke with my friends, you know, because they've all got their lashes done and their eyebrows and everything is done all the time, you know, whereas I'm lucky if I go to get my nails done, you know, every couple of months. 29:06Kerry Newsome I'm totally with you. I reckon I lose 10 years in a trip to Vietnam. I always come back feeling absolutely refreshed. And I feel like a foreigner back in my own country. It's terrible. 29:19Kate Boardman Oh, yeah. Whenever I go, I get all the things done. I'm making appointments at all the places to do all the things. 29:26Kerry Newsome And I'd be having a massage after dinner two or three times a week. Right. You'd be rude not to. It's vagrant. I know. It's totally vagrant. I want to move on. I want to get into what did you struggle with the most? What were some of the biggest challenges you found? 29:48Kate Boardman Well, obviously this is going back a long time, so these wouldn't necessarily be struggles now, but the struggle of trying to figure out where to get things, which is obviously not an issue anymore. Hanoi specifically, when I first moved there, it was January and I do not recommend doing that. No. God no. No. And I had come from, so my initial plan when I moved to Asia was to stay in Thailand. That was the whole plan. I had a wardrobe packed for Thailand and then I randomly ended up getting a job that paid twice as much in Hanoi. So I moved there without any plan of actually moving there. and did not have the clothes, did not have the shoes, could not find the shoes that fit me. I wear a size US 10. So those didn't exist then. But um, it was freezing. And I'm from Massachusetts, which is in the northeast of the US, which we get a lot of snow here. And I've never been so cold in my life. Because The humidity is so high, it's about 75% to 80% humidity. And so that means that it is a wet cold that soaks you through to the bone. And you're not driving in your heated car to work, you're driving on your motorbike. So once you're cold, you are cold. And oftentimes the houses are not insulated. So it's actually colder inside of your home than outside on the streets. So I definitely battled with this. And then you go into Mouldy March. So all your clothes start to grow mould on them. That's really fun. Anything black. So all my black leather jackets and my black leather shoes were covered in mould. There's ways around this. You can get things like cedar chips for your closet or try to take care of your things if you know that Mouldy March is coming. But the weather was definitely challenging. So I actually hated Hanoi when I first lived there. I hated it so much because I was like, why did I leave? Why am I here? I was going through a really bad breakup at the time. And I'm just like, what have I done? I've left my relationship. And now I'm in this freezing cold place that didn't see the sun because it's cloudy. And it rained a lot at that time and was freezing. So I was like, OK, great. I've, you know, left sunny Thailand and now I'm here. And that really took a toll on me. But then when the weather is nice, you understand the magic and you realize why people love the place so much, which makes going through the winters way more bearable because you know, you've already fallen in love with the place. So when I moved back, it was a totally different experience because you know, the fall is absolutely gorgeous. The weather is perfect. The summer, you know, you can chill out in a pool and spend a lot of time outside. So there's, there's a lot of different times of year, but it's worth it. It's worth the cold rainy season. 32:55Kerry Newsome And, you know, people, they don't want to listen to me when I tell them about when to go and when not to go places. You know, and people say, oh, you know, we want to, we definitely want to see, we want to go to Halong Bay at the beginning of January. And I go, no, that would not be a good idea. You won't be able to go on deck. You'll be freezing. There's just not a puffer jacket built to sustain that cold in Hanoi and places like that. But everybody just has this perception that Vietnam is just this you know, hot country. It's just hot all year round. And it's just not, is it? And... Right. No, not in the North. No. And the weather in the North is very different to the weather in the South. So, when I'm crossing seasons, I either spend more time in the North, depending on what time of year, or more time in the south or the central area, just to meet the best weather, conditional to the experiences that I want to have. Because you can't do much when, you know, there's no use going to Hoi An in October, for instance, and you want to go snorkeling on the Cham Islands. because the boats don't run, the water's too cloudy, the weather's too crap. So, you know, it's really an important thing. And when I trip plan for people, I hate to have to down their aspirations, but I do want to keep it real for them because I don't want them to get there and go, oh, wow, this is terrible, you know. Kate, I want to just step into things like safety. You know, you're a gorgeous looking girl, you're there traveling on your own, working on your own, looking after yourself, sounding like very extremely well, but do you feel safe? Do you feel like you've got good either access to good people and systems and medical care and, you know, things like that to in regard to walking around at night, you know, all of that kind of stuff. Because there's some cities in the world, I would say, I wouldn't feel safe doing those kinds of things. I just wondered how it was for you. 35:19Kate Boardman No, absolutely. And that's definitely something to consider when you're moving abroad. So first of all, things can happen anywhere. And I have to tell this to my parents all the time. My mom is always worrying about me, like, oh, my God, be careful. You know, and it's like, yeah, everywhere you go, something can happen. You just have to have your wits about you and understand the culture of where you're going, first of all. So I, Vietnam is a very safe country and Southeast Asia in general is extremely safe for solo female travelers. It's one of the best places that you can travel as a woman alone, I would say. you've got such a prevalence of like the Buddhist culture and it's a very peaceful culture and peaceful people. I've been in situations, I remember I dropped like $50 out of my pocket in Seoul in Korea and somebody came running up to pick it up and hand it to me. Whereas in other countries in the world, that wouldn't happen. And the same thing would happen in Vietnam. If you left your wallet in a place, you know, oftentimes the shopkeeper would run after you to get you. That's not to say that things don't happen. You know, I've had situations and I actually got robbed in Saigon. I was coming home late at night. This would have been years ago when I was backpacking and was coming home late at night. I was walking with a couple of guys but somebody came up on a motorbike behind us and I had a crossbody bag on and they just snatched it and took off my camera, my money, everything. So you definitely have to be careful and I've heard certain areas of Saigon that you want to be careful not to wear a lot of gold flashy jewellery because they've got people that will ride around on the motorbikes and they'll pull them off of you, but you just have to know where you're going. And I wouldn't say that that's the overall energy of the city. You might find that in more of the backpacker places, but once you live there, it's kind of, you know what areas to avoid. So, for example, I had a friend that when she lived in Saigon, if she was going out to the district one backpacker area, she might just not wear her flashy gold or valuable jewellery, you know, or make sure that she has a bag that's secure on her. There are also situations where house robberies could happen. This did happen to several of my friends where people would actually climb up from the outside and could break into your house. But again, this is not the norm. These, of course, happen. And I think it's important for people to know that they are possibilities. But it's definitely not the rule. There are more exceptions to the rule. And overall, I always felt very safe in Vietnam. There are great medical facilities. Obviously, you want to do your research and know where to go. But I've had friends that have, you know, delivered babies. I've had friends that have gotten surgeries. You know, there are good medical facilities there if you need. And again, just do your research. So if you're moving to a place, get a feel for what are the best hospitals to go to if something should happen so that you know and are ready for should anything happen. With motorbike safety, it's extremely important to know how to drive a motorbike, I would suggest that you really feel confident knowing how to ride a motorbike. I learned in Thailand, which prepared me for Vietnam. I think if you've never driven a motorbike before, Vietnam might be a little bit of an intense place to try. So obviously finding a quiet area where you can practice is important because the traffic is crazy and it takes some getting used to, but it's an organized chaos and it does flow. Once you get the hang of it, you'll understand it. But it's also important to make sure that your insurance is going to cover you if you're in a motorbike accident. So this is really important. I think a lot of insurance companies, travel insurance companies will only cover you if you have a license. So you would need to figure out if you're going to stay there a long time how to get a Vietnam motorbike license. And if you don't have a license that you are driving a motorbike, that's no more than a 50 CC. So I actually own a Honda Cub. Those are my favorite motorbikes. They're adorable. They're vintage. They're super cute. Mine was named Penny Lane, and she was adorable, turquoise, and I loved her. But she was a 50 CC. And so that meant that if anything happened, it would have been covered under my insurance. And, um, I use a safety wing, so I've actually sent you a link. So if you want to share that, um, so safety wing is great for digital nomads for insurance, but yeah, those are definitely some things to be aware of, but no, overall the Vietnamese are extremely. Friendly. I feel safe there and, and the men are not creepy. I think this is important to, of course, you know, you might get some looks, but I've definitely been to other parts of the world where. you feel uncomfortable because you're getting stared at, or even in Egypt, the guys would chase you down the streets. In Guatemala, whenever they drive by, they're whistling or yelling something out the window. But Vietnam, you don't really feel that from the men there, which is really refreshing. So I think for women, that's important, and you don't feel that you're being stalked or perved on by these men. 41:09Kerry Newsome Yeah, and that's been my experience as well. I think, you know, it's a lot of common sense, I think, a lot of times, don't you think? That, you know, if you want to be flashy, if you want to kind of, you know, act like you haven't got your wits about you, you're in the wrong place at the wrong time kind of thing, you're either too drunk to know what you're doing, well, you know, anything can happen. And as you say, that could happen in any country. I think that it's important to note that. And, you know, like I travel like you on my own most of the time. I'm blonde. I'm short. So, the short aspect helps me a lot. because I don't stand out, but my blonde hair does stick out like the proverbial. But, you know, I'm a bit older, so I often get a lot of respect from the Vietnamese, and they are very cordial and very sweet to me. So, you know, I always feel quite special the way they treat me when I'm over there. I mean, just common courtesies that, you know, you don't get in Western society as much. 42:24Kate Boardman No, they're extremely friendly and welcoming and helpful as well. You know, if I've been in situations where my motorbike is broken down on the side of the street and someone, you know, because I've run out of petrol or something and someone stops to help me and gone and gotten me some petrol or whatever. So They'll go out of their way to help you if they can. 42:44Kerry Newsome Absolutely. Kate, just to finish up, do you have any kind of last minute tips for people, things that they should definitely do? 42:56Kate Boardman I mean, so many, but I think try all the food, really explore the cafe culture, it's unlike anywhere else in the world, the local coffee, the beautiful cafes that they have, they're so fun to explore. For me, I love going down all the little hidden alleyways, that's where all the hidden gems are. So I think back home, what we would see as a sketchy looking alleyway, it's kind of dirty, or, you know, it's not maybe the most hygienic place to eat, those are the best spots. So don't let, don't judge a book by its cover, that's where the magic is. And my favorite places are the places that are down what might look like a sketchy alleyway, but it's a culinary heaven and you just got to go and get lost and try it. My favorite trips have been, one of my favorite trips of all time was a motorbike trip that I did up to Ha Giang, the Ha Giang Loop, which is on the border of China. So my girlfriend and I rode motorbikes for about six days, and it was the most stunning countryside I've ever seen. So definitely do a motorbike trip if you can. I know that that trip has become a lot more popular over the years. When I went, it was definitely off the beaten track. It's incredible. Hoi An is such a magical place and will forever be one of my favorite places. But yeah, I think just try to experience as much as you can. And I think that's what makes Vietnam so amazing is that you've got literally everything. You've got incredible beaches, deserts, jungle. thriving, bustling cities, cute ancient towns. There's tons of history and architecture and charm. And so there's really something for everyone to see there. 44:50Kerry Newsome Kate, thank you very much for being on the program. It's been really great to talk to you. 45.20 Kate Boardman Thank you so much for having me.

dab37f6f-38a7-4c56-9b1a-56aec8510979Language tips in Vietnam Learn best shopping words Learn best words to use for "shopping" in Vietnam Episode 21 S3-21 Learn "shopping words" 00:00 / 16:21 Shopping in Vietnam is “awesome” on so many levels. And while it may sound obvious - knowing some phrases or a few words in Vietnamese can really make the experience even more fun. In this episode (part 3) Ms Ha and I expand on the “game” of shopping or bartering, as Ha gives us some keys words to use to help you get the item you want, at the best price. Because lets face it. That's what we want, right? This is the last in the 3 part series on language as we have covered “Greetings” in part 1, “Dietary requirements” in part 2, and in this one we finish it off where you will learn some of the artistic language skills to use when “Shopping”. Simple phrases like - What is the “best price”?. “Too much” ! If you'd like to dig a little deeper to an expanded version of "Shopping in Vietnam "check out the episode (Series 2, Episode 2). This is one of the most popular in the series. Even if you don’t like shopping, the markets is a must to visit as this is where the heart and soul of the people lives. See locals bargain, share gossip, laugh and enjoy the whole experience. It makes shopping in a supermarket look very boring. You will love this final episode with Ms Ha, as it is a nice quick one and easy to follow. My thanks to Ms Ha again for her patience and wonderful skills in making the learning of Vietnamese so easy. To see her shopping click on the Link to the right. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

81fddd7d-8d67-497b-8500-29c80f9e6466Leaving a positive footprint through social enterprise What About Vietnam – S3 - 7 Jimmy Pham on how to leave a positive footprint on Vietnam through Social Enterprise [00:00:36] Kerry Newsome: Xin chào . Welcome to What About Vietnam . Travel has so much to offer us. Along with all the great experiences that we anticipate we're going to have, especially when we're planning a trip to Vietnam, possibly one of the most significant things that we don't think about in the first instance is just what kind of positive footprint we're going to leave behind in the country. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about responsible tourism, impactful tourism, and social enterprise in Vietnam. I can't think of anyone better to open our eyes and our hearts to social enterprise than my guest today, Jimmy Pham. I feel very privileged to be talking with him as I've had the luxury of experiencing KOTO, the social enterprise restaurant and hospitality program Jimmy founded 23 years ago. I first recognized the restaurant and had a visit to it at the time. It was a sandwich shop at the time located just near the Temple of Literature. I've been back several times and enjoyed the food there every time, but Jimmy's going to tell the background story to that sandwich shop. He's going to share with us some of the visitors that he's had the privilege to feed, and just how it's grown and evolved to what it is today, and just how many street kids he's been able to assist in that program. He'll share with us how social enterprise businesses are influencing change and breaking the poverty cycle in Vietnam. He's earned many prestigious awards for his work with youth and communities including being awarded the Order of Australia back in 2013. In addition, he's earned many other prestigious awards including the South Korea's most coveted award for philanthropy - the POSCO TJ Park Prize in 2017. He continues to be ranked in the top 40 most popular motivational speakers by Saxton speakers. He's vice president of Auscham Vietnam. As a great influencer in the country, mentoring businesses and the travel industry to seek ways that offering charity to beggars may not be the best way to go. He'll help us better understand why we should be maybe more curious about ways that can foster a program or future for a person to become educated, so they can get a job and sustain themselves long-term. That's not to say that even looking at visiting different areas where you get to experience minority groups and putting back into those communities isn't also a great way to leave a great footprint. As Jimmy puts it, it's more important we leave footprints in people's hearts and look out for those opportunities that have a win-win scenario. I feel sure we're going to learn a lot more about traveling in Vietnam and how we can be that positive change when we visit. Please welcome Jimmy Pham to the show. [music] Good morning Jimmy. Thank you for joining me on the What About Vietnam podcast. These are certainly unprecedented times we are living in at the moment as a result of the COVID pandemic. I really appreciate your time to come to the show. [00:04:19] Jimmy Pham: No problem. Hi Kerry. Welcome to all the listeners. Thank you for having me and greeting from the capital of Vietnam. [00:04:26] Kerry Newsome: Look, we're sitting here at the beginning of August 21. Vietnam is currently experiencing its biggest fight against the Delta strain of COVID. None of us can ignore the impact of COVID on the health of Vietnamese. I'm hoping, in this episode, we will be inspired by you, Jimmy, and your achievements in breaking the poverty cycle in Vietnam. I'm very much looking forward to this chat with you. [00:04:55] Jimmy Pham: Thank you, Kerry. Thank you for having me by the way. [00:04:58] Kerry Newsome: Now, that leads me into a special announcement news just to hand. I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on winning the Waislitz Global Citizen Award. Now, this award, I understand, recognizes the excellence of individuals in their work to end extreme poverty. The Waislitz Foundation exists to create a positive social impact locally and globally through innovative projects that empower individuals to meet their full potential and make a measurable difference. Super congrats on the award, Jimmy. [00:05:34] Jimmy Pham: Thank you. You know what, Kerry? Just to add to it, Waislitz is also based in Australia. All the Australians when I spoke to them a couple of days ago, they were super excited since this is the founding of the Global Citizen Award. This is the first time an Aussie got it as well, so-- [00:05:53] Kerry Newsome: Oh, okay. That's fantastic. I didn't realize. [00:05:56] Jimmy Pham: This is for Australia as well. [chuckles] [00:06:00] Kerry Newsome: Yes, nice. That's fabulous. Jimmy, look, for everyone listening who's new to Vietnam and maybe learning a little bit more about the country through my podcast, could you please explain a little bit about KOTO, the social enterprise you started 20 years or so ago, and just how it's evolved over time? [00:06:22] Jimmy Pham: Sure. I'm Australian Vietnamese. I was born during a very, very tough time in Vietnam called the American War, called the American War, 1972. This is just a detailing of the war. For anyone who fought in the South pretty much knew that the North has won, and then it's time to flee. That was around the area where a lot of people were escaping. You see these horrific pictures of the rooftop of the U.S. Embassy, the helicopters and the tank going through the presidential towers, etc. My family fled. I was two years old. We lived in a couple of countries, and then finally, to Australia at the age of eight. We come from a very impoverished family. We lived out of coupons and all that kind of stuff because we have these six siblings all together. I still do believe to this day we're in a lucky country. We were blessed and surrounded by just wonderful people who helped us along the way. Mom always ensures that we have an education and a roof over our heads. I think that's the best thing I can hope for. I'm having that our values instilled in me and also that educational level and living in a lucky country. I came back to Vietnam for the first time working in the tourism industry. Vietnam was considered a third-world country in those days. When you see a white face, they're pretty much Russians. [chuckles] You would be considered to be Russians. Poverty was everywhere. So when you see street kids with ulcers and blisters and carrying coconuts that they got from the Mekong Deltas and walk for about 5, 10, 15, 20 kilometers a day and just to sell $1. It breaks your heart. I went for a walk one day during one of my visits. The walk back [00:08:25] that changed my life. I met four street kids. The following two weeks for me was also an eye-opener, but a life-changing situation. That four street kids I've met, I took them to get some toothbrushes and toothpaste and all that kind of stuff, and then ask them to-- I'm going to get them bún bò phở, which is usually the traditional Vietnamese noodle soup. Then, I ask them to come back the next day, and the next day, and the next day for the two weeks I was in Vietnam. The number grew exponentially, 4 to 20, 30 to 50. At the end of the two weeks, I took out about 60 kids to dinner. A coca-cola, an extra bonus was a real treat for them. There you see a lot of stories that you share in my broken Vietnamese at that time. Whatever it is, the most amazing thing about the Vietnamese people, and probably, the Vietnamese street kids commonly known in Vietnamese buddha, which is called the dash of life, is that they have this radiant smile as though they're telling you that they won't be defeated [chuckles] by their circumstances. I witnessed one particular girl that was a beggar. Her mom was somewhere nearby, always very angry and very upset with life for some reason. Every time she sees me, she put her hand down, "So give me money." That particular night, she ran around in circle where we're sitting, having our dinner. She said, "Mommy, I'll try better tomorrow." Because she didn't make the quota.. Her mom was somewhere nearby with a steel pipe that was beating her. Subsequently, I found out that she never really made it to her adulthood later in life. I had a very important decision to my career. One was I could be that change like I want to see the world or I can go home and like a lot of tourists before me. That was very tragic. I'm going to send money back to Vietnam. I decided I want to be that change. I went back home. I asked my mom for permission. I was 24 years old. It was 1996. I had $200 in my pocket. I read two books on Vietnam. I got a job as a tour leader for a Melbourne-based company for intrepid. I came back to Vietnam. I spent the next three and a half years traveling around the Indochina regions. Everywhere there were street kids, I would feed them, shelter them, give them money, all that kind of stuff. Typically, the old chance was probably giving them a fish, so they could eat every day. [chuckles] That's what I did, young, arrogant [chuckles] and think you know better. Then, subsequently, in 1999, those nine street kids I looked after in Hanoi in the capital pulled me aside and said-- Basically, I got conned.What I was doing wasn't helping at all. It was just a free ride that they thought that they take advantage of. Instead of seeing that reaction of "Oh my God. I'm never going to talk to you guys again" [laughter] So, okay. Let’s find another solution. Let’s work on the next stage, which is basically giving you a fishing rod, so you can go and fish for yourself. There began the concept of Know One Teach One. The idea was very simple, was very much about hospitality, which is a skill that's transferrable. It was about creating a family, which a lot of them don't have, and giving them the skills that they're going to need to gain a sustainable life. The name Know One Teach One came about because we think that education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, but education doesn't have to be the traditional sense. It can be learned by doing. The idea was basically you know something, you should pass it on and playing it forward. All that collected, and then, KODA was born in 1999. In the next 23 years, we built a remarkable program that helped not only the street kids at the beginning, but now, ethnic minority girls kids in conflict with the law, kids that's been trafficked, basically the one that the society calls it "Very difficult to teach." We take them in. We put them through a two-year program, that we include the Australian Vocational Education Training Curriculum - the Box Hill Institute in Melbourne. Then, we created these incredible online skills including I'm going camping with outward bounds, do empowerment, do all this reproductive health, which is all the things that they don't learn from school. Then, lastly is we put them through English specifically designed for hospitality. At the end of the two years, Kerry, we got empowered hospitality professionals that have a sustainable livelihood and all that as well. That shows what the program is. [00:13:45] Kerry Newsome: it's an incredible story because I know back in 1999. I think you started with nine kids and a sandwich shop. 20 years on, you've influenced thousands and given them life skills as well as tuition in hospitality, which is, as you say, transferable to start their own businesses, work in major hotels, which I understand these individuals now are very sought after for their skills in some of the big names around town. It's an incredible story. Just a quick one. Hindsight's a wonderful thing. If there was anything you would have done differently back in 1999, say, what would that be? [00:14:36] Jimmy Pham: My goodness. I remember in 1999 because I couldn't cook right, so a lot of people think I'm a chef by trade. [laughter] I'm not. I got this woman's cookbook mom sent over. [chuckles] I was learning how to make frittata- [00:14:53] Kerry Newsome: [laughs] Oh gosh. [00:14:55] Jimmy Pham: -and all these sandwiches for tourists that were catching an overnight train to central Vietnam, but we had a blast. Well, would I do anything different? Probably. I think there were a lot of things I could have done differently. I think in a very Buddhist [unintelligible 00:15:12] kind of country as such as Vietnam, you believe that everything has a reason and the pathway that you need to walk on. For me, it was a learning curve. I think that we became the first recognized social enterprise. This region along the British Council just released last year that's 1,000,000 social enterprise working and different disciplines here in this region. To give you an idea of the kindness of influence you created just from a small sandwich shop. I wouldn't be able to travel around the world and be an inspiring mentor to a lot of social entrepreneurs. If I hadn't walked that path, if I haven't created-- You have all that experience and being conned and thinking I was on that watchlist. All that created these dynamics I have in me today. [00:16:18] Kerry Newsome: If I could interject with just maybe small happening when Bill Clinton decided to visit you, I think you were even more under the microscope, weren't you? [laughter] Who is this Jimmy Pham? What is so special about his place that Bill Clinton wants to come and visit? So-- [00:16:40] Jimmy Pham: That's correct. After we've been open for two months, we moved to a new location. We had such an incredibly difficult time because I had no money. My mom went and borrowed from the bank because no one at that time believed in what I was doing. Then, I made it to the front cover of an ex-pats magazine called Timeout. Then subsequently, it was very historic because it was the first American president to visit the North. Where we were located? We were in a very tourist spot, which is the first university or the Temple of Literature. [00:17:15] Kerry Newsome: Yes, a beautiful place. [00:17:17] Jimmy Pham: Exactly, it was an amazing place where the scholars and all that go to. Anyway, so he came to visit there, and then, he stopped over for lunch. 00:17:27] that surrounded that visit was quite intense. I never thought in my wildest dream that I would be able to meet this guy. Like everyone else, I was in the crowd, looking over to see him and all that kind of stuff. The next thing, I saw this parked black car- [00:17:48] Kerry Newsome: Limousine? [00:17:51] Jimmy Pham: -in front of KOTO. I dashed over and said, "Can I help you?" He said, "Is this KOTO?" I say, "Yes." He's coming for lunch. I said, "Oh my God." [00:18:00] Kerry Newsome: [laughs] [00:18:01] Jimmy Pham: The next two hour was quite intense. Just in case anyone wondering, he had a diet coke, [chuckles] a latte. [00:18:09] Kerry Newsome: He had a what? [00:18:10] Jimmy Pham: A latte, a diet coke. [00:18:12] Kerry Newsome: Oh, a diet coke. Oh, how funny. [00:18:14] Jimmy Pham: Falafel. [chuckles] [00:18:16] Kerry Newsome: Falafel. Okay. [00:18:17] Jimmy Pham: Yes. That was the very first time that we hosted someone as important as Bill Clinton, the most important man. I can see why he was such a charismatic kind of person [crosstalk] Since then, KOTO hosted-- so the first time we were under the microscope. We're thought as "Why the hell would someone such as important as the President of the United States come and visit this little tiny sandwich shop?" There was a big question mark, understandably. It got vetted severely for the next four years. Since then, we have hosted the Queen of Denmark. We had two Australian Prime Ministers already, the New Zealand Prime Minister. We have the Head of the UN and a lot of Australian ministers came to KOTO. All this was a privilege, but because every time someone important comes and they said that they saw the government sit under this KOTO, we go, "Ah. Yes, it's normal." [laughter] [music] [00:19:29] Kerry Newsome: Let’s just move now to how travel has influenced your career and partnerships as I understand you mentioned earlier about when you returned to Vietnam as a young man, it was through the support from intrepid travel, who at the time and still is very supportive of Vietnam tourism and social enterprise. Tell us a little bit about how the travel industry has spurred on your career and played a role in KOTO and just your future direction. [00:20:02] Jimmy Pham: I feel so privileged and so blessed because my starting days as a tour leader working for a company so much believe in not about dominating a country when you enter it, but actually blend in and be part of the scenery. That values were taught to me. Then subsequently, every tourist that comes to Vietnam through my group gets to hear this. Everywhere we go, we're trying to leave footprints in people's hearts rather than another, and try not to make a big scene that we're tourists and all that kind of stuff. That was very much instilled in me. I was very grateful for that learning. KOTO, for the last 20 years, has this work called the dream trip. Every year, we take our kids to visit and see how beautiful the country is and get them to start to, I guess, benefit or experience what it's like to be on the receiving end of tourism because they're going to work in the tourism industry. They might as well know what it feels like to stay in a nice hotel. [00:21:11] Kerry Newsome: To be one. Yes. [00:21:12] Jimmy Pham: To be one. That influenced me. The intrepid days and working as a leader plays a very important part in that. Now, everywhere, sustainability and giving back and all that kind of stuff are applied in everything I do because of tourism. Being a tour leader and know what it's like to go to Ha Long Bay and see rubbish everywhere and food waste and all that kind of stuff. Yes, I think Vietnam has gone a long way, by the way. [00:21:45] Kerry Newsome: Interesting. I know when we first began chatting a week or so ago, I was mentioning to you I got to go to KOTO as being part of a tour group back in, I think, 2007. That was when I really first got to hear about you and what you were doing with KOTO and all the rest of it. I feel very lucky to be talking to you now, but I think where I'd like to go with this is that travel is becoming such a widely discussed topic in the sense that it expands now into sustainability, responsible travel, impactful tourism, and social enterprise. For the average Joe, sometimes that's a bit academic, and it's quite hard to know what that really means. You've sat on the board in Vietnam for over 10 years with the center for social initiatives program, CSIP. Tell us a little bit about how social enterprise resonates with you. [music] [00:23:03] Jimmy Pham: Social enterprise, for anyone who doesn't know, the definition of social impact basically, it's using a business model. [crosstalk] [00:23:10] Kerry Newsome: A business model. [00:23:11] Jimmy Pham: A business model and principle to achieve a social outcome or a social mission as they call it. You can be any business. What you're saying is that it doesn't have to be difficult because a lot of people do have it in them to try to do something positive, but it's always a form of charity where you don't empower people, you actually give your hands out. A lot of tourism have fallen into that trap when they see that poverty. Like it or not, a lot of people-- If you go to a tourist spot area in Hanoi, there's the Hoan Kiem lake, which is a central lake, you see a lot of street kids there in the old days. You have to question "Why they're there? To be there in the first place, how much premium do they have to pay to be even to be there?" They play to the team because if you really want to help Vietnamese locals, you go to where there are no tourists, go, for example. Just go back on the social enterprise. Basically, what we're asking you to do is basically you can apply anything that you do in your business. Whether you're hiring someone who comes from that background or whether you're using a certain amount of your profit to help and empower people and build capacity and all that kind of stuff for you and your organization, for the environment. certain amount, 51% of the ways that could be donated and things like that. All this is all part of creating this better world for whether it's environmental or whether it's community or whether it's using technology or whatever. You can actually apply. Where we are in this region? Unfortunately, people still like this whole concept of it makes them feel a lot better when they actually stand and give out handouts. That's what the tourists tend to do. They do handouts. That is not sustainable. You're creating this begging culture. That is so 1990. It has to move forward. If you want to help someone, then go to an organization that helps those kids or gives them a meal. going through that particular rather than give them money. Go to the hill tribes. Don't give them lolly because they have no access to dental, that kind of stuff, hill tribes minority clothing, but they get dengue fevers and all that kind of stuff. All this needs to be considered part of this sustainable and responsible tourism. I think that's very important to be-- When you think of the new way to help, it's about social impact, it's about creating impact, it's about sustainability. When you help someone, make sure that there's a follow-up to it rather than just give them money and don't know what's going to happen to them. Don't do it because it makes you feel good. Do it because it's an investment. [00:26:08] Kerry Newsome: I think what it opened up for me when I first started to put my social enterprise hat on in travel, which has really only been in probably the last, maybe, four or five years in me thinking that way was to be a bit more curious. There's a lot of, as you say, shops and businesses that are running in Vietnam. You find out if you're curious enough to see that something you're purchasing is going to go back into a certain community. As you say, it's not about I'm handing out something as a charity, I'm getting something in return. I'm buying something, which is a value to me. Then, a portion of that is of value to that community or to that organization. I invite my listeners to be curious when they do go to enjoy shopping. Even shopping has changed so much in Vietnam. I can remember everything used to be copy, copy, copy. I'd come home with 100 DVDs and CDs. I was terrible, Jimmy. I was terrible at that. As the years and years, I've been going back and forth for about 14 years now, I've become more responsible and more sociable in what I'm doing. When I talk to the owners of these shops and then they tell me about, oh, this was made in such and such and the tribe or the community that makes this. This comes from this. It was just a whole new world for me. It was refreshing to know that was happening. [00:27:58] Jimmy Pham: Kerry, do you remember 10 years ago in Australia where every time you think about-- 10, even 15, 20 years ago in Australia, if you buy anything organic, it's always sold like ridiculously expensive. It's not affordable to your average, A social enterprise like that, how are we going to be able to grow if the community doesn't support us? You know what I mean. If you want quality products, you want all this availability, and you want accessibility. All that help us to think, you can actually help us to grow. At the same time, the passing down on the price can be passed on to you. You know what I mean. We can be competitive in the market where a hill-tribe shirt is massively produced by a machine. If you help on women economic empowerment projects that do the same thing by buying a lot of numbers, then you can still be very competitive to the one that's been selling. You know what I mean. That's how the logic behind it of supporting social enterprises, that actually with their goods and products and services as well. [00:29:09] Kerry Newsome: Yes. I think it’s taken a while. You and I have been part of it, I guess, in watching the culture go from cheap, cheap, same, same, that association with Vietnam. I got to see just in a recent trip I did, 2019, with a lady who was buying some beautiful stuff from Vietnam and selling it in the Australian market. The pieces she was buying were from some very enterprising and creative people in Vietnam that were designing garments, jewelry, all sorts of things, which weren't cheap, but wow, it had the value to it. Especially, when you knew some of that money was going to go back into a community where it came from. It was a win-win philosophy, so I was impressed. [00:30:08] Jimmy Pham: The beautiful thing about the Vietnamese people as well you should know this. Because the new generations, we know 70% is under 30, 32, 35 now, so we have a very young population. A lot of us are now very educated, whereas, before, the parents generation is different because it was during the war and had no access to education. The ability to innovate and create is actually quite high now, so it's not about the copy products and things like that. It's more about so incredible ideas and arts and all that kind of stuff. It's here in Vietnam. [music] [00:30:51] Kerry Newsome: Where do you see the biggest changes that are going to happen with travel? I'll preface this by saying probably Vietnam was almost reaching over tourism as in the sense of the really big buses turning up into towns, etc. Ha Long Bay was getting chock-a-block with over-tourism. Do you see that there will be some positives to come out of the COVID story along the lines of being responsible to tourism in the future? How do you see it looking post-COVID? [00:31:31] Jimmy Pham: The tourism and the hospitality, two industries have been heavily affected by the COVID, which is so helpful, [chuckles] the education sector as well. All the schools are closed and the training centers and all that kind of stuff. We're in the midst of that thee industries. I think that everyone needs to eat. I think that the hospitality industry will still need to go back to-- Because like it or not, I think people are craving for this human interaction and social skills and all that kind of stuff that goes with it. I think that should be encouraged, and that should never go away even technology takes over and things like that. I think the way we look at tourism is going to change, being more responsible, more humble rather than going for massive numbers. I think that people are going to reevaluate the way they do tourism and how it's going to be most useful and be competitive by being creative and innovative as well. How they do their hotels and where they stay and the homestay is going to be different and focus a lot on the wonderful landscape and the natural beauty and the environment aspects of tourism, which we don't do before. It's always about shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping and other kinds of-- It's just one part, but it's not everything about tourism. Vietnam has such a diversity in rich culture, incredible food. Oh my God. The food. I think to take that away in tourism, it's just a big tragedy. [00:33:07] Kerry Newsome: Yes. I think you're right. My experience with Vietnamese so far has been that they do have a very entrepreneurial spirit. They can pivot in a heartbeat. If there's something they need to change, they can do that. I've seen it already happening in COVID times, where certain businesses were very dependent on travelers now they're becoming home, takeaway businesses, and being able to produce food like that. You're right, Vietnam's got an amazing landscape to experience. I think as much as my podcast is-- for some people saying, "How come you're doing a travel podcast in the middle of COVID?" I go, "Well, I think it's important to keep Vietnam on people's radar- [00:33:59] Jimmy Pham: Radar. Exactly. [00:34:00] Kerry Newsome: -and information is gold, isn't it?" When a traveler has been to Vietnam, and they come away, and they've done the Ha Giang Loop, or they've been up into Ba Bể Lake, or they've been to Mù Cang Chải or some beautiful regions where they can explore their social enterprise also in these regions. Those stories are rich for people to hear in the future because when they're trip planning. I'm hoping they'll listen to that, or they'll listen to something that we're talking about, Jimmy, and go, "I want to go to Vietnam with that headset. I want to go with a bit more knowledge when the doors do finally open up again." [00:34:46] Kerry Newsome: But please remember also that by going to Ba Bể Lake and to Ha Giang and all that kind-- you're actually helping the livelihood of people. They rely on that tourism as a source of income. It's a lifeline for them. Probably if anything there's a takeaway from this tourism, it is actually that. You know what I mean. It's not just only about supporting the big hotels or whatever tickles your fancy, but when you start going to the beautiful hill-tribe minorities, and we'll start going to all these remote areas that Vietnam has so much of, a bundle of, you're supporting locals, yes, and their likelihood. That's responsible travel. [00:35:29] Kerry Newsome: That's probably a good way to possibly finish up, Jimmy, talking about how does a traveler leaves a positive imprint or footprint on Vietnam. You're talking about us when we do go to Vietnam is opening up our minds and our options as not just, as you say, in the big resorts and things like that, so much more to Vietnam to explore. [00:36:01] Jimmy Pham: I think when you leave Vietnam, if you can make a friend, then you've achieved your goal. If you leave Vietnam, then you're learning something more than before you came. You've achieved your goal. Lastly, if you go to Vietnam, and you're supporting someone because you're there, then you've done your bid as well. It's why educating is about contributing, it's about leaving something behind. I think for Vietnam, we really want you to come back. We want to be like Thailand, where year after year like you, Kerry, instead of just one time and see you later, I'm not going to come back, we want to come back because of the destinations, for everything from luxury to backpacking to all sorts of stuff. [00:36:51] Kerry Newsome: Absolutely. People say to me, "Oh, do you think you're going to run out of things to talk about?" I said, "You've got to be joking." [laughs] I could go on until I keel over and talking about what there is to do in Vietnam because, as you said, I go two, three times a year, and every time I visit, I find something else new. I meet a different person. I remember meeting a lovely girl who ran a cooking class. I had a fabulous time with her a few years ago. I've remained good friends with her. As you say, it's life-changing, I think, a visit to Vietnam. It has that effect on you. I feel very lucky. [00:37:37] Jimmy Pham: For Vietnamese as well, we're very honorable I guess. We're very loyal. I think that's some of the characteristics of the Vietnamese people. That's what makes it a unique travel experience for people coming to Vietnam. [00:37:53] Kerry Newsome: I just want to say thank you very much for coming on the show and talking with you. Congratulations again on winning the award, very well deserved. I just want to wish you all the best, be safe, and we'll talk soon. [00:38:08] Jimmy Pham: Thank you, Kerry. Thank you everyone and please stay safe and good luck to everyone. [00:38:12] Jingle: Thank you for listening. Check out the episode notes for more information. What About Vietnam. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review, and stay tuned for more fun adventures in Vietnam.

dd9c254b-bab3-4e64-b3ce-72319edc2c2cThe Alba Wellness Resort - a great destination Vietnam - Your next Wellness destination Episode 23 S3-23 Your next wellness destination 00:00 / 40:46 Vietnam in the past 2 years of lockdown has really seen an opportunity to develop itself as a “Wellness destination”. The country not only offers sheer beauty, open spaces to explore and discover, hot springs, culture, over 3,000 kms of coastline, quality food and wellness practices such as meditation and yoga are becoming easily accessible in properties and locations around Vietnam. Today we talk about one of these Wellness retreat properties in detail. This will give you one true example as a point of reference. Plus, you will hear a little bit about the Imperial city of Hue. Hylton Lipkin is my guest today and is one of the champions influencing the change towards wellness and sustainable tourism in Vietnam. He is the GM of the Alba Wellness Resort, located just outside of Hue in Central Vietnam. As an International Fitness Presenter, and Ambassador for the World Wellness Weekend in Vietnam he plays a key role on the world stage of growth in this sector in Vietnam, and fosters his other passion of Environmental Wellness. If it is a Wellness vacation you are looking for, you definitely should put Vietnam on your list to check out as the array of experiences are extensive and by world class standards good value for money. Lots of good advice in this episode. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

< Back With Sabirama Cooking Tour and Restaurant Hoi An - Vietnam Experience Highlights This cooking class certainly lives up to its description “with a twist”. It’s not just a cooking class, with Sabirama Cooking Tour & Restaurant. It is a carefully crafted cultural experience that includes a cooking class:- This class is specifically designed for: ● For people who are looking to learn how to cook Vietnamese cuisine ● For people who are looking for a full Vietnamese experience - travel to the restaurant via the markets, then by boat ● For people who want to travel differently and enjoy locally grown food and a heightened experience of Vietnamese culture ● For foodies or anyone looking for a food experience that the whole family can enjoy This one-of-a-kind experience will help to expose you to authentic Vietnamese culture at its finest - through food. With this cooking class you’ll have the experience of a local, as you take a sampan boat down the river and then a coracle boat ride to the restaurant. The hands-on cooking class is fun for all and a great way to learn more about what goes into some of the magical food you are trying in Hoi An. What To Expect The Cooking Tour Includes ● Meet at designated meeting point near markets - centre Hoi An Old town ● Welcoming- English speaking tour guide ● Local market tour with the Guide explaining certain areas of interest ● Welcome drink upon your arrival ● Free 1 cold water for each ● A boat trip on the river ● Enjoy sailing in a Vietnam basket boat ● Option of a foot massage ● Learning to cook and eat 4 local dishes Cooking Menu Options ● Rolled wet rice paper with minced pork and vegetable ● Vietnamese pan cake ● Mango salad with seafood ● Sautéed chicken with lemongrass and chili Check the website for more detail on menu options. ● http://restauranthoian.com ● http://hoiancookingclass.net For more of a personal look at this foodie experience have a listen to the “One Teenagers View On A Holiday In Vietnam .” In this episode Kerry’s grandson, Ethan joins her for the foodie experience, and guess what! He loved it. Have a listen to what Ethan had to say about the cooking tour, “We got to make food and stuff, which was really cool because we got there on a boat. That was an experience! Honestly, if you go, it will be an experience you will remember for life. It is honestly the best!” Ethan. For more information or to book click here DAILY TOUR, TWICE A DAY With tours twice a day, it’s easy to make this cooking tour work with your schedule. The morning tour begins at 8:00 am and returns to your hotel before 1:00 pm. The afternoon tour begins at 1:00 pm and returns to your hotel before 6:00 pm. Remember, this is a cooking tour , it's different from a cooking class! You will get an authentic taste of Vietnamese culture and learn to cook Vietnamese cuisine. Price per person for the Cooking Class Basic is: USD$45 Book now using the special What About Vietnam Discount Code: KESA23

S5-E16-Smart phone Apps and tech tips for travellers to Vietnam S5-E16-Smart phone Apps and tech tips for travellers to Vietnam Episode 16 S5-E16-Smart phone Apps and tech tips for travellers to Vietnam 00:00 / 48:24 No one travels these days without their phone. So, it makes sense to invest in some extra smartphone skills that can significantly enhance your travel experience if Vietnam. In this show we arm you with some of the best Tech Tips and Apps to enhance your experience of Vietnam, including : staying in touch with family and friends back home; Not getting caught out with home country phone fees; saving money on tour costs: feeling confident about exploring outer regions, and not necessarily having to do it alone. In this podcast episode, I am joined by Michelle Chang from Intentional Travellers, a business offering tutorials in Smart phone upskilling for travel to countries all around the world. Through Michelle’s worldwide travel experiences she is able to explain the benefits of having these skills and how they can help travellers answer unexpected questions, deal with challenges, and navigate unfamiliar places more effectively. Michelle highlights the significance of using essential apps such as Google Maps, Google Translate, WhatsApp, and ride-sharing apps like Grab, but that’s only the beginning. Additionally, we cover;- * Currency conversions Apps – to help understand local currencies and lots of zeros. *Phone battery management *Making the best use of Google Maps *Data management and phone calls made easier *The ride share advantages *Working remotely in Vietnam *Online booking tools and Apps to get the best offers *Using your phone to manage communication with tour operators Moreover, the conversation on remote work in Vietnam highlights the robust internet connectivity and the extensive use of technology for business. Michelle notes the widespread availability of free Wi-Fi in cafes and co-working spaces, emphasizing the increasing appeal of digital nomadism. By utilizing smartphone capabilities and modern technology, travelers can effortlessly integrate work with leisure, maintaining productivity while discovering new destinations. If you would like to know more about Michelle’s tutorials and online programs you can connect directly with her here - https://intentionaltravelers.com/ For a great experience with a buddy to help you enjoy local areas, business situations, translations and possibly medical appointments, why not book a Travel Buddy through https://www.tubudd.com/ Use the Promo code KERRYVN5 on the payment page in the booking TUBUDD App to receive 5% discount on hourly rate of services. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

ec8280d1-e874-4b14-8ce4-6df2779388afJeremy Stein takes us diving in the best locations Diving in Vietnam - everything you need to know Episode 6 S3-06 Diving in Vietnam 00:00 / 33:12 If you are thinking about diving in Vietnam, but not sure of the best locations or what to expect, then this is the podcast episode for you. Jeremy Stein is my guest and a pro PADI diving instructor of some notoriety in Vietnam. Originally from the UK, you could say he pioneered diving in Vietnam by opening the first PADI Dive centre in Vietnam back 25 years ago. In the episode we discuss: best times of year to travel to each location, and we name 5 of the best diving sites in Vietnam, namely - Nha Trang, Whale Island, Con Dao, Phu Quoc, and Hoi An. All stunning locations offering pristine beaches and a very relaxed holiday vibe. We talk about the kinds of fish and coral you can see, which number hundreds of varieties across the locations. Whether you are just diving for fun or never considered diving before, there is something for everyone in Vietnam. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

S5-E17 - Motorbike riding tips in Vietnam S5-E17 - Motorbike riding tips in Vietnam Episode 17 S5-E17 - Motorbike riding tips in Vietnam 00:00 / 56:56 Welcome to another thrilling episode of "What About Vietnam"! Today, we’re hitting the brakes for a moment to give you an insider’s glimpse into the exhilarating world of motorbiking through this stunning country. Join us as we explore essential safety tips and uncover unforgettable routes that will make your journey truly remarkable! Key Points raised you won’t want to miss:- Safety First • Always wear a full-face helmet and for long roads bring your own gear • Get advice around the nuances of Vietnamese drivers – bike and car Licensing and Insurance • Vietnamese motorbike licensing required for legal driving • Fines for riding without a license • Proper insurance coverage is crucial Travel Options • Guided tours vs. self-guided adventures • Guided tour options for less experienced riders to Vietnam Best Routes and Experiences • Ho Chi Minh Highway for scenic views • Northern Vietnam's stunning landscapes • Exploring rural villages and fishing communities Practical Tips • Best times to travel in different regions • Packing essentials for long rides Guest Insights • Ben Mitchell shares expert advice on navigating Vietnam's roads. His years of riding and local knowledge is gold. • Chris Pantelli recounts his recent tour in northern Vietnam and shares with us his insights and new found passion for Vietnam. Whether you're an experienced rider or a curious traveller, motorbiking in Vietnam offers an unparalleled adventure. From the bustling cities to remote mountain passes, this mode of transport unlocks the true essence of Vietnam. Links to some tour companies, mentioned in the show Ben’s Top 3 motorbike Tour Companies - OnyabikAdventures in Hoi An - Easy Rider - - https://www.easy-riders.net/ - Adrenaline Rush Trail (ART) In Saigon - Cuong’s Motorcycle Adventures. Cường is the original offroad outfit and the true King Of The North Chris’s tour company mentioned:- ADV motorcycle tours and dirt bike travel - https://www.dirtbiketravel.com/enduro-motorbike-tours Self touring – You might like to check out https://www.vietnamcoracle.com/ Awesome maps and local advice many riders swear by. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

8db76043-cfb3-4ce7-93e8-f406afe7029aShopping for Designer, Tailoring and Sustainable in Vietnam What About Vietnam - Series 2 - 2 Shopping Vietnam | Tailoring | Designer | Sustainable Kerry Newsome: Hello, Judith, and welcome to what about Vietnam, this is where we get to talk about shopping in Vietnam. Yay! I can't wait to talk about shopping in Vietnam. Fantastic. I've been really looking forward to this episode as we get to, I don't know, pick your brains, delve into that bucket of knowledge you have about Vietnamese designers. And, I don't know, just the general shopping experience. Kerry Newsome: You certainly opened my eyes to Vietnam last time in shopping. So how about we kick things off with talking about a new traveler to Vietnam? Judith Treanor: If you were to steer them to a destination in Vietnam or destinations, where we may start, ....you're going to be a bit surprised to hear me say this, but the first place I would go would be to check out the souvenir shops and resort shops all over the country. Judith Treanor: That way you'll get a feel for the ubiquitous takeaways from Vietnam. The fact that we always take home one clinical and wellness cushion covers lacquered basket wear. These are the things you will find all over Vietnam. And you really do need to, you know, slip into the souvenir shops and see what's around. And once you've done that, then we can delve a bit deeper. And this is what I really want to talk about with you from there. Judith Treanor: So the three major shopping cities, of course, Hanoi, Saigon and Danang and in all three cities, what you're going to want to do is literally just walk around and explore, because there are so many hidden gems that you have to discover by walking, walking, walking in Hanoi. You could spend a couple of days just browsing the boutiques and gift shops that line the streets of the French Quarter. So excuse my pronunciation. Judith Treanor: But look the roads are all very short distances from Ho Kiem lake and the cathedral, which is basically where the main hotels are located at. Kerry Newsome: Isn't there shops with like funny names as well? Like what was that women's one was called women power or something? Judith Treanor: Ok, "Women Rock" women, minorities, women right there. That was nice. Judith Treanor: So that's Hanoi and in the center, if you're staying inside Saigon District one, it's almost compulsory to visit the massive Ben Than market as a first off, I guess it really is an important symbol of the city and it's just vast. You'll find hundreds of store holders. Amazing food with the pop up in there. Bit of a tip. Do take some water because it can get super hot and can get a little bit phobic. Let's face it. And it can be a bit daunting. But just a short walk from the market and you’ll find many hidden gem boutiques and gift stores in the roads around the famous Walking Street, and along Dong Khoi. One of my favourite streets for shopping in Saigon is Le Loi, across a busy road from Ben Thanh – in one short stretch of road you’ll find Ipanema Bags, Gingko, L’Usine, Duy Tan and Mekong Plus.If you’re not short on time in Vietnam I really urge you to delve deeper into what makes Vietnam the shoppers paradise it is. Judith Treanor: Remember, we found that old regenerated building that you would have no idea what you're going to find. And you walk up the steps and lots of steps look in,and just little local designers, boutiques and cafes that you'd never know existed. Kerry Newsome: You just go to one of those, as you say, which are quite hard to find, kind of hidden in very small doorways. And like, I would have walked right past that. I would not have seen that. And then all of a sudden you said no, that's not where we're going? And all of a sudden we're up those stairs and I've gone. Wow. There's just this amazing store with this amazing stuff. Yeah. Kerry Newsome: And you can easily lose a few hours of your day. And some days, I think what we've got to give here is some expertise about shopping on your trip, because it might not be something you do think about when you go to Vietnam. Judith Treanor: But it's a shopping paradise as we're going to get into. So one of my favorite strips/ streets in the center of Saigon is Le loi, which is just across. It's quite a major road on the other side of Benh Thanh Market. And in one short stretch of road, you'll find Ipanema bags, Gingko, L'Usine, Duy Tan, and Mekong Plus. These are all shops selling locally handmade, ethical and fashion homewares and gifts. And that's something else we're going to talk about as we go on. But there's a big emphasis on this locally have made an ethical and wonderful creations all over Vietnam. And so that's I guess those are the tips if you've got a short time in the country. But if you've got time just to delve a little bit deeper. Judith Treanor: I think you'll need to venture a short distance away from the center of each city. So in Hanoi, grab a taxi, go to the lake, which is also known as Westlake. Or if you're in Saigon go to the district 2, interestingly enough, these are both areas where the expats shop and live and where you'll find the best representation of Vietnamese artisan fashion and homewares. Kerry Newsome: Yeah, one of the areas where I think is not in mainstream. If you're you've just arrived into Vietnam, got off the plane, you know, in HCMC in particular, you just you land smack bang kind of, into District one, aren't you? Exactly. And so to go through to all those other areas. You've got to think a bit wider, and plan ahead. But also get some tips like we're talking about now about going to those districts and what to look for because, well, I was just blown away. Judith Treanor: That's it. Kerry Newsome: And I think the Vietnamese I mean, they're really known for artisanal crafts and the way they use traditional methods to create modern designs. I think first-timers might be surprised to know that there really is a flourishing fashion scene in Vietnam. And they even have their own annual fashion show each year featuring local designers. So if you have extra time, it might be an extra day. Go and find that out. Kerry Newsome: Ok, so, I mean, when I talk to travelers, you know, their first thoughts are, oh, it's going to be cheap. They want to get tailoring done. They want to you know, they definitely want to head off to the markets. But as you say, or we just started to touch on, there is definitely a design aspect to shopping now in Vietnam. It has kind of morphed a bit more, I think. So tell us a little bit more about that as far as actual products that travelers should be seeking out rather than you just, you know, the cheap, cheap stuff. Judith Treanor: But I mean, I go for the tailoring. No, that's not quite true. And going back and saying, yeah, OK, so I'm definitely into the tailoring, but there's more than just the time we're going to get to that. Judith Treanor: But what I'm going to say, I know you love tailoring and I know I'm going to say I'm a big fan of tailoring to, I particularly enjoy it. Kerry Newsome: And everyone has a favorite tailor that they can recommend. And let's not underestimate the sheer joy of having a design. You've seen an amazing design being made to measure for you at an affordable price within a couple of days. So here's a tip. If you go into high end, you do need a few days in your itinerary because you're going to need to go to the tailor to pick your designs and then have enough time to go back for your fittings and then. Exactly grab your goodies. Kerry Newsome: You need extra time. And I do recommend that for travelers to add a couple of days for that. Kerry Newsome: Yes. And the other thing we have to think about, though, totally concur. Judith Treanor: If you are having something made up by Tailor on holidays, please think about it. Judith Treanor: Is it something you are gonna wear when you get home? It's just a tip. We've all done it. We've gone on holiday and thought, that looks great. It's really hot. So it's a beautiful, cool fabric. You get how you make it. What was I thinking? So, you know, take some time, don't rush into it. Just a little tip there. But could we go on from tailors's just to buy something else in Hoi An as well. You'll have to tell us. What do I love. I love the shoe makers. Judith Treanor: You do love the shoes that all that goes with that. But I have to talk to my kids like me. Kerry Newsome: My because I mean,.. Shoe lovers like me. Kerry Newsome: Oh yeah. Oh yeah Judith Treanor: Hoi An's got about as many shoemakers as it does tailers. And the reason being is anyone knows that. And it's the centre of artisans, people and artists it has been for hundreds of years. That's what's attracted people to it. So these shoemakers and leather shops dotted all over. And here's my top top tip. If you take away one thing from this conversation today. If you've got a pair of shoes or boots that you love and you can't imagine ever not having them, but they on their way out because you've over worn them, put them in a your suitcase and you can get them copied. Judith Treanor: Should we be encouraging them to show up anyway? We're going to get them copied. And you could even have the other colours. Right now. It is winter in Sydney. And so my favorite season, but I have a pair of knee-high boots. I originally bought in cream but I've had them made up in blue and grey. So that's just, you know, take your favourite boots and shoes and get them copied. And the other thing is jewellery. But we're talking about. The shoemakers in the lac Viets jewelry make those in hand if I'm feeling the pain already. Yes, I again find them and find a design that you love or maybe something that you've had that's broken or you've lost. And you can have them remodeled Yep. And again, look, at a fraction of the price of what it would cost, even if you could find someone to do it at home because their labor cost is so low. Kerry Newsome: You're right. Judith Treanor: I know you want me to talk about that, and that is on an ethical side to shopping in Vietnam and that's what I really want to go into now. So there is so much in the way of distinctly Vietnamese fashion gifts and homewares that I really would never want to see if you have the time. What struck me first on my first visit to Vietnam years ago was just the abundance of color. Sheer color design is not sensible enough to use color in homewares and fashion. And there's also this pride in their history and culture that really comes through when you go to the shops. It comes through in designs of cushion covers that might have lanterns or the beautiful art deco tiles you see all over the place, cushion covers or tote bags. And also you see women in the traditional Ao Dai's represented on so much art and bags. And so where would you go to find that kind of thing? I'd say if you're on a "whistle-stop" tour of Vietnam of the city sorry, Vietnam, Saigon, Hanoi, look out for the concept stores that offer a sort of a capsule collection of local creations, one that you can go. Kerry Newsome: Can I just jump in on concept stores just to explain to our listeners just what is a concept store? Just to explain that. Judith Treanor: Sure. So it's almost like a capsule collection of something in a store that might have little sections of homewares and fashion accessories and gifts. It's like almost like a mini department store that's showcasing your local design to see local creations. So it's like a one-stop shop. Kerry Newsome: Ok, but different designers. So they're not all from the same company. They're all kind of individuals. Judith Treanor: Yeah, different brands. And we'll find in Vietnam that the concept stores are really supporting their local artisans, local designers and giving them a bit of a showcase. Kerry Newsome: And would you say.... Just sorry to interrupt just to talk about sustainability and that kind of curve in terms of fashion and homewares? You know,.... Is Vietnam staying ahead of that curve in the system? Is it coming through in that concept store kind of thing or. You know, I don't know. Tell us a bit more about that sustainability side of Vietnam in-depth and so on. We went to some places, where do you remember that handbag I bought that I think was made out of bottle tops, you've got one too I think, and you sell through your online store Temples and Markets. Kerry Newsome: And it was just the most fabulous bag. And it was all handmade and hand-stitched together. And when I wear it, you know people, people go "Oh that's just a fabulous bag." And then they look really closely and then they say that it's made of bottle tops and they just freak out. Judith Treanor: So interesting materials, recycled material, repurposed materials. And you're going to find that all over. You've got things like washable paper bags which I sell in my own online store. I've got a big collection of washable paper bags, I think because of Vietnam's shared resources in biodiversity it puts you in a unique position to easily source these eco-friendly materials. And they're really being used throughout as an emphasis on slow fashion and ethical production, which I've mentioned. So I think about something like bamboo. I mean, what an amazing resource. The Vietnamese, use it for clothing and furniture and then homewares and my favorite spun bamboo bowls and trays. And then you've got beautiful organic cottons and natural resources like the mulberry silks. So one little store that you'll find a few branches of in Saigon called Metiseko there is this divine mulberry silk collections that they says again that show the emphasis on sustainable and ethical production. Water hyacinth. Another thing which, you know, you'll see an awful lot of spun bamboo bowls across the country have been made ethically. They would have been made from water hyacinth, which is like a prolific root that goes through the waterways across the country, actually chokes some of the waterways. So that gets picked and dried out of traditional methods of handweaving. So, you know, when we were shopping in Saigon's district to really looking out for a couple of stores, that the emphasis on eco friendly. Remember the shop going around the corner, that was one that, again, they showcased as a little concept store showcasing kind of washable paper bags and sort of flower pots, recycled jewelry, and scarves. Judith Treanor: And then another one of your favorites was that Laiday Refill station where it had all kinds of personal care products, shampoos, conditioners, perfumes. And you can take it if you're local, you can take your bottles along and have them refilled with your favorite liquids. But actually, I was doing some research. What they also do is they are now recycling bottles from a nearby restaurant to the kids in the bottles and then you can go and refill your bottles with whatever you want to buy and stick with Yes, they are very resourceful. And I guess we can't mention recycling without talking about Future Traditions. Future Traditions is a fashion and accessories brand in Hanoi. If you have time to go and visit their beautiful showroom. They have this amazing colonial-style building, and they have a collection called Treasures from the Shipwreck Coast, which is the jewelry that's been made from broken bits of ceramics and glass that's been picked up, washed up on the beaches, washed up on it and then made in into jewelry. Yeah, well, one offs. That's the other thing. You know, when you talk about handmade, unique items, it's amazing to have your own one of kind of creation that yours. Kerry Newsome: But it's like, would you agree, Judith? It's a bit of a head shift for people because, you know, I'm thinking of 'knock offs' And, you know, I can remember, like 10, 12 years ago that the big thrill was to go to a store that did knockoff CDs and then they'd put them in the plastic sleeve folders. Judith Treanor: Do you remember that? And then one out of 10 worked. You had to get a certain kind of quality. Kerry Newsome: So like, you know, moving along the path from that kind of initial taste of Vietnam and shopping to what it is now is, is quite a stretch. And I think if people do go to Vietnam and think, oh, yes, sure, there are the bargains and there are the cheap knockoffs that are still there, very much so. But I think to close your mind, if you're going to Vietnam and just thinking that, you would be doing Vietnam and yourself a disfavor because it's much wider. As Judith is sort of talking about. And I think to look into some of the quality, you are going to have to pay for it. You know, it's definitely not cheap, it's not the copy stuff. It's one-offs and it's handcrafted. And I think that's something to mention. Kerry Newsome: And, you know, you might want to also talk about Chula. Judith Treanor: Yes, it's not cheap, but if you're talking about taking home memories here. Judith Treanor: And so, yes, if you take home a knockoff DVd we've all done in the past or even a copy,T-shirts that they love? Judith Treanor: The daddy, the puffy jackets that the people get, the copper. That's great. That's what you go to. The thing is, it's not going to remind you of Vietnam, though, is it? So, this is what I want to kind of emphasize. When I first went to Chula many, many years ago, I didn't have time. I was on one of those "top to bottom" tours and seeing a lot of the country in 60 days. I didn't have time for shopping. I didn't have the budget for shopping either. And but there was a couple of places that I managed to see and I couldn't get these prices out of my mind. So I think if you go anywhere when you go to Vietnam, you've got like an extra day, at least in Hanoi. To we're going to have to leave in a minute, but Tan My Design is something I really do want to mention. Tan My Design It's like a treasure trove. Let me talk about concept stores earlier. It's on three levels and it's got like this high quality jewelry, all in the one place. They've got a little cafe downstairs where if you get tired from all the shopping, you go down, have a coffee. We generally go back up. But there is so much representative of all the designers and everything that's going on across the country in that one shop. And it's Chula does have a collection there. A quick mention of Chula. And when I first saw them years ago, I couldn't get the elegance and the color out my head and I've become a huge fan. If you take home a piece of Chula. So, they are Spanish designers that made Vietnam their home years ago. They've got a beautiful ethical workshop where 75 percent of the workers are disabled. I've been lucky enough to go to that showroom. Everything's cut and sewn by hand and they call it wearable happiness. I think we want to take this away, actually, a take-home piece of wearable happiness. Treat yourself and then you'll have a piece of Vietnam. I'm with you. There is wonderful memories. Kerry Newsome: And you're right, I mean, sometimes you know, maybe I've got to be careful when I say this, but, you know, in the male audience, they don't kind of rate the shopping experience so much. But I think when we think about this a little bit wider and as we're talking about "wearable happiness", memories of Vietnam shopping, you know, it is a way to invest back into the country to support locals and local industries. And as a developing country, I think for me personally, and I know you're the same Judith, that is sort of something that we want to do because we love Vietnam so much. And so to just talk about shopping as in like we're going to go to Myers in Australia, or we're going to go to a major shopping center. It's not like that. Its not like that at all. No. It's your entry into the culture of Vietnam. I mean, some of these stores are also fixed price that you're talking about. They are not stores where you're going to be bargaining like you would in a street stall or in a market. So they're fixed price items, they are high quality,you know, one-offs. And I know with Chula and then it's the experience of the actual store. I mean, that Chula store that you talk about is just so beautifully laid out. It's like you walk into it and you go, oh, my God, I could almost sit down, have dinner here or a glass of wine or sangria and take it all in. Judith Treanor: Yeah, its that explosion of color that hits you, that's what it is. And I think also, Maybe I shouldn't have emphasized fashion so much because I think that the vast majority of shopping in Vietnam to me is actually about the homewares, to be honest. And it's not the lacquerware for travel. Well, let's talk about art for a second. I think taking home a piece of art, there's nothing else that you can. What are the better ways there to remember a trip overseas? Have you taken something from a local artist? And you're going to find small galleries all over the country. You can get to speak to the artists and meet interesting people, find out their stories. Judith Treanor: And you know that that's for men and women. Exactly. Kerry Newsome: And the photography, there's some beautiful photography by Rehahn in Hoi An I've got it all over my walls in my house. Judith Treanor : I think we need to make special mention of art in Vietnam, and particularly Hoi An. For a travel lover, I think bringing home a piece of art is one of the best ways to keep memories of holidays alive. Small galleries are prolific in all the major tourist centres and most will ship your art back home for you. In Hoi An particularly there are countless galleries showcasing paintings, drawings, prints and lacquered art. Seek out the authentic lacquered art galleries where the artists use the traditional techniques and real lacquer on wood as a medium (Ngàn Xưa Gallery). A lot of the lacquered art is mass produced and some use plastic instead of wood. March Gallery and HaHa curate work from local artists and are both a good place to start your Vietnam art journey. Also, you absolutely have to go to French Photographer Rehahn’s museum and gallery Precious Heritage where you can purchase prints of his incredible photos taken from around Vietnam. I just want to touch on something that might also surprise visitors to Vietnam and that is the growth of the sustainability movement which you can’t help but notice once you veer off the tourist track on your Vietnam shopping journey. Vietnam’s biodiversity puts her in a unique position to easily source eco-friendly materials for slow fashion and ethical production. One to watch is - Future Traditions clothing blends the stunning textiles of Vietnam’s many ethnic minority communities with contemporary designs. sourcing textiles from the remote mountain communities in Northern Vietnam, Future Traditions seeks to encourage an appreciation for the skill involved in creating the fabrics produced in these areas. The long term goal of Future Traditions is to make the continued production of these increasingly rare textiles financially viable for local communities Kerry Newsome; Judith we could talk forever on this subject. I thank you most sincerely for coming on and sharing your knowledge.

S4-07 Hue the city Past Present Future Hue the city - past present and future Episode 7 S4-07 Hue the city Past Present Future 00:00 / 47:30 Hué is a city not to be missed on your journey throughout Vietnam. Boasting a patchwork of imperialism and French colonialism you will find yourself delving back hundreds of years as you explore the legacy of war and a dynasty spanning 13 generations. It’s a fascinating place. Quite beautiful as you find beaches and a river safe enough now to swim in. Over a 3-4 day visit you can take your time meandering through the countryside discovering historical relics and pagodas dating back to the 18th century. You will be charmed by the river, the paddies fields and local museums, plus you will gain a whole new perspective of some of the hardest fought battles in the American war. My guest is Norwegian born expat Anders Krystad who found his new home in Hué nearly 20 years ago. He took it upon himself to write a very detailed guide book just prior to Covid, which is the reason why I knew he was the right person to talk about this famous city. If it’s history you are into, then this show will give you some context to some of the major attractions and sites in Hué that you won’t want to miss. Find out more about Hue from one local that really knows this place inside out:- 6.50 Geography 10.49 The Forbidden city – The Citadel 14.21 Emperors tombs 15.28 Thien Mu Pogada 17.43 The perfume River 21.33 Best areas to stay 22.12 Bunker Hill 23.35 Famous foods to try 34.23 Best time of year to visit 37.16 Thuy Tien Lake – Abandoned theme park 39.20 Train travel to Hue 41.46 Accommodation Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S4-19 Vietnam wins the heart of the daring Why Vietnam wins the hearts of the daring Episode 19 S4-19 Vietnam wins the heart of the daring 00:00 / 45:11 Is Vietnam for the daring? The brave hearted. Or is it a country that you can feel confident about challenging yourself in, no matter what is daring for you? If Vietnam feels like a leap of faith to you, then press PLAY. In today’s show we explore some of the things that contribute to making Vietnam a country you can feel safe in, and yet you can push your own personal boundaries. For some people visiting any country in the S E Asia region can feel like a deep dive into uncharted and circumspect waters. If you'd like to experience Vietnam with a sense of curiosity and confidence then my guest today is just the person to allay any of your fears, real or otherwise. Once a tourist to Vietnam from Barcelona Spain, now General Manager of the Fusion Original Saigon, my guest Alvaro Moreno does a wonderful job of identifying those often-unspoken gems that make travel so easy in Vietnam. As a lover of travel Alvaro shares some of the ways in which Vietnam can offer the traveller the chance to challenge themselves in relative safety, and on a range of budgets. He speaks about the high level of connectivity within the country digitally and how easy it is to travel about using various modes of transport, made easy to book on any mobile device through an App. You may be surprised to hear his favourite foodie experience. We touch on the growth of the country and its forward thinking that’s changing its appearance to the tourist and offering them more choices. A competitiveness that adds up to different levels of experiences in the country. He has worked on the pre-opening phase of three hotels and one re-brand in Vietnam over the past 8 years, and he sits with great pride in his staff and hotel as GM of the Fusion Original Saigon Centre. If you would like to check out his hotel - https://saigoncentre.fusionoriginals.com/ You can follow the hotel on their social pages: FB - https://www.facebook.com/FusionOriginalSaigonCentre/ IG - https://www.instagram.com/fusionoriginalsaigoncentre/ YT - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5iXwi8aX-x256XtjDNosxQ Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

7a9010db-6536-4892-bc86-bd98867e1185Finding the best nightlife in buzzing Saigon What About Vietnam - Series 2 - 20 The inside "scoop" on the best nightlife in Saigon 2020/21 Kerry Newsome: [00:00:35] Xin Chao, and welcome to what about Vietnam, I'm calling today's episode an insider's view into the best nightlife in Saigon. And the reason I'm doing this is that I'm actually talking to an insider, a lovely girl who at the moment is living in Saigon, Vietnam, and managed to find herself there just prior to covid lockdowns. So we're kind of getting the best and the most up to date information about this city. And the focus of the program is definitely going to be on just all the great things to do after dark. I mean, let's face it, a lot's changed and I've wanted to make this show. All about Saigon and certainly about after dark and the best way I thought to do this was to let Selene showcase her knowledge. So you're not going to hear too much of me and me interjecting in any way. I just really wanted to, I guess, put a proper focus on all of the aspects of going out she was able to share in a way that you could relate to it, and I guess consume it in some ways. The pandemic did have an effect on Vietnam, but certainly not as drastic as in most Western countries. You'll hear from Selene how the Vietnamese and the local expat fraternity decided to make the most of it. You're going to hear about how locals love to get out and about at night in the cool air. What and where are the places to go that make this city get talked about so much as a fabulous nightspot? Is it safe? She put some really good insights for you as a traveler to think about that. Kerry Newsome: [00:02:41] I'm happy to report the answer is yes. So what kind of experiences can a new traveler expect to see in Saigon when they do eventually get to come back to Vietnam? I think Selene's insights into that will be interesting for you as well. She talks about cocktails and venues and experiences that will suit all types of travelers. So whether you're a family, whether you're a solo traveler, in particular, a female or whether you're a backpacker, there's just something for everyone. So as we sit here still in trip planning mode, you're going to be considering the cities that you first enter into the country. They are most likely going to be Hanoi, Saigon or possibly Danang. You may want to consider definitely including a couple of nights, especially after this episode, having a couple of nights in Saigon as part of your trip, because there is a lot to do in this city. But from my personal experience, my best experiences of Saigon have been when I've had the value of people's experience. And, I've done some research because it is a big city. It's got lots of districts and they each offer something unique. So to get about, when you sort of come into the country and like your head's doing a 360, I'm hoping this episode, along with some of the others in my series, maybe you might want to check out the shopping one and maybe the food ones that are coming on. I think if you have those in your backpack of things to do, it's going to make you enjoy the city so much more. Just a little bit about Selene. She's an Australian girl. [00:04:40] She's been traveling back and forth to Vietnam since 2005. She decided, as I said, to make Saigon her home. Just prior to Covid hitting. But,she's never looked back. You will hear how she absolutely loves Vietnam, Saigon and certainly the Vietnamese people. She comes from a very dynamic and diverse career across film and media to product manufacturing and brand development. She's made documentary films, worked as a digital producer and currently manages a small printing and sewing factory in Vietnam. She's the owner of two brands,CushionArt and XXXX Beautiful Homeware products you might like to check out on the links in the show. She's had a career in film and media that spans almost 20 years. She's an excellent speaker, which is another reason why I decided to make this episode really all about her and what she can share for you as the listener. She's an award-winning producer of short stories and documentaries such as The Demon Fault featured on SBS TV, plus Going, Going, Gone. And Every Story Has a Happy Ending, which has received over 300,000 views on YouTube. More recently, Selene has returned to her passion of writing stories for the screen and is developing a TV series. She's proficient in English, French, Vietnamese, and would you believe some Spanish. I know you won't be able to write notes fast enough to capture all the gems that Selene shares on the show. So please relax. I've included lots of the links here. I'll feature some on the episode notes and you'll also be able to find them on my website:- What about Vietnam.com I really want you to enjoy this program, nothing more from me, you're going to just have the voice of Selene as she shares her thoughts, her experiences and her passion for Vietnam. So without further ado, let's say hello to Selene in Saigon. Selene Alcock: [00:07:00] Vietnam is a sort of very bizarre case in the world, there aren't very many countries in the world that managed to avoid the Covid crisis, but Vietnam did that really successfully. Selene Alcock: [00:07:15] Obviously, there has been a flow-on effect of NO tourists, no international flights and the tourists being able to come into the country. One of the most noticeable changes of that is that the Ben Thanh Market, which was the big central tourist market, has now completely closed, which is quite sad to say, because a lot of people have lost their livelihoods from that. And that was also like a night market right next to that market, which is also closed. So definitely no international flights and no tourists has really affected the heart of Saigon and also the morale of the people, because there are a lot of hotels, restaurants, businesses that reliant on tourism and some other places have been lost. However, there has been a rise in the local and also expat international scene. So whilst the tourist nightlife scene has died somewhat, the local ex-pat international and also the local Vietnamese nightlife scene is okay. Actually the reason I have to say that right at the moment, there isn't much nightlife happening because we had another scare here. So we've gone back to people can go to events, but generally, it's limited to 30 people. So there's not a lot of raging nightlife right at the moment, but it was, most of 2020. They love to get out and that they're very proud of their food. And as you know, they have an extremely strong and vibrant street and street food culture. So a lot of Vietnamese nightlife actually centers around that. Selene Alcock: [00:09:05] So basically people will go out, they'll eat something on the street, they'll drink something on the street, or they'll go to kind of like a specialty eatery place. It could even be a coffee shop or a bubble tea place, which is pretty popular here. Generally, Vietnamese youth love to be out and about, hanging out of coffee shops and beauty shops so they're not drinking alcohol. They'll find another kind of venue. But a lot of these places, like a lot of Asia, are open till 10:00, 11:00 at night. So there's a vibrant nightlife that's not necessarily alcohol-related. Selene Alcock: [00:09:39] That's the first thing. And then all of a sudden, you get hungry at 11:00 or 12:00 or one 1:00 a.m. there's usually a place that you can go and eat to the side of the road. Selene Alcock: [00:09:49] So that's also part of the nightlife, I say, because people are generally out and about on the streets doing things, chatting, eating, drinking, etc. So the locals saying there are nightclubs as well for the Vietnamese people. We can go into that in a minute. But the locals say generally over nightlife in Saigon, Vietnam has always just been let's hang out on the streets and let's find something to eat and drink. Selene Alcock: [00:10:17] People love to get out and about at nighttime because it's cooler. So that's one of the reasons that many people in a hot tropical climate, especially when you would love to get out and about at night, and also the masters of napping, so they can have a nap the next day. Selene Alcock: [00:10:32] So it's all good to be out at night. It's not a big deal. Getting to bed, kids as well, at this hour. And it's like, oh, well, the Saturday whenever you have a nap later. So very relaxed. And I think that's what makes it fun to be out at night because nobody's stressing out about we've got to get home to get to bed at night. Selene Alcock: [00:10:55] Well, we'll sleep when we need sleep. It's a different mentality. I find that with a lot of Asian cultures and there's some obviously southern European that it's like, well, we're tied loosely. If that means we have to sleep in the middle of the day, that's fine. Selene Alcock: [00:11:11] Yeah, what's the deal so, Kerry, you know the ex-pat culture. Well, The ex-pat culture is also really as I mentioned, I first came to Vietnam and to Saigon in 2005. So there were very specific ex-pat cultures back then that tended to be, you could say, not so desirable, the older men sometimes. And then also backpackers and travelers, people may be working as English teachers.Now there is a variety of reasons why people are here now Saigon, 20 or so years prior to that and ongoing is a completely different place. For starters, it's an entrepreneur's hub, I think. Richard Branson said Saigon was one of the top five cities in the world. Now, something like that, as a sort of an entrepreneurial hub. So that is definitely changing the face of Saigon. In addition to that, we had covid-19. So you had a lot of people who say in the creative fields, music scenes, even English teachers who dropped into Saigon at the end of 2019 or early 2020, probably expecting only just a couple of weeks or a couple of months. And they now call Saigon their home. So we've had a really big shift. Selene Alcock: [00:12:31] Now the other thing is that when a bunch of foreigners get stuck in a place together, we won't say stop, but end up living. They start saying, oh well, I live here now. What can I do here? Selene Alcock: [00:12:43] I can't travel outside of the country. I'm an international DJ. Well, I can't go to the full moon party or IBiza or do any of those things anymore. Selene Alcock: [00:12:53] So I might as well make the most of the scene here. And that's exactly what happened. So there's the usual for example, if you're a tourist, you come to Vietnam. There's an assortment of nightlife experiences you can have. We can talk about that in a moment. But if you're a local living here, a Vietnamese local or an ex-pat local, there's a more diverse range of things you can do. Selene Alcock: [00:13:18] What's happened is that a lot of stuff has evolved over the past few years, but particularly I found in 2020. So we have a lot of kind of "alternative bars", underground bars, alternative scenes. Selene Alcock: [00:13:32] You have a rise in things like a "drag queen" scene also happening here from Gender Funk; they are very kind of proactive in that area. I've been to a few drag shows myself and they're fantastic. Selene Alcock: [00:13:47] The other thing I might just add in here, I mean, I'm going to do lots of the different scenes. Here is what I find interesting about Vietnam and Saigon. And I think this definitely feeds into the nightlife. Selene Alcock: [00:13:57] Is that because Vietnam went through a lot of conflict in its history, a lot of wars, a lot of foreign invaders, colonization, very overpowering, other countries trying to always overpower them from China, French, even Japanese, having sometimes grueling war with the US, et cetera, et cetera. You would think that they were very averse to foreigners. However, I find Vietnamese people to be. Selene Alcock: [00:14:29] Extremely open to foreign input, but at the same time extremely proud of their culture and who they are and also what they've achieved in terms of their independence and becoming a strong nation. Selene Alcock: [00:14:42] So I have very deep respect and love for the Vietnamese people. And I love them because it takes two to tango. You can't just be a foreigner. Rock up here and say, I want to do this, that and the other. You have to have the Vietnamese people saying, we want to do that with you. Selene Alcock: [00:14:57] And generally, you know, everybody has their obstacles. Generally, the Vietnamese being very open to this experience. And what you've got is this kind of really lovely fusion thing taking place. So when you've got this openness going, you get a lot of like speakeasy bars in alleyways and stuff. Selene Alcock: [00:15:15] Often there's a French owner behind it or whatever, but just the mix of flavors. And then people also kind of saying, all right, well, even in the making of the cocktail there is a fantastic cocktail scene here and fantastically well-made cocktails now and. Ok, let's go into cocktails, so. Selene Alcock: [00:15:37] The thing I like about Saigon is that you've got this labyrinth, labyrinth and kinds of streets and alleyways and stuff. So you've got all these fantastic little bars that would have been either in somebody used to be house or shopfronts or whatever that's been converted to a bar. So you've got a lot of really fantastic alley bars and even mentioned this intersection. You've got like, whole areas which are like alley bars or bars, that are in alleyways and stuff. So you've got this really fantastic on-the-street culture where you can go into a cool cocktail bar. Often there'll be a big, fat, heavy door and you can hear the sounds of music thumping on the inside because, I mean, you want to block out the sound from motorbikes and whatever else is going on in the street. And suddenly you open the door and you go in. There you go. Oh, my God. Selene Alcock: [00:16:27] I've really come into a whole new world that I didn't expect. Well, you've gone sort of down an alleyway and then you found an entrance and then you come down a corridor, and then you've gone up a flight of stairs, and around the corner and everything. And suddenly you end up in this bar and you're like, oh, my God, how does this place exist here? Selene Alcock: [00:16:47] So you think about coming to Vietnam as an expat or even as a tourist to be able to discover these kinds of places. You hear about a place and you discover it often. You get lost trying to find it. So you're like, is this the right number to walk down this dirty alleyway with cats, and dogs and rats and things coming at me? And then I've got to go down here, and up here and around here and then somewhere you end up in this glamorous cocktail bar, groovy music, and stuff, and you're like, oh, wow, this was exciting. [00:17:18] It is because it's also a discovery process of finding the essence of Saigon as a treasure trove of interesting bars and cafes and people and scenes and all sorts of things. So the city lends itself to that. [00:17:43] You've got your kind of tourist strip, you've got your rooftop bars, cocktail bars, you've got five star hotel bars, which are often rooftop bars as well. [00:17:54] We've got like classic Vietnamese nightclubs, which tend to be a bit fast and furious. And then you've got like this whole scene, which is a mix of local Vietnamese and expats, and obviously not really so many tourists these days or no tourists these days. But probably in the past, some troops would turn up, but many expats would go there. And those kinds of scenes, they're just a bit more they're not necessarily all alternative. They're just a bit more underground or not so well known. So there's some really interesting I'll give some examples. So there's a Frenchman here. And I think when we were chatting, I told you I've been on this thing called the Secret Weekend. I've been twice, and I absolutely loved it, which we can talk about in a moment. So the people that organized the secret weekend called Saigon Dub Station. They also run a place called Indika Saigon. And it is a little bit more alternative. As you can turn up in your hippie clothes. You can turn up as a funkster. It just depends on the day and the night. But it's a bit like a little house. And then they've got like it's kind of little house of curios anyway. And then they've got like an outdoor area with a lot of the plants going into the concrete. The trees are going into the concrete. So it's just like a cool. And they've got a vegan restaurant attached to that as well. So it's just like a cool place. And this is got a bit of a hippy alternative vibe to it, I suppose. You know, then there's a really cool place in District two or Tandim, which is where a lot of the foreigners live. A Lot of these places increasingly run by French people or started by French people. [00:19:54] WAM stands for "we are monkeys" and their decor reflects that. It's a very small place. It's very popular. I've been there a lot of times. They get great DJ's, great music as a very small place. Down stairs is like a little counter bar kind of scenario. And everyone hangs out on the street outside drinking so you can get some craft beer on tap. There's this kind of cool lemonade like alcoholic lemonade on tap, which I've had a few times, great cocktails. And then upstairs it's all, it's got this amazing decor and it's all sort of like wallpaper of monkeys and jungles and bananas. Selene Alcock: [00:20:34] And they've got written up there. We are monkeys in a kind of light sign. And it's just a cool, little funky place and just small. And they often have nights there. Selene Alcock: [00:20:48] They're like there's a group called Saigon Pundit's run by an American guy. And so they do talk nights like they did one called " this ex-pat life" and one on "polyamory". [00:21:04] So really interesting topics. So people sort of gather there and talk and drink. So, yeah, I just find Saigon's a real melting pot of people, people from different age groups, different nationalities. As I mentioned, a lot of people who maybe only plan to be here for a short time but ended up living here. Thats only two places I've mentioned. Oh, there's the observatory, which is a really cool late night spot. [00:21:29] It's a bit of an institution that's been going for a while. It's a good place to end up. Vietnam, as in Saigon has become a bit of an entrepreneur's hub. It also has a lot of teachers,and generally, a lot of the people living and working here tend to be in their twenties and thirties. You get like older professional type people who are working in manufacturing because, obviously Saigon is also a big manufacturing hub, particularly in textiles and garment and shoe manufacture. Selene Alcock: [00:21:57] So you get a lot of like families as well. You get a lot of older people in their 40s, 50s who have careers in those areas. They're not necessarily the ones out clubbing. Not to say they don't go out. I'm in my forties, I go out and party. And yet probably the majority of the people I'm partying, partying with are in their twenties and thirties. I don't care, because I'm out there to have a good time. So, yeah, definitely. But I mean, it's just like anywhere you go. If you suddenly were in Sydney and you said I'm going out raving and partying all weekend, you're more likely to find yourself hanging out with a bunch of twenty and thirty-year-olds just because younger people tend to have more energy to party! Selene Alcock: [00:22:38] So they think,....., I think there are no limits. I'm going to keep partying till I'm a 90-year-old granny, at which point I'll become a DJ myself. Selene Alcock: [00:22:54] So the rooftop scene has really expanded as well, so as you mentioned earlier, Kerry, you've been to the Caravelle Hotel, so they have a quite well-known rooftop bar called "Saigon Saigon", and they've had LIVE acts, and they make great cocktails. There is a little outdoor section. You can see the city skyline. Selene Alcock: [00:23:15] Obviously, Saigon has an ever-growing, ever-expanding city skyline because of the nature of it expanding as a city and construction booms. Selene Alcock: [00:23:28] So you also have the Rex Hotel, which is very close to the Carevelle and has a very interesting history. And it's always had a rooftop bar as well. So that's another nice, more relaxed, chilled out place. Selene Alcock: [00:23:42] Often they'll have live acts at some of those five-star hotels. Selene Alcock: [00:23:45] They'll have a rooftop bar and they'll have like a live band and sometimes the ubiquitous Filipino band. But then what's happened in the kind of local Vietnamese scene? More than an expat scene, obviously, if you are an expat or a foreigner, you can go there. Selene Alcock: [00:24:02] We have Chill Sky Bar, which is a bit of an institution. It's probably one of the better rooftop bars in terms of how the bar actually looks. And the view from the bar. Chill Sky Bar is in the AB Tower and it's down towards the sort of traditional tourist area like Bui Vien street, right near the New World Hotel, actually. Selene Alcock: [00:24:28] The view from there is fantastic because you can actually see one of the biggest roundabouts in Saigon, so when you're looking over it, at night, not you can see all the bikes and cars going around, all the lights, you know, especially going around the circle. That's a cool view, plus there's park. From there you can see a bit of greenery and the DJ's Box is a sort of circular box, and it's right in the middle of the bar. So you can be getting your drinks, partying and dancing. And the DJ is sort of there in amongst you. But I think actually it's slightly elevated. Selene Alcock: [00:25:04] So you can sort of walk up the stairs and see down onto the stage and then down onto the street. So there's some really great views from all different angles. A chill sky bar is is is a great place to go, especially as a tourist, because it's got a bit more of a local view. Selene Alcock: [00:25:22] Lots of beautiful Vietnamese girls there as well. A new one that just opened up. Another really great one is Glow Saigon that opened, I think a few years back, I had a birthday there. So actually that's also sort of similar to Chill bar, plus a new one that's opened up is the Epic Sky Lounge. Now, I did pop up there briefly last year and there was some extreme hip hop night going on with extremely loud music. And we went back down the elevator. There are other we were talking about the alternative scene, there are other quieter rooftop bars where there is a bit more of an international DJ vibe. Some of the Vietnamese clubs can be quite commercial and loud to the point of distortion. So there's a mix of people that go to these bars. So there's Broma; Not a Bar which is slightly rooftop. I mean, it's like three stories high. Selene Alcock: [00:26:31] You asked a good question earlier about wining and dining, there's a lot of very up market places. There's one that's been around for a long time. I haven't been there for ages. It's called Shri. It's Shri Restaurant and Lounge or something. It's in the center of town. So you have to go into these office blocks as well and they're at the top of an office block. So Shri is great because it's very useful. It's got loads of water features and stones that you step over and it's very upmarket food. So it's upmarket market wining and dining, but you get a nice view of the city. It's a world away. Selene Alcock: [00:27:08] It's a more quiet, ambient version of a rooftop bar. Selene Alcock: [00:27:13] We also have if you're a tourist in the downtown area, which is in Bui Vien Street there's a place called The View Rooftop, which is in straight. It's at one extreme end of that kind of tourist strip. And so if anyone listening out there, its like the Khao San Road tourist strip in Bangkok, it's kind of the equivalent of that now. Selene Alcock: [00:27:44] So you want a karaoke night out in Saigon, no problem, karaoke everywhere and Vietnamese people love to sing. So I went down there once and I had two friends and they basically went, Yeah, yeah, come on, sing. And then my friend got up and started singing an Elvis Presley song or something to this group of about 40 Vietnamese people in that street. Selene Alcock: [00:28:06] It was pretty hilarious. I think a videod it too, you know, you can have just random experiences like that. You can just join a bunch of people and start singing with them, that's the other area I'm talking about is actually the tourist strip with all the backpacker hotels. Selene Alcock: [00:28:24] So it's more like a boom boom kind of, you know, clubs, bars, but with lots of girlies, dancers in Vietnamese girls in short skirts serving you Heiniken or Tiger beers. So they're kind of more like that. and it didn't used to always be that way, because as I said, I went there in 2005. But that's also been turned into a pedestrian strip. Now, that is quite the circus experience. If you want to go down there, you can sit on the side of the road and eat some local food, and drink some beers and watch people walk by, bicycle by, because I think they allow bicycles and stuff and all sorts of stuff goes on. There is a soap opera taking place on every corner. Selene Alcock: [00:29:12] Thats, the great thing about Vietnamese sort of street life and nightlife is that you can actually just sit on the side of the road and observe. And it's more interesting to watch people. Certainly more interesting than watching television, there's a lot going on. You can say "those people over there having a domestic" and see if it "is a love affair going on over there". Someone's moving their cyclo and bikes and all of this. Some with guinea pigs on a bike and 28 water bottles trying to get down an alleyway. There are all sorts of stuff going on because obviously, people try to load up a lot of stuff. As I say, this is kind of a motorbike-free zone, I think now at night. But people still go down on bicycles. Selene Alcock: [00:30:02] Yes, totally. I mean, if you want to go on the experience I just described, if you want to go and have a beer on the side of the road and some sort of local snack food kind of thing, it's cheap. Selene Alcock: [00:30:15] So the word for a sort of beer on tap places could be a bia hoi So there are a lot of these kind of street places where they have, you know, they'll have an actual shopfront, it's not just purely on the street food. Just to clarify the street food that is purely on the street. They've got all of the bits and bobs that they need to set that up. And cook it on the street. And then there is sort of more like sitting on the street. But there's an actual place or restaurant doing the cooking. Yeah, yeah. And they'll have a toilet and all that sort of stuff. So those kinds of places they normally call a Quan to you, and so it's more like a local place that usually has a certain kind of food. So whether it's bia hoi food, it will typically have food that goes with that, sticks of barbecued things. Usually, you don't get fried rice, it's usually non rice-based. It's barbecued salty things or sort of snack food to go with Beer because essentially you are there to drink beer. Then you have a street food place which will just be eating food and might not have a beer. So if you go to one of these places, you could eat food and drink quite cheaply if you go to a local bar. Again, you can buy inexpensive drinks, but if you suddenly want to go to an upmarket cocktail bar, which there are now many, certainly the prices go up. Selene Alcock: [00:31:44] But as you just mentioned, the comparison to Australia or Sydney, things to keep in mind is that if you want to drink and of course you're not going to drive, your taxi fare is super cheap. If you've got kids and you've got to pay for a babysitter, your babysitter is super cheap. So and then you basically, if you wanted to go for a similar culinary or drinking experience as to somewhere like Australia or Sydney, where I'm from, you can have the same or better quality, in my experience, for definitely a fraction of the price. So you can probably pay a quarter or a third and get the same quality. As I said, the cocktail scene has really gone off. I know somebody who started a bitters company here and he actually makes the best out of a lot of the local products or resources from Vietnam. So, I mean, things like Cinnamon Saigon is famous for cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger, obviously. So there are a number of spices. And obviously, it's become a chocolate country. It's the second-largest exporter of coffee in the world so all of these things are going into his bitters. I love the beaches. It's called Saigon Bittesr Company. And so a lot of the cocktail bars are using these and they just add that extra little touch. So but also, you know, the Vietnamese are really they embrace so much. [00:33:21] So, you know, some of these bars and new ventures, a run or initiate have been initiated by foreigners. But Vietnamese are getting up and making fantastic coffee shops, bars, and they have a strong coffee culture. Nothing to do with foreigners. I mean, obviously, first introduced by the French, but they are fantastic at running their own coffee shops, bars and everything. And they're fantastic cooks have got an amazing cuisine. So they just know how to mix things up, and that applies to drinks and cocktails. So they're just getting really good in the whole cocktail-making department. [00:34:03] A new thing that started last week with Secret Weekend, they've done three secret weekends, it's run by a guy called Morgan. He's French from Saigon Dub Station. And the last one I went to weekend three was just outstanding. I had a fantastic time. So basically what it is, I think the next one is going to be in a different location. But the last two, we're at a mud bath, hot spring resort, about two or three hours north of Saigon. So I'm not sure if it was five stars, but It was very beautiful Resort. You Could stay in a villa or stay in a room depending on your income. So basically, to go on this secret, you pay a certain amount. [00:34:50] And then they had a party in the forest area of the resort and they had a giant carved bear which has a tree coming out its head that had a lot of fantastic lights and a lot of international DJ acts. [00:35:07] So there was a bit of a spontaneous drag show performance and also some live music. Some guys were mixing beats and performing, singing at the same time and playing some instruments, the Vibe Mechanics. They are my new favorite thing, I just saw, they're playing again soon. So it's just what I was saying about the alternative scene. There's just like a lot of people really great creative people about, particularly in the music scene and mixing and creating these exciting kinds of things. [00:35:35] So a lot of people compared it to Burning Man, which I've not been to, so I can't really say. But it was like a weekend outdoor - 48 hours of music. They also have music by the pool, so it is like nonstop DJ's back to back and all international DJ's as well as Vietnamese, just fantastic music and really chilled out people having a good time. They had some TP's set up outside. The lights. I mean, the photos I saw from this weekend, just amazing. And then you can go and hang out in the hot pools. And we were actually sitting in a villa and we had a hot pool. You know, like a 40 degree hot pool. Yes, after a hard day of dancing in the forest, you can get into the hot pool. Selene Alcock: [00:36:30] Thank you for asking me and definitely, I'll provide your listeners with a cool rooftop, cocktail lounges, alternative craft beer, list. We can do a whole kind of wrap-up, with names of the places, and then hopefully when Tourism returns and tourists can come and check out a lot of these places. Thank you for listening. Kerry Newsome: [00:36:55] Check out the episode notes for more information. What about Vietnam? Kerry Newsome: [00:36:59] Don't forget to subscribe, write and review and stay tuned for more fun adventures in Vietnam.