S4-06 Craft beers in Vietnam Craft beers in Vietnam - A heads up! Episode 6 S4-06 Craft beers in Vietnam 00:00 / 26:11 The Craft Beer scene is probably one of the “biggest ” and best leaked travel secrets about Vietnam to hit the tourist map. It is unmistakably an industry that is being fast tracked as we head out of Covid. It is a “scene”. It's a taste sensation. It's a "thing" you have to try. As you will find out in today’s episode, it’s a product produced from passion, skill and local flavours, which means it also has a story. You don’t have to strictly be a beer drinker to join in the fun. But you do have to come to Vietnam to experience it. 
Today I have the distinct advantage of sharing with you a Brewers story. Please allow me to introduce Gary Bett, as the Founder and Head Brewer of the ‘Five Elements Brewing Company’, which is a small independent brewery in Da Nang. Gary gives us some great insights into the industry and the nuances of this fascinating manmade process, things like:- • 6.31 – What makes a craft beer • 7.42 – Local influences • 9.04 – Batches and Brews • 12.12 – The alcohol content • 13.13 – Where to go to try • 16.07 - What do Vietnamese think of craft beer? • 19.43 – Raw materials and the spice mix • 25.25 – Say hello to Gary at the BREWHAHA Tap rooms in Danang Where do you find Five Elements Craft beers and have fun with friends and locals? Check the links below or grab them from the transcript on this page for direct linkage. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

5e9ff723-f389-4d55-a827-80295ca29276As 2025 draws to a close here are some reflections. Last Words for 2025 Episode 11 S1-E11 00:00 / 32:38 Xin chào and welcome to What About Vietnam. As 2025 draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to pause — to thank you, to reflect on this journey that began back in 2020, and to share a few lasting lessons for travellers heading to Vietnam. What started during lockdown as a way to “travel through stories” has grown into more than 100 episodes shared across 70 countries. Together we’ve explored Vietnam’s hidden gems, met local legends, and uncovered stories far beyond the guidebooks. To my guests — you gave this show its heartbeat. Thank you. To my listeners — your messages and travel plan requests continue to keep me inspired every step of the way. I couldn’t do this without you. Now, after three incredible years, it feels right to take a short pause — to breathe, to rediscover Vietnam with fresh eyes, and to think about what What About Vietnam might become in 2026. While the podcast takes a short rest, I’m still here helping travellers create privately guided journeys through whataboutvietnam.com – Request your trip plan including all in country services as in flights, accommodation and experiences fully tailor made to you and your budget.;- https://www.whataboutvietnam.com/request-form In this final episode, I share five key lessons drawn from the journey so far — real, lived truths about travelling well in Vietnam: 1. Stay curious – Vietnam will surprise you every time. 2. Travel slow – the magic happens in the quiet moments. 3. Connect deeply – even a simple Xin chào can open unexpected doors. 4. Support local – your choices help communities thrive. 5. Keep dreaming – Vietnam’s story, like life, is always unfolding. So whether you’re planning your first trip or returning for more, I hope these insights help you experience Vietnam with a little more heart and a lot more wonder. What About Vietnam – where stories live on. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

940709d2-c571-4afa-887e-c01f442e35f7Monkeys in the wild at Son Tra Nature Reserve Danang Visit wild monkeys in Danang's Son Tra Nature Reserve Episode 22 Visit wild monkeys in Danang's Son Tra Nature Reserve 00:00 / 36:36 Do you like fresh air and lush rainforests full of endangered species like the Red-shanked douc langurs? They are those cute monkeys with red bib necks and cute faces. Then the Son Tra Nature Reserve won't disappoint you! 10 Mins from Danang centre. Oh, btw, those monkeys have a very mischievous personality as you will soon find out. I am always delighted to have someone on the show that can educate us on a new experience of Vietnam. Especially, if that experience helps us …..as a visitor to better understand some of the local projects focusing on biodiversity and the development of important ecosystems. Today we are going to learn about the Son Tra Nature Reserve and Education Centre. Please Welcome, Thanh to the program. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

22d51e23-8e77-4448-b2e9-230c6f281ad0The best locations in Vietnam for photographic scenic delights. Top 5 travel photography locations in Vietnam Episode 6 Top 5 travel photography locations in Vietnam 00:00 / 36:31 If there's one thing I know about travel, it's that we all love to take photographs. We all want to record those special moments in time so that we can revisit them later on and share them with our family and friends. But finding the best vantage points is a key component. Today, I'm going to be talking to someone who knows a lot about this subject, as he runs his own photo tours all through Southeast Asia, but in particular, his favorite spot is Vietnam. Etienne Bossot joins me on this podcast as he reveals the Top 5 photography locations in Vietnam that a traveller with an interest in travel photography should seek out. Etienne is well known in Vietnam as someone who knows a lot about this subject, as he runs his own photo tours all through Southeast Asia, but in particular, his favorite place is Vietnam. In particualr Hoi An. Etienne shares his tips on how to handle taking photos of people and how by driving just five to 10 kilometers outside of town, like Hoi An you are 20 years behind Hoi An. You suddenly reach this countryside where people have never seen a tourist before. For the budding photographer its a must listen to show. Check out some of his photos here on this page. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

< Back 5 Days 4 nights Immersive Wellness package Hue – Vietnam At Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion Experience Highlights A 5 day/ 4 night nurturing wellness package at Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion is carefully crafted:- For people who are looking for a relaxing and healing retreat. For people seeking a tranquil atmosphere and the chance to spend time to indulge in many spa treatments, meditations and soaking in hotsprings For people who want to travel differently and avoid the crowds but still enjoy locally grown food and a heightened experience of Vietnamese culture For those wishing to explore HUE local culture and cuisine in a relaxed and mindful way This joyful experience will bring harmony and balance to your body – mind and well-being , This retreat at Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion has been designed and crafted by Kerry Newsome the Host of the "What About Vietnam Podcast and the Alba Wellness team. The aim of the retreat is to bring a meaningful journey back to your true self, without the pressures of time or decision making. This joyful experience will bring harmony and balance on 3 key components: body – mind – soulful well-being, especially focusing on mental health . What to expect during your stay Body treatments Cleansing your physical body through juicing and other healthy drinks (kombucha – fermented probiotic tea) along with vegetarian or healthy meals Indulge and pamper yourself through our exceptional spa treatments and authentic Japanese onsen . Boost your immune system by soaking in mineral rich outdoor hot springs Challenging yourself with our exciting outdoor experiences which include zipline and adventurous highwire circuits or hiking in the forest Organic cooking class at the farm with fresh picked vegetable and herbs Yoga classes and meditations taking advantage of the local springs and mindfulness spaces Mindfulness Observe your breath and stay mindful with our wide range of meditation classes : water meditation, forest meditation barefoot, chakra healing meditation with candles, Rainbow shower meditation, qigong and yoga. Learn something : A new way to cleansing, farming or creative crafts to help explore a new-you that you might have forgotten for a long time. Get quality sleep , thanks to all these activities as well as tranquil and beautiful nature and fresh air Soulful wellbeing Even if you prefer to remain secluded and not follow any specific spiritual activity, you still will release your stress or burn-out and discover relief in in your body and your soul. Spend time in nature : forest hiking, forest bathing and meditation to connect your inner emotions and feelings Take time to give gratitude to nature earth, your friends and all the people surrounding you to make this a meaningful experience. Be compassionate to yourself and others, by observing your breathing pattern, looking deep inside yourself, appreciating how lucky you are and discover caring for yourself before helping someone else, is a great way to discover true happiness. For more information or to book click here DAILY SCHEDULE - Activities DAY 1: ARRIVAL, RELAXATION, PAMPERING & CALM IN MIND 14:00 Arrival, check in, healthy welcome drink with homemade kombucha 15:00 Resort Tour, Welcome & Hot Spring Knowledge 16:20 Onsen 17:00 Yin & Yang spa treatment 18:30 Healthy welcome dinner (Healthy Balance Dinner) with 01 non-alcohol drink 20:00 Chakra Healing Meditation Wellness Turndown (Detox Tea) DAY 2: BALANCING DAY: YOGA, SPA, ONSEN & MEDITATION 5:30 Hiking (optional to join)- Take the opportunity to start the day in our lush forest 7:00 Celery juice experience at Mori 8:00 Daily Yoga class 9:00 Breakfast anytime anywhere Free time, High Wire (optional to join) – Feeling energized – why not try the high wire zip lining and take a bicycle ride around the resort. Or simply take it easy and lie by the pool. 13:20 Onsen 14:00 Natural Living Eucalyptus treatment 16:00 Optional Late healthy lunch/ early healthy dinner if choosing upgrade to intermittent fasting method – be sure to discuss your preferences with staff so they can prepare your meal preferences. 18:00 Water meditation 20:00 Rainbow Shower meditation Wellness Turndown (Detox Tea) DAY 3: MINDFULLNESS, ENERGY HEALING AND PAMPERING 5:30 Meditation by the stream 7:00 Celery juice experience at Mori 8:00 Daily Yoga 9:00 Breakfast Hue - Half Day city tour (optional) 9.30 – 1.30pm Following breakfast you will be collected at the resort and taken for a “Discovery half day tour” of Hue. Our knowledgeable English speaking tour your guide will assist you to understand the history of Hue as the Imperial capital of Vietnam. You will be guided through the Citadel and you will visit many places of historic significance including one new place of startling beauty - Lebadang Memory Space - https://lebadangmemoryspace.com/ Return to Resort for Prana treatment at 2.00pm and relaxation. Lunch will be at own expense during tour. Your guide will advise best place to enjoy local cuisine. 14:10 Prana Vital Energy treatment 16:00 Optional Late healthy lunch/ early healthy dinner if choosing upgrade to intermittent fasting method - be sure to discuss your preferences with staff so they can prepare your meal preferences. 20:00 Breathing Class Wellness Turndown (Detox Tea) DAY 4: HEALTHY & HEALING DAY 6:30 Celery Juice experience 7:00 Biking 8:30 Healthy Breakfast anywhere Free time to relax by the pool, take a leisurely walk, or go for a swim or bike ride. 12:30 A Cooking class by the farm 15:20 Onsen 16:00 Siamese Healing treatment 18:00 Early healthy dinner - optional if you choose intermittent fasting method - be sure to discuss your preferences with staff so they can prepare your meal preferences. 20:00 Chakra healing meditation Wellness Turndown (Detox Tea) DAY 5: PURIFYING YOURS AND CHECK OUT 6:30 Celery Juice experience 7:00 – 7:30 Water Purifications 8:00 Breakfast anytime anywhere then check out at 10.00am PRICE - INCLUDED SERVICES: Accommodation at Alba Wellness Resort by fusion Breakfast anytime anywhere Morning juices on day 2,3,4,5,6 1- Healthy dinner on day 1 with a healthy drink (non-alcohol) 50 min Spa treatment/person/night as per schedule 30 min Onsen session/person/night as per schedule Unlimited outdoor hotspring bathing/ soaking Daily Wellbeing follow up with staff Daily Wellness activity classes including yoga, meditation, breath, biking, hiking to revitalize and reinvigorate, reducing stress and resetting inner balance. (Complimentary) Daily herbal tea turndown service Water purification ritual on day 6 1 – Cooking class

S4-23 Take beautiful photos Part 1 How to capture beautiful photos - Part 1 Episode 23 S4-23 Take beautiful photos Part 1 00:00 / 35:31 One of my favourite things to do in Vietnam is taking photographs. You can’t help wanting to just click away!!! It’s hard not to want to capture Vietnam’s magnificent scenery and colour popping landscapes, rivers, mountains and cities a buzz with people and rich culture. However, how can we capture those photographs that, upon reviewing them later, fill us with an overwhelming sense of pride and eagerness to share them with our friends and family. Meet our extraordinary photographer, and guest Thomas Levine whose talents and experiences have taken him on an incredible journey around the world! With a bachelor's degree in Sociology and minors in business and psychology, he possesses a unique perspective that shines through in his captivating photographs. His portfolio boasts a diverse range of subjects, including people for annual reports and advertising, still life compositions featuring cigars, cars, food, jewellery, furniture, flowers, and even nature and wildlife. His artistic eye captures the essence of each subject, delivering images that are both visually stunning and conceptually compelling. This is a 1 of a 2 part series on mastering photography in Vietnam. In Part 1 Thomas shares his wisdom in the pursuit of the perfect travel pic you will want to share. He focuses on the use of color, lines, backgrounds and the focus you need to have when photographing epic scenery, people, and activities. Whether its with a Camera or smartphone these tips on photography are universal. Follow Thomas’s remarkable photography as he continues to capture the beauty of Vietnam from his home in Hoi An, one click at a time. Check out his website for further advice and lessons. You can find Thomas here Thomas Levine https://www.levinephotography.com/ https://www.alamy.com/portfolio/levine-travel-stock https://thomaslevinephotography.com Skype: thomas.levine888 Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

d32f2f19-abc1-420d-9521-8b3cf274c91fHoliday and save money on dentistry Vietnam Dental Holiday - save money on dental while on your holiday Episode 10 Vietnam Dental Holiday - save money on dental while on your holiday 00:00 / 29:34 Today we're going to be talking about dentistry. Now, who would have thought you'd be talking about "dentistry" on a travel podcast. I've added the session in because it's still a very important experience that you may want to investigate when you do visit Vietnam. Kelly McCarthy is my guest, she's a good friend, and she has been traveling to Vietnam over the past 15 years, as it happens, in the past six years, those visits have included a visit to a dentistry surgery in Ho Chi Minh City. Hear about the money she has saved and the great experience it has been. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

f9b791be-473a-40c9-aff8-10fae46871a0Phil Hoolihan takes us beyond the tourist tracks Sapa North Vietnam - well beyond the tourist track Episode 15 Sapa North Vietnam - well beyond the tourist track 00:00 / 40:50 If you love trekking or want to embrace a more authentic experience of Vietnam you have to head to Sapa and North Vietnam. My guest today Phil Hoolihan gives us a very in-depth take on what the Sapa region offers from the well worn tourist tracks to the more authentic immersive type experiences you can get if you are prepared to dig a bit deeper. Phil Hoolihan is an academic who came to the region over 20 years ago on a science project studying biodiversity. Having settled into the region his knowledge of the area, local minority groups, cultural norms and tourism is extensive. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S5-E1-Vietnam Visa updates and Land Travel tips taking in Phan Thiet Hue and Quy Nhon What About Vietnam – S5-E1- Vietnam Visa Update and Land Travel Tips taking in Phan Thiet, Hue, and Quy Nhon Before I jump straight into the show, I just wanted to bring to everyone's attention that there's been some really big news, really big exciting news about the visa situation to enter Vietnam. As of the 15th of August, you will be able to extend your stays quite dramatically. So the typical e-visa up until this point has been for those countries that it applies to, you would only be allowed 30 days. That will be extended to 90 days as of the 15th of August. I'm going to put detail of the website that you need to go to, which is the regular, the most authoritative website to use. And I use that sincerely in the sense that it's not a service provided website. It is in fact the immigration website to apply directly to the Vietnam Immigration Department for your visa. So you pay the minimal fee and you know, I've been doing that for years and I recommend all my clients to use that website. So that's where the information will be at present on my last check, just the last couple of days. It's not been updated to reflect this new change, but there's also significant changes to the countries that have been outlined as being waiver free. So the e-visa up until this point, those countries would have 15 days in the country that they could come and visit and not have to pay any visa or apply for any visa status at all. That has now been extended to 45 days. But all the detail will be on the website. The news has really just only come out of the last five days and you know, I'm talking to you on the 30th of June. So please check out the website, whataboutvietnam.com. As soon as the full information has been released, Vietnam, I will make sure I put that on our website. But today, I'm very excited to have Simon White on. Now, Simon's been doing business and visiting Vietnam over the last 15 years and certainly has a similar love of Vietnam. He's been going back and forth. I think he said he had something like 60 trips over 15 years. He says that he's traveled extensively across the country by car, by rail, by bus, by boat. And he just loves the experience of the country, its food and immersing himself in local culture and local traditions and just, you know, musing through the country and really meeting people and doing all sorts of fun things. He's a fun guest. He's got some great insights into some places I've wanted to talk to you about. And they're places like Phan Thip, which is very close to Muna. We have discussed Muna before on the program, but we're doing this show really with a big focus on land transport. And so we're going to be talking about train travel primarily. That's using the reunification train from top to bottom and looking at places to visit by train. And some of those are Phan Thip. Some of those others are like Hue, like Quynh On, like Da Nang, Hanoi, and of course Ho Chi Minh City. So Sit Tight. It's a really jam packed episode. Simon is wonderful at just giving his insights and experiences at a very street level, a very immersive level where he likes to, you know, get out and mix with the locals in the cities, in the country areas and really enjoy the street food, enjoy the different traditions and the nuances between the North and the South. And I think he's going to give you some insights that might help you make up your mind as far as whether you want to do your hops around the country or even mix up your hops around the country between train or whether you go by plane to visit some of these places as they're all interesting. But how you get there is, you know, all part of that journey experience as well. Without further ado, let's bring on the very learned, very talented, very interesting, very fun guest, Simon White. Simon White, welcome to the What About Vietnam podcast. Look, we've got a lot to talk about in our program today, but maybe just for everyone listening, you could tell us a little bit about your relationship to Vietnam. You know, what keeps you coming back over 15 years and 60 trips I hear? 05:52 Simon White Yes, thanks Kerry. Look, I've got a bit of a long-term love affair with Vietnam, mostly around business aspects because I'm the president of the Australia Vietnam Business Council in Queensland and also I was chairing Vietnam's representative in Queensland and I'm on the advisory board of the Australia Vietnam Leadership Dialogue. And I spend a lot of time in the business aspect of Vietnam. But like most people that go to a new destination, you know, over 15, 20 years ago, I've spent a lot of time also exploring Vietnam and getting to know the country, what there is to do and the people and the excitement of visiting just different destinations around the country. I think the reason I keep going back is there's always something new to explore. There's new flavors. I say, don't just say that from a food point of view because we all know Vietnam is a food destination. But there's new flavors in what's happening with Vietnam and how it's growing up as a country. 100 million people as of a couple of weeks ago. And also the differences between the metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City and the differences between that and Hanoi and what happens all the way in between and all those amazing places and destinations and the amazing country areas where you're back to feeling like you're in the Vietnam of 30 or 40 years ago. Talk to us about your most liked land based transportation and why you would favor one over the other. I think the beauty of land based travel, you know, when you're an airplane and we know this also domestically in Australia, you fly over and look down at things and you have that bird's eye view. But you're not immersed in what's happening on the ground and you're not immersed in the people and their day to day lives. And, you know, we talked a little bit earlier about taking other people to Vietnam and I quite often think when you land in the airport in Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi, it is sometimes confronting if you're not used to it. And I always refer to it as being like a deer in headlights when I take people over there. And I also always meet everybody at the airport and they walk out into that throng of people hanging around and that chatter and noise and down south the heat and the smells and the aromas of an Asian city. And I think that, you know, that can be quite challenging to people. So I think that when you want to immerse yourself in culture, and this also depends on how much time you've got, because if you've got a quick trip and it's seven to 10 days, you need to jump a plane to see a bit of the country and get to know the differences around what happens from the difference between the south to the north and in between. But I think if you've got a bit of time, you know, getting down and getting on some sort of land based travel and we can talk about the options in a moment, really immerses you in the culture and allows you to look out the window, sit back and relax and compare Vietnam as a country and how it's uniquely different to a lot of countries, but also the same in some ways as well. And to watch people go about their day to day lives and to go through, you know, when you're on the train, for instance, you go through the backyards, not the front yards. So you don't see the shiny front of the shops and the places, but you see the backyards and the chickens and the pigs and the washing hanging out and the kids playing along the place. And, you know, it gives you a different experience to what Vietnam is from the perspective of a Vietnamese person. 09:28 Kerry Newsome And I think that's a really good point to mention is that, you know, I think Vietnam has become very much a location that's big on the Instagram set in the sense and social media sense. Everybody's taking the front yard photos and the perfect views and, you know, the rice paddy fields are in there perfectly in bloom and, you know, all the colors are perfect and all the rest of it. Whereas you and I agreed that you can experience a Vietnam that is still steeped in a lot of history. You know, the minority groups aren't just dressed up for fun. They wear those clothes as their normal day to day wear, their traditional costumes. And I think you're right. I think seeing the backyard does give you that immersion in a greater, greater sense. So, I mean, I've done very limited train travel, but in the case that you have got some time and you want this kind of experience, where would you base your train travel? 10:37 Simon White I think you either go south to north or north to south and you do the whole country if you've got time. You know, the reunification train line, which was basically rebuilt after 1975 to reunify the north and the south goes from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. Goes all over the country through all the major central towns. It's an amazing trip. You know, you can get a sleeper. It's cheap. I won't say it's luxurious, but it's air conditioned and it's presentable and it's clean. So I think if I was to choose any mode of ground travel, as though I love getting on a motorbike and I love getting amongst it in Vietnam, because then you feel the energy and those sorts of things. Unless you're experienced on motorbikes and you don't have kids, it's not safe mode of transport. Especially on the highways. Unlike Australia, where we sort of, although motorbike riders will tell you otherwise, we're fairly observant of the rules. The smaller you are in Vietnam on the roads, the less important you are. And therefore motorbikes aren't very important. So if I was in a city area, I wouldn't ride a motorbike. But in the country areas off the main roads and highways, I love getting on a bike and going for a ride. And I'll put my son on there with me and we'll ride around the regional roads because the traffic isn't an issue. Land-based options are motorbike, probably not safe and not comfortable. Unless you're an experienced rider and you want to get on a bigger bike and do the whole country. Buses, there's regional buses, which I wouldn't get on at night time because they'll take a 20 seater and put 40 people in it. And it's terrible. And it's not safe. They have the sleeping buses that are OK if you're a five foot Asian frame. But I'm a six foot three Australian frame. So the sleeping bus, my feet are hanging over in someone's head and I can never get comfortable. But also they're not to me, they don't feel safe. And that's just a personal thing. Especially, you know, they're built for overnight travel and overnight. They just don't feel hygienic to me. So you've got private car and cars. Cars are becoming very popular. I won't say that driving ability is becoming better with the volume of traffic on the road. So, you know, private cars are great. And, you know, their Uber equivalent, which is great, is great to get around the cities or regional cities. Yeah, but longer trips. It's you know, it just isn't practical. So it comes down to flying. So I think the train is, you know, it's a great way to see the country. You can sit there and look out the window, see everything happening as I say, see the backyards rather than the front yards. Watch yourself go through, you know, rice paddies and mountains and mountain trails along the coast and back in through little towns and cities. And just just look at the country that's growing up around you. And it's an amazing way in any country to travel, but certainly Vietnam. And I think the other thing with trains is I think they're pretty safe. They don't go that fast. So, you know, so anything that does go wrong, there's not a lot that can go that's going to happen. Not a bullet train. And I think that there's a comfort and a personal space. We quite the three of us will travel and what I'll do is I'll book, I should pay the extra, the extra bed and a sleeper when to make it's four. So you have your own cabin. It costs about twenty dollars for a trip. So it's not expensive. And then you've got your own space and you can do your own thing. And my my advice would be buy some food before you leave your destination. Go to the shop, buy some snacks, buy some food. I would take a few beers because I'm an Aussie. Take some things you want to eat and take it all with you. No one cares. And then you've got all your supplies and you can look at the view. You can read a book. You can watch you can watch something you've downloaded. And it's a really relaxing way to sort of sit back and see the place. And if you get a bit tired, just close your eyes and have a bit of a bit of a rest. So I think it allows you to go from Ho Chi Minh City in the south to Hanoi in the north, for instance, and have a look. And a bit like, you know, Canada or Europe, you can have a time based ticket you can buy where you can get on and off as many times as you like. So you can buy what would be a U-rail type pass. Oh, I didn't know that. That's good to know. And you can buy that and you can basically jump on and off the trains. I mean, you've got to book each leg from a seat perspective when you get when you want to get back on again. But you can jump off at all these small destinations and, you know, ask the ask the people in the in the train station. Or, you know, I find when you ask taxi drivers and people where to stay, you know, 90 percent of the time you're going to get somebody who's going to be pretty straight up with you and say, look, there's a great hotel in town. What are you looking for? What is place to go? So I usually think the advice of the locals is really good. So if you went, for instance, from Ho Chi Minh City going north, I would recommend the people to stop in places like Phan Thiet, which is also Munai, which is the famous kite surfing beach of days gone by. The Ferry Creek or whatever. The Ferry Stream. Yep. Ferry Stream, which you get to the top and you find it just comes out as rice paddies, but it's a beautiful walk. Clean thing, but it actually comes off the runoff from the rice paddies and the farms. But it is a nice little walk. And, you know, Phan Thiet is a seafood town. If you've ever watched Luke Nguyen's series, he cooks on the streets of Phan Thiet quite often because he's got family there. So, you know, it's a seafood town. So you always find a really good seafood meal there. You know, I went to actually went to a seafood buffet there last when I was there in December last year. It was $10 or you can eat seafood. 16:34 Kerry Newsome Oh my God. I'm in heaven. But the interesting thing is whatever you wasted, they weighed and you had to pay them for every 100 grams of waste you had. Oh, you're kidding. That's amazing. I mean, that's an interesting concept. 16:48 Simon White But the food was amazing. It was just so much fresh seafood and, you know, $10 you could sit there all night and eat as much as you want to. So, you know, those sorts of things in Phan Thiet are great. What's the accommodation like in Phan Thiet? Well, I usually stay there with family. So for me, it's easy. But if you know, there's a lot of hotels there. But if you look at Munais Beach for interest, there's resorts. 17:11 Kerry Newsome Oh, yeah, there's resorts in Mui ne for sure. And there's lots of them. 17:15 Simon White And again, look, you know, along the beachfront, I can picture but I can't give you names of four or five. There's a couple of really good resorts there. You know, I'm not a five star resort golfing resort traveler. So they're not the pick for me. I'm more of a get down amongst it, you know, sort of person. So for me, I'm more of a sort of three star as long as I've got a clean bathroom of my own, I'm happy. So for me, it's about sort of casting around and looking at what options there are and what's interesting. And places like Phan Thiet have just a good feel about them. And again, it's a safe town if you like to if you like to ride a motorbike. You know, just be careful if you're not licensed in riding a motorbike in Vietnam. You don't have a license there. Then you are going to have insurance issues. And I would never recommend that everybody go there without having a license to ride a bike. Because I do know of a guy, a European guy who had a with his girlfriend had a motorbike accident. She was killed and he was put in jail for seven years because he hadn't seen this many years ago. So, you know, it's one of those places. But Phan Thiet is a beautiful place to stop. It's on the train line. It's, you know, it's hot, but it's near the beach. And, you know, it's a great, lesser known destination. And Runeau Beach was very, very popular, of course, with the Russians for a long time, but not as much these days. But the money going into the resorts there from an investment perspective means that the opportunities to stay there. 18:42 Kerry Newsome you know, the opportunities of accommodation are increasing all the time. I'm really glad that you've covered off Phan Thiet because it's an area I don't know as much about. I've got a girlfriend, Vietnamese girlfriend of mine who's just moved back there with her family because her family own farmland there and they're doing farming in dragon fruit. So, it's a place I want to go to when I visit next time. 19:10 Simon White The other train trip I've heard is very nice that maybe you can speak to about for everyone is the trip from Da Nang to Hue? Da Nang to Hue? Well, I've done Da Nang to Dong Hui to go up to Phong Nga to the caves and mountains areas that we talked about earlier. But that trip from Da Nang to Hue, it goes along the coastline of the mountains. So you go up through the pass and through the tunnels north of Da Nang and it's just actually a beautiful trip. Unfortunately, with the configuration, if you've got a sleeper, the sleeper is actually on the mountainside. So you've got to keep your sort of room door open to look out to the aisle side. Oh, it's on the wrong side. The port of Da Nang is on the wrong side. Most people just stand in the aisle and look at the view for half an hour to an hour as you go through there. Are you better to do it the other way then? Are you better to do it from the way to Da Nang? I've never done that. I'm assuming if you go south, I don't know whether they turn the train around or they just have an engine at the other end and then the carriage is the same way. Because quite often with train carriages, they just hook up an engine to the other end and go back. The train doesn't turn around itself. So the carriage is still going to have the same configuration. But that's it. If you get a day train that leaves, there's a few of them, but there's one that leaves about 10 am from Da Nang to go north. So if you're doing that Da Nang to Hue trip and you're going to the north, you're going to have to go north. So if you're doing that Da Nang to Hue trip and you go through there, the view is absolutely amazing. And it's just a great way to spend a sort of the day. And it's only about three hours. So if you leave at 10, you're going to get in just after lunch and really nice, really relaxing, beautiful view. And then does it go Da Nang, Hue and then Dong Hoi? Is that the way it goes? Yeah, it goes all the way, Dong Ha, Dong Hui and all the way up. So it just goes all the way up through Ninh Binh and up into Hanoi from there. 21:19 Kerry Newsome So just right. Have you done it all the way to Ninh Binh? No, no, I've done. I've only done Ninh Binh to I've done Hanoi to Ninh Binh and then I've gone as far as Dong Hui. Dong Hui. Well, there's two trains that go to Quynh On now, isn't there? The new Vietage through the Anantara Group. They are running that and that's kind of like from what I can gather is like the Orient Express version with the bar and the and it's very swish. And you can do that trip. And then, as you say, there's the reunification train that goes to Quynh On. Now, can you talk to us a little bit about Quynh On? Because for everyone listening, Quynh On is an area that was a bit of a best kept secret really for Vietnamese, as in the locals knew how beautiful it was. But it's now becoming very much a tourist destination and there's a lot of resorts been built over the last few years and it's really coming of age, so to speak. So, yes, Simon would love you to touch on that trip from Da Nang to Quynh On and tell us a little bit about Quy Nhon. 22:39 Simon White Well, yes, so, you know, Quy Nhon, as you said, great, secret for travelers, but is becoming quite commercialized now. I think, you know, the first time, as I think I said to you earlier, the first time I ever went to Vietnam 15, 17 years ago, I went to a business networking function in the very early days. So it was a very, very, very basic networking in those days. And I won a door prize and the door prize was a weekend at a brand new eco resort south of Quy Nhon. So, of course, the next time I went back, I flew up there and that would have been my first ever experience out of Ho Chi Minh City, except for the usual things, which is Mekong or Cu Chi tunnels and things like that. So it was my first sort of outside of Ho Chi Minh experience. And it was quite, it was a very, very high level resort, but it was quite a remote destination. I remember getting in this, getting met at the airport in this beautiful brand new land cruiser with white leather upholstery, which I didn't fit in there. And taking a drive about an hour south of Quynh On into out on this peninsula on these dirt roads where there was this brand new eco resort, where there was six villas and personal butlers in each room and your own little pool and your own beach hut with personal staff. And you pick up the phone and the butler came running. I remember saying, it's lunchtime, can we get something to eat? And the butler brought the chef down to the room. And he said, he said, oh, we've got some, overnight we've bought some, I think it was sea bass or something off the fishermen out the front, because you can see a little fishing boats, around fishing boats out in the bay. And then next thing this whole fish arrives that's been done with rice paper and vegetables and herbs and things to roll with rice paper. So it was an amazing resort. It was being run by a young 25 year old Swiss graduate American guy graduating. Absolutely amazing young guy, growing all their own vegetables and herbs. Just a beautiful resort. And they had their own fish farm as well across the hill. And I remember going over for lunch and sitting on the dock at the fish farm, choosing your fish out of the fish farm. I don't know what happened. I'm assuming it's still there, but I had never heard about that resort again. And everyone keeps saying, oh, it must be a sixth sense, but it's not. It was independent. But, you know, going on the area is absolutely gorgeous to look at. It's a beautiful beach area. There's, it's quite remote. And I went back there again about a year ago, just just under a year ago, and for a different reason and stayed in town and had a look around. And it's it's it's like a mini-denouncement like the thing was 15 to 20 years ago. Okay. Where, you know, before the masses of beach resorts and, you know, explosion of tourism. So it's a beautiful place to go a little bit off the beaten track. Is there a lot to do there? Oh, there's heaps to do. Look, it's like everything. There's islands off there too. So you can explore that. You know, you can go to the beach, there's snorkeling, there's some there's just beaches you can go to. You know, when I go over there, I quite often take my own mask and snorkel. I don't take flippers and things, it's too much. But I take my own sort of bit of snorkeling stuff to have a look around. You know, as you know, Kerry, a lot of places in Vietnam, you know, you might see one fish and it's scared because it's, you know, there is issues with fishing out the place a bit. And there's not yet a realization about ecological tourism or ecological management of tourism in Vietnam and other areas. And how long the bay would be an example, you know, beautiful place, but you go in the water and you won't see a fish. So, you know, it's one of those things that needs to be worked on in Vietnam is the management of the environment alongside tourism and business. Yes. And I know there's a lot of work being done on that space and a lot of environmental management in corporate business around other things like packaging and things that the rest of the world are working on. But I think when you go to those places, you know, one of the detractors that needs to be worked on, if we can talk to some of the little quirky things, is just the amount of floating rubbish and things like that. And how that detracts from those beautiful places. I saw one recently on a Facebook group around Vietnam. It was this beautiful place with all these beautiful seaweed beds and people taking selfies standing on the seaweed beds. And my comment was this is a beautiful place, but it won't remain beautiful if people don't preserve it. If they keep standing on the seaweed beds taking selfies, they're not going to be any beauty for anybody else to share. So, you know, you get these amazing places, but I guess the, you know, how are they going to be managed and maintained as from an eco perspective? The challenge between fish farms and tourism and the understanding of, you know, maintaining beaches and dealing with rubbish and packaging and things is still a challenge in a lot of areas, unfortunately. 27:42 Kerry Newsome And I think it's a point that we need to raise. And, you know, it comes up intermittently when I'm talking to various guests about rubbish management, around waste, around seeing it. I guess the tourist footprint and the impact it is making on the environment with plastics and all the rest. It is some circles that I mix in and in Vietnam tourism, etc. Do tell me that they're aware of it, they know about it, and there's a lot of working group parties that are trying to engage with professionals and people that are specialized in this to come up with solutions. I think the sad part for me and for everyone listening about this is that some people will then kind of dismiss Vietnam in the sense because that they haven't addressed it at this point and it doesn't look great and it can put them off the whole scene. But I guess if we could kind of put it in the context that, you know, Vietnam is growing at such a rate and speed that I think it's having trouble keeping up with itself. And, you know, certainly with, you know, 60 or 70 million people in the domestic travel market, I'm feeling their footprint just as much as my own as a foreigner. And I think there's going to be a lot more said about this and done about this in the future. But I just hope people can say, look, yeah, it's not great. It needs to be addressed, but don't dismiss Vietnam because in some of these locations, it isn't well managed at this point. So it's kind of a work in progress for one of a better description. 29:32 Simon White You know, I had some interaction with one of the municipal councils in a major city during COVID to introduce them to the head of the UN Environmental Waste Council and things like that to help them. You know, they're looking, they're seriously looking at these things. I think there's not yet a societal awareness of, you know, I'll just chuck that plastic bag down into the area at the back and it doesn't really matter, you know. And I think that's also about, you know, we're still talking about an emerging economy. And I think we're seeing that in people's attitudes are still such that they're not, you know, still focusing on how do I make a dollar, put food on the table, not necessarily what I worry about. Just one of the other areas that I wanted to talk about was Hue. Hue is amazing. I mean, you know, a thousand year old citadel that was the capital of Vietnam at the time. You know, you can still see sort of bullet marks across some of the facies from, you know, previous conflicts from, you know, in the late 60s and early 70s. It's an amazing place to go historically. It's a bit of a place to go and it's still, there's still cheap accommodation available in Hue. There's good food, like any tourist destination, and has challenges around the commercialization aspect. But I think and the volume of people, you know, pre-COVID, when I went through there, it was crazy, the number of buses and the number of people trying to get in and out of the citadel to have a look at it. But that said, you know, I think if you're on holiday, you tend to forget a little about those things. You know, you just said, look, I'm on a holiday and I'm going to enjoy myself and I know I need to stand there some queues and I know there's going to be other people on a holiday too. So I think if you put that aside and you're not trying to rush, you can have a great time wandering around in Hue. And, you know, we talked a little bit earlier about the different, you know, the different empires that have been through Vietnam or what is now Vietnam over the years. And there is, you know, there is history across Vietnam where in places like Hue and in My Son, which is south of, you know, South of Da Nang, where there's history there that's being worked on and explored to look at how that has developed the culture of the people and their belief systems and their family cultural values that you can experience when you go to these places. And you get a feel for why the people of Vietnam are what they are because you go and experience some of the history of the hardship or of the different, different sort of ruling people that have been through. And when you look at the history of Vietnam, you know, pre, pre the 20th century, it's quite interesting to look at those sorts of things. And you see that in, you see that in Hoi An with the Japanese influence, you know, 600 year old Japanese fishing town. You see it in Ninh Binh with the, you know, the 10th century capital city when the river was obviously a lot bigger and things like that. So, you know, there's those sorts of historical things if you've got a bent towards that sort of tourism where you can get in and really explore some of the history of what makes Vietnam, you know, the country it is today. Yeah. And the people that is today and the influences from north to south, just how different they are, how it influences the food, clothing, you know, their farming styles, their eating styles, their… So socially they're different people. People used to say to me, you know, everyone says, what do you prefer? Do you prefer HCMC or Hanoi? And I used to prefer HCMC in because the people were a lot more relaxed in the south. I'm finding that the people in Hanoi now are becoming more relaxed because they're becoming more used to Westerners, you know, tourists and what they need to do. We're certainly talking about the old town who can area in that conversation. But and Ho Chi Minh is becoming now a major high rise sort of city with developments and there's a swing, although, you know, a lot of people in the south will tell you otherwise. But I do feel there's a lot more embracing of tourism and people in the north now and more acceptance and more openness and more smiles, more friendliness than there was 10 plus years ago. 34:09 Kerry Newsome Absolutely. Simon, I'm aware of time, so I'm just wanting to wrap up if we may. Do you have any last kind of comments that you'd like to talk to, you know, just around our main focus at land based travel? 34:27 Simon White Sure. I think the first thing is don't be scared to land in, you know, most international flights embark into An Ooi or Ho Chi Minh. Don't be scared just to say, look, I've got a couple of days of accommodation booked in a hotel or Airbnb or whatever it might be. Don't be scared not to do that. When you go to those cities, you will find every type of global food that you'd find anywhere else. You can have Thai food, Indian food, American hamburgers, steak houses, pasta, Italian, French, all those influences of food in there. So don't be scared if you've got dietary beliefs and you think you're going to land in Vietnam and have to eat just Vietnamese food for 30 days straight. Sometimes our Western bellies can't do that. So I think we've got to be cognizant that they are international cities. Everything you need is there. You know, you've probably touched before in other podcasts around things like, you know, medical services and insurance and all those things. But, you know, all those services you need are going to be there. My recommendation to people is also get yourself a local SIM card. I always have a Vietnamese SIM card I put in my main phone. So I've got all my data based stuff. And then I put my Australian SIM card in a secondary phone so I can still receive texts and phone calls from Australia if I need to from a business perspective. But I have a local SIM card. I put it in my Australian phone. And then I'm internet connected to all the apps and all the travel apps and all the things like that. Get on to, you know, without advertising, get on to Grab before you go and set up your Grab account because Grab is the way people get around if they're not using taxi. Absolutely. Swear by it. It's just your Uber equivalent. It's the same thing. It's a fantastic service. And don't be scared to, you know, to grab your water bottle and go for a walk. I spend a lot of time in Vietnam when I'm between work engagements, walking around the places I'm in. It doesn't matter where I am, but certainly in the cities. And I just say, look, you know, especially post COVID when I was there last year in May and then again in June, you know, September and October and December, I'd spend a lot of time just walking around, not in the middle of the day when it's 36 degrees, but in the evening. And I just put a shorts, t-shirt and a pair of joggers on. And I just walk up and down the streets and say, what's new? What's closed? What's not there anymore? And get a feel for what's going on in the city. Get into the vibe. Walk down the back alleyways, you know, the best places that you're ever going to find in those places, the back alleyways of the cities. 34:09 Kerry Newsome Absolutely. Absolutely. Simon, I'm aware of time, so I'm just wanting to wrap up if we may. Do you have any last kind of comments that you'd like to talk to, you know, just around our main focus at land based travel? 34:27 Simon White Sure. I think the first thing is don't be scared to land in, you know, most international flights embark into An Ooi or Ho Chi Minh. Don't be scared just to say, look, I've got a couple of days of accommodation booked in a hotel or Airbnb or whatever it might be. Don't be scared not to do that. When you go to those cities, you will find every type of global food that you'd find anywhere else. You can have Thai food, Indian food, American hamburgers, steak houses, pasta, Italian, French, all those influences of food in there. So don't be scared if you've got dietary beliefs and you think you're going to land in Vietnam and have to eat just Vietnamese food for 30 days straight. Sometimes our Western bellies can't do that. So I think we've got to be cognizant that they are international cities. Everything you need is there. You know, you've probably touched before in other podcasts around things like, you know, medical services and insurance and all those things. But, you know, all those services you need are going to be there. My recommendation to people is also get yourself a local SIM card. I always have a Vietnamese SIM card I put in my main phone. So I've got all my data based stuff. And then I put my Australian SIM card in a secondary phone so I can still receive texts and phone calls from Australia if I need to from a business perspective. But I have a local SIM card. I put it in my Australian phone. And then I'm internet connected to all the apps and all the travel apps and all the things like that. Get on to, you know, without advertising, get on to Grab before you go and set up your Grab account because Grab is the way people get around if they're not using taxi. Absolutely. Swear by it. It's just your Uber equivalent. It's the same thing. It's a fantastic service. And don't be scared to, you know, to grab your water bottle and go for a walk. I spend a lot of time in Vietnam when I'm between work engagements, walking around the places I'm in. It doesn't matter where I am, but certainly in the cities. And I just say, look, you know, especially post COVID when I was there last year in May and then again in June, you know, September and October and December, I'd spend a lot of time just walking around, not in the middle of the day when it's 36 degrees, but in the evening. 36:34 Kerry Newsome And I just put a shorts, t-shirt and a pair of joggers on. And I just walk up and down the streets and say, what's new? What's closed? What's not there anymore? And get a feel for what's going on in the city. Get into the vibe. Walk down the back alleyways, you know, the best places that you're ever going to find in those places, the back alleyways of the cities. And, you know, once again, that's another good point that you brought up. You know, I think Westerners have been trained or from a societal perspective, you don't go down alleys, you know, like, you know, alleys are dangerous and on that. Because I know just recently in Ho Chi Minh City, I was taking my sisters down this alley and they're going, Kerry, do you really know where you're going? Like, you know, we love you and all the rest of it, but seriously. And I go, now look, just trust me. And sure enough, we'd go down this alley and the next thing we're going up these stairs. And then, you know, we're in the cat in that building and there's beautiful boutiques and coffee shops and all of this. 37:37 Simon White Little coffee, little courtyards with trees and light food. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think, you know, I know time constraints, but look, the other thing is get out of Ho Chi Minh is district based like Paris, District 1. Yes. You know, get out of District 1. Go to, you know, don't go to Nestle District 5 for the backpack area is not the only place to go. But you get out of those places. Go out into District 3, District 10, whatever it might be. Have a little bit of a wander around, start in the daytime to make yourself feel comfortable. And, you know, you'll find things like a whole street of plumbing supplies and a whole street of coffee and a whole street of kitchen supplies. And it's amazing to get into those places. And that's why I say again, grab because you can get grab a motorbike. Yes. If you want to put, put your, they have a second helmet, whack it on, sit in the motorbike and say, I did this in Hanoi with some friends one year. I had 10 friends with me. We got, we just walked down the road. We got 10 grab guys. We said, how much for four hours? Take us around town. And they took us all over town. Ended up being six hours. We went to an amazing restaurant that you'd never find unless you're a local for lunch. Yeah. We, you know, you just saw all these things that you wouldn't see by going down all the back alleys and they ain't stopping. And the experience, that's the experience of Vietnam. It's not sit in my international hotel and talk to other travelers while I have an air conditioned buffet breakfast. You know, it's, it's, you know, when I stay in Vietnam, we're staying in Hichimin now. I stay in an Airbnb apartment where I now know the guys that runs it. So I talked to him directly. It's a two bedroom apartment. It's in an old alleyway. I have ladies who have got five or six different choices of dish all day, every day down downstairs as I walk out with braziers. I've got a coffee shop on the same floor. I've got a Japanese restaurant downstairs. I've got a pizza place downstairs. I've got, you know, noodle place around the corner. I've got anything I want within a hundred meters, but I'm a part of Vietnam's ecosystem. I'm not sitting in international hotel in a dog box room that's decorated like every other hotel in the world. 39:38 Kerry Newsome And I walk out of my room and I've got 50 stairs up and down. So that's okay. But I'm walking up and down with the locals who live in that apartment block. Yeah. And I think if you want to feel like you've been to Vietnam, that's what you've got to do. I think a lot of people do stick with their favorite brands in hotels and they want that luxury experience. And, you know, that sensory overload for some is just a little bit too much to take on. But I think and one thing I really want to encourage people is that you probably most likely not 100% not going to see or feel all of Vietnam in one visit. It's just kind of impossible to get to everywhere in one visit, in my opinion. I think if you can kind of stage it and say, look, let's let's just do the north and have a look at the north or, you know, let's have a look at some of the main areas in the south or maybe concentrate just in a region, maybe the center and the north. 40:44 Simon White And look, you know, the other thing is we've got we've now got, you know, three three direct airline flights in and out of Australia. We've got three three brands now flying directly. And as of as of June, Vietjet flies directly from Brisbane to Ho Chi Minh City, which is great. Correct. But we've got in Sydney and Melbourne, we've got Vietjet, Bamboo and Vietnam Airlines flying direct flights. So there's lots of choices at lots of prices, lots of different travel levels there. And I think you've got to get you've got to walk past those alleyways and look at them and walk. No one's going to have a gauge. No one's going to no one's going to mug you walking down an alley in the daytime in Vietnam. I often say, look, you know, sometimes I used to say to my my friends and family, I feel like my spaceship just landed because I must have to look at you. But that doesn't matter. You know, I just smile and I walk down and I find the best places. I found some amazing little bars, amazing coffee shops and the restaurants. There's one place I go to in off past and Ho Chi Minh City. And I walk up four flights of stairs past people's washing and apartments and outdoor kitchens to get to this. To find it. Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. The feel of those places is, you know, look at the steps and people have been walking up and down those steps for 100 years. Yeah. You know, with their lifestyles and you look out across the rooftops and the chimney stacks and the hot water systems and the cats. And, you know, I remember being in a panoramic one, roosters crowing next door next to the hotel on the rooftop. And there's a cat on the other side of two dogs barking. You know, it's being amongst that stuff that makes Vietnam different than Australia. Even if the rooster's waiting at 5.30, get up, go out, yell at it, get up and enjoy it and walk around the town. Vietnam has different times of day that it opens up. Five o'clock in the morning, four o'clock, five o'clock, six o'clock in the morning, all the people go off to work for the early day. And you walk outside and it's a different world. But then you hit the middle of the day and all the 10 or 11 o'clock and all the shops and all the shutters go up and everything started to open up from a point of view of commerce. And then, of course, as you go into the evening and Vietnamese people will come back out again because there's no sun because they don't like the sun. So therefore the whole new world, the lights, the motorbikes, the young people, the bars, the coffee shops. I've been on the street sitting on the little kids tables and chairs on streets in towns and cities eating and suddenly a motorbike pulls up and two or three young girls get off the back with a boombox and they start dancing on the street promoting a nightclub somewhere. And they get back on again and they ride off. Just totally random stuff happens. And you sit, don't be scared to go into those little cafes and sit on the kids tables and chairs because you'll eat the best food. I was going to say, I've only ever been sick once in Vietnam in almost 20 years in 60 plus trips. And it was an international five star hotel breakfast buffet where the capsicum for the omelette was off. I've never been sick with street food. I've never had a bad, you know, never, ever had a bad meal in Vietnam. I've had a couple of average ones, but never had a bad meal. And those little cafes on the street, they put the tables and chairs out at night time and you sit down and you don't go in the kitchen. You don't know about it. But look at the food and you will find some of the most amazing fresh food. And, you know, pre-Vietnam, I would never have eaten snails. I would never have eaten duck egg embryos. I would never have eaten goats, goat meat, barbecued and all these other amazing things. But when you start into those sorts of food in Vietnam, right now, I'm salivating in my mouth thinking of going back to Vietnam. And every time I get on the plane here to go, I start thinking about what am I going to eat each day and what flavor is going to be. And I start getting hungry because there's, you know, you get the most unsuspecting meals in the most unsuspecting places by just sitting down in some little cafe and trying to work out. I've got a bit of Vietnamese, but, you know, work out what is on the menu. Do some sign language about what it is you're about to eat and say, look, I'll just have that. And then don't worry about what it is. Dip it in whatever's with it. And it's just amazing. Every time it's just amazing. Oh, no. And that's the experience of Vietnam. And ask that the young kids will come up and I say, you know, go get me a beer, will you? And they'll go across to the shop and buy beer. Come back. You know, I remember sitting on the beach in Nha Trang years ago. Lady came up with, you know, the stick across the shoulders with two pots. She had lobster with her son. You know, I was at the sailing club on the on the on the Lilo's out there. And she came up and she put down the grass, the reed mat, sat down, pulled it out, pulled out a fresh lobster. She just bought it from markets that day, marinated it, put the brazier down, cooked the lobster. And someone up and bought some beers at the shop and brought them back. And I sat there and had fresh cooked lobster with rice vegetables, corn on the brazier, sweet potato on the brazier and beer on the beach. And it cost me like $5. 45:45 Kerry Newsome I was going to say it cost you about $5. Yeah, I was going to say. 45:50 Simon White Don't be scared. Don't be scared to get involved. No one's trying to rip you off. You know, even the guys who even the guys who walk around polish your shoes just because they run off of the shoes. But, you know, they're just trying to make a living. They're just trying to make a living. They're not there to scam you. They're just trying to make a living. Stay away from offers of drugs. Stay away from offers of, you know, pool parlors and young girls and karaoke and that sort of thing. When people go past on motorbikes. But don't be scared of the old guys that say, do you want a motorbike? Because those old guys are made everything that moves in that town. 46:22 Kerry Newsome You're in everywhere. Simon, I'm so glad to have you on because you kind of support and speak of with a passion and love of Vietnam as I feel. So I feel like I'm vindicated just by having you on. So that's really terrific. 46:41 Simon White I have to say, you know, I really appreciate the conversation. It teases out. You know, I visualize these experiences. I talk about them and, you know, I'm just sitting here saying I better get on my next trip. I want to experience those things, you know, and I want to go and go and do those things again. And look, every my son will come in from the other room and listening to the end of our conversation here. And he always says, you know, what are we going back when we go back? Because he's always thinking about what the next experience is. 47:11 Kerry Newsome Yes. And, you know, I have a bit of withdrawal when I come back because, you know, I bit like you. I get out and about and I experience these things. So, you know, life back here sometimes feels a little bit vanilla after, you know, time in Vietnam. So it takes a little bit of reconditioning when you get back because the experiences and the energy and the people, the openness or all of that just is it gets under your skin. 47:42 Simon White The French used to call it Indochina Malad, which is, you know, the Indochina sickness that you catch and never want to go home. Yeah. Yeah, they used to call it Indochina sickness. And, you know, with Cambodia and Vietnam, you know, as parts of France many years ago. But and French people have disappeared and just never come back, you know. But I think that, you know, my advice is when you're coming back and you go, I'm going to miss that, is book the next trip before you come back. Yeah, I do. I sit in Vietnam. I do too. Because I start to look forward to what happens on the next one. 48:17 Kerry Newsome Simon, thank you so much for coming on the show. We'll leave it there. But I look forward to talking with you again and just thank you for your time and sharing some of your experiences. It's been wonderful. 49.00 Simon White - Thank you so much. What about Vietnam.

6ba55c6c-2c3e-40fb-a5c1-e03d00a8882b8 Tips for Vietnam travellers during TET 8 Tips for travel during Tet Episode 7 S1-07 8 Tips for travel during Tet 00:00 / 29:27 Today's episode is particularly special as we delve into the vibrant celebration of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year and what that means for Vietnamese and you as a traveller during this time period. Drawing from my personal experiences in Vietnam, I've compiled 8 essential tips for travelers to help you navigate and appreciate Tet's rich traditions while planning your trip effectively. Tet is a time of giving, gratitude, and family, marking the advent of spring and a fresh start. It's important to note that Tet dates vary each year according to the lunar calendar, with upcoming years being January 29th for 2025 (Year of the Snake), and February 17th for 2026 (Year of the Horse). In this show I highlight my most important tips for travellers to ensure they enjoy their stay during this time and manage their expectations. Here are the TOP 8 tips” 1. Buy Travel Tickets Early: Tet sees a massive movement of people, so secure your travel tickets in advance to avoid being stranded. 2. Arrive Early for Departures: Expect long queues at transportation hubs, as many will be carrying gifts for their loved ones. 3. Carry All Travel Documentation: With skeleton staff during Tet, having all your paperwork in order is crucial for a smooth journey. 4. Manage Expectations: The lead-up to Tet is bustling, but actual Tet days can be very quiet with many places closed. 5. Check Hotel Services: Confirm with your accommodation which services will be available during Tet. 6. Use Facebook for Communication: Many businesses in Vietnam use Facebook to communicate with customers, especially during Tet. 7. Be Cautious with Restaurant Choices: Menus may be limited, and food freshness can vary due to supply disruptions. 8. Ensure You Have Enough Cash: Banks and ATMs may not be operational, so having cash on hand is essential. Find out my own personal advice on how best to manage your travel arrangements. If you do plan your trip to be in Vietnam why not embrace the local customs, try traditional foods like chung cake or Tet cake, and learn a few festive greetings to show your respect and appreciation for Vietnamese culture. For those planning a trip in 2025 or beyond, consider these insights to decide whether traveling during Tet aligns with your preferences. Personally, I prefer traveling before or after Tet to allow the Vietnamese to celebrate this significant time without the intrusion of tourism. For more details and assistance with trip planning, check the show notes or reach out to me directly. Wishing you a fantastic travel experience in Vietnam! Remember, Tet is not just a holiday; it's a profound cultural experience that offers a glimpse into the heart of Vietnam. Whether you choose to travel during this time or not, understanding and respecting the local traditions will undoubtedly enrich your journey. See future years, dates and Zodiac for TET in the table in the gallery. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S5-E3- Heritage and discovery in Saigon, The Mekong Delta and Dalat What About Vietnam – S5-E3 – Heritage and discovery in Saigon, The Mekong Delta and Dalat 00:00 Kerry Newsome Xin chào and welcome to the What About Vietnam podcast. Today I'm talking to Vicky Thai from Utah, USA. Hello to all my listeners in Utah. I have heaps actually, it's quite surprising, but really lovely and hello to everyone. Now Vicky is a very special lady with a history that I feel sure will come to bare during the show. And it speaks to her reason for going to Vietnam in the first place, and it calls to attention a little bit more about her heritage. But that's for Vicky to tell and reveal in this show. Vicky and I have become quite close over the past six months as she engaged my trip planning services through What About Vietnam to create her trip to Vietnam with her mum. As part of What About Vietnam, or WAV as we call it, I offer trip planning services, which is loads of fun and something I get really involved with as I get to create wonderful trips for people using my knowledge and accessing quality tour operators I know in Vietnam that will deliver exceptional services. The delight is hearing afterwards how the trips went and what were the highlights. You find detail that you just can't get in a guidebook. You find insights from people and I think the value in that is knowing that it sounds real, it sounds true, it sounds correct, and obviously it's got some bias from the people that give up their stories on the show, but at least you can be sure it's real and true. The What About Vietnam website features these travel services. I do charge a small fee to do that, but please feel free to reach out to me any time. So before we jump into the show, I'd just like to tell you a little bit more about Vicky. As I said, Vicky lives in Sandy, Utah, USA. She is in the healthcare technology industry in sales for a global company. The platform is Android and they have 55% of the global Android enterprise market share. Outside of healthcare, her company targets Fortune 500 companies and within healthcare. They target the larger hospital networks to provide clinicians with technology that improves patient care and satisfaction. Wahoo for that. She is a former runner, however, more recently she has got into the practice of hot yoga. Three cheers to you Vicky for hot yoga. She loves to travel and each year she will take off with a close friend picking a city, an area they haven't been to, and then they just go for it enjoying local food and spas as they traverse through the city. She describes herself as a definite foodie, an adventurous eater, but no to any bugs. Totally with you there. Vicky is ethnically Chinese but born in Vietnam. Now this is where her story and that of her mom becomes even more interesting. She immigrated to the States when she was four years old. In the past she said she never really had an interest in Vietnam. It wasn't until her mom had both of her knees replaced and witnessed some vulnerabilities there that she saw the opportunity to travel with her may not come up and wouldn't offer any guarantees. So she better make an effort to put it on the bucket list and get on and do it. So thus she reached out to me through What About Vietnam to help her create the trip. And the trip was to have some very special places of interest that it had to be included in the itinerary. These included Saigon, the Mekong Delta and Dalat which we will focus as a main city in this episode. Vicky's going to be able to give us some insights that I think you wouldn't get from anyone else. So I'm really, really happy that she's coming on to do that. It's been a delight to deal with Vicky. She says after completing the trip end of May just gone, that's 2023, it was a decision she will never regret or forget. I think we're going to find out more about how this trip evoked some emotions and some understanding of her heritage. She said when I've thought about my heritage in the past it was basically just in passing, just facts, no emotions. After visiting Vietnam in May, interacting with the people, the landscape and their commerce, it made me feel very proud of my heritage. I hope to be back within the next couple of years. So I think this is going to be a very special episode. It's one I've been looking forward to doing. I think we're going to hear some reflections from Vicky as how it opened her eyes to this country, her country of birth, and just how her perceptions maybe had been shaped and what she and her mom found on the other side. So Vicky, welcome to the What About Vietnam podcast. It's lovely to have you on the show. 05:42 Vicki Thai Thank you so much, Harry, and thank you so much for the invite. I'm really excited to talk about our experience in Vietnam and how it really broadened my views of it. Like you mentioned in the past, I really never gave it second thought, but this trip has changed everything and how I view Vietnam. It was so amazing. As you know, my brother and his family has booked a trip with you for December. So clearly my mom and I were that convincing after coming back from our trip. And so I have another brother who is going to reach out a little bit later. His wife had unexpected brain surgery a few weeks ago. And so I think that's, you know, like with my mom's experience, that's really opened his eyes as well. And so it was just an amazing experience. 06:28 Kerry Newsome I’m excited to talk to you about it. And like, you know, not everybody has your interesting background. So I'm wondering if you can share with us just a little bit of a story, maybe starting with your mom and that trip that took her to settle in the U.S. You as a four-year-old, you know, like any memories that you have of arriving into the States and just how you were assimilated into the U.S.? 07:00 Vicki Thai Sure, absolutely. So I'm going to take it a step further and talk about my grandparents. So my grandparents on both sides actually are from China and immigrated to Vietnam to start businesses. My grandparents on my dad's side, they were cobblers or they made shoes. And then on my mom's side, they were bakers. And apparently their baker became so famous. And then they opened aquariums. And so they were very established within the Vietnam community. And then, you know, of course, then that's where my mom was born in Bailup, which is the suburb of Dulat, and why we went back there specifically on the trip in May. And then I was actually my, so I'm the youngest of four. So and then we were actually born in Saigon. And I believe we lived in District 5. And, you know, the pictures I showed you, they were District 5. And then, you know, during the Vietnam War, interesting story, my dad was an accountant for the U.S. Embassy. And so during communist regime, they have a tendency to kidnap anyone associated with Americans because there's this belief that America is paid with gold, everyone has money, right? And so they would hold the kids for ransom. And so my last name, Ty, is actually my mom's family's last name. So they could not connect us kids to my dad. Wow. And so yeah. And so because my grandparents on my mom's side was so established, we were pretty safe with the last name, Ty, right? And so during the war, what ended up happening is everyone was leaving, right? You hear both people all the time and you hear the stories. Well, they're all true, right? And some of the stories are horrendous. Ours was not great, but compared to others that I've heard, you know, it's a walk in the park. So my grandparents, my mom's side being established, they actually rented a boat for the family and friends. And my dad was actually asked to join them. And the thought was you leave the country, you go to a refugee camp, you go to your final destination, right? Ours is the U.S. And then he would sponsor the rest of the family over. So my mom and my four, and the four kids over. Well, along the Thailand coast, and you hear about pirates all the time, right? So at nighttime, the boat's dock and the pirates come out. And so our boat was targeted and all the men are thrown overboard. All the women were tied up and they ransacked and stole, right? Because when you leave the country, we can take with you, you're gonna take money, you're gonna take jewelry, you're gonna take all of that stuff. They ransacked and took all of that stuff. My dad was thrown overboard. And so, and then my uncles heard him screaming, they swam over and he was gone. So we lost my dad on his way to the, you know, to leave Vietnam. And so a telegram, my grandpa sent a telegram to my grandma. My grandma went and talked to my mom. And so we've lost our dad. And so within six months we were leaving again. My grandma said to my mom, you and your kids need to live. You don't have a life here, right? And so we left. We were on a refugee camp for, I think in Indonesia, for like six months. And then we immigrated to the U.S. And so I was four when we got here, you know, your language is developed, but not to the point where you're fluent. And so English was my language. I always spoke to my mom in English and just basically assimilated. And that's why I think when you're talking about my bio, I didn't really have a connection to Vietnam because I was so young, right? And my language, right? And I can tell you, I understand Vietnamese and I can order off the menu, right? And I speak broken Cantonese, but that's basically it, right? And so, you know, if you were to talk to people here, they're like, oh, you're just American, right? And it was funny when we were in Vietnam, our tour guide in Mekong Delta is like, and I was saying, like, thank you in Vietnamese. He's like, oh, you have an English accent. You have an American accent. And so you never think of that. And so, you know, and that's just, just, you know, I think it was just we came over and we're so young. So I was four, the oldest was nine, right? And so we basically have spent the bulk of our lives here. And, you know, I tell you, I'm 49. So I've been here basically my whole life, right? And so you really, you know, growing up, I think you hear more of that, what are you? Right? And then you hear like the racist, like little jokes that little kids do, you know, and it's very common. I know within the US and I'm sure within the rest of the world where your Asian name is different. And so it's harder to pronounce. So you change it. So I change, I picked Vicky in third grade, right? Don't ask why my ethnic name is Thanh, like Tanya, but it's spelled T-H-A-N-H, right? And I'm sure you see that name when you're in Vietnam, right? In America, it's harder to pronounce. And so you change that. What year was it when you got out of Indonesia? Was it, do you know what year that was? It was in the 80s. So we got to the US early 81. All right. And how old would your mom have been at that time? My dad died when she was 31. And so not long after she took us and the, you know, my dad's aunt who was basically our nanny, then we left Vietnam to come to the, well, and here's the thing. When you go to a refugee camp, you really don't know where your final destination is, right? It could be Australia. It could be, it's just wherever your sponsors are. But yeah, but we landed in Utah in early 81. Is there a big community of Vietnamese in Utah? Yeah. Well, supposedly there is because we are getting Asian supermarkets. We're getting Asian bakeries. We're getting Asian drink shops all over the Salt Lake Valley. And so I remember my sister-in-law and I, who's also Asian, were saying, I didn't know there were so many Asians here, right? But if you were to talk to people who are very vested in the Asian community, they will tell you our Asian community is blowing up. That's why so many, you know, are coming here. When we say Asians, are you talking about the broad spectrum of Asians, like from all countries? So we're talking all of Southeast Asia kind of. Yeah. Yeah. Including China. If you think about it, including China. And you know, even though we're all very different, we eat a lot of the same food. 13:28 Kerry Newsome I have such a huge percentage of listeners. So like I have over 60,000 listens of the show and it grows at around about a thousand a week. And what became unusual for me was to think, why would people in Utah be listening to this podcast about Vietnam? And I did a little bit of digging and the more I dug away and, you know, thank God for Google, to find out that in 1975 onwards, that Utah as a state was one of the few in America that did take and was willing to accept a lot of Vietnam refugees. The community, I think, stemmed from, and that's why I was intrigued with your story when we first got together, was, and particularly when you were mentioning about your mum wanting to come back, I had that thought, I was thinking, gee, I wonder whether in the mix of things, this is how this has come about. But this was also where American GIs had, you know, formed relationships with Vietnamese women and they wanted to bring them as their partners back and their families, et cetera. So there was a few particular states that kind of welcomed with open arms the Vietnamese into the US at that time. So that's kind of what I know to add to this little equation. Interest. There you go. You go to Vietnam in 2023, the first time you've been back since you were four and since she was 30. So you're going in almost, not blind, but a really open mind. Or did your mum say, oh, look, this is something I really need to do, or this is something I really want to find out about? Because I know we talked a little bit about it when we did the trip plan, so I know it, but my listeners don't. So let's go down that path a little bit. So share some of the things that she wanted to see and do and that you wanted to make sure happened. 15:41 Vicki Thai Sure. Absolutely. So for clarification, my mum has gone back to Vietnam, I believe, twice in our 40 something years within the US, but it's been a very long time ago. And in the past, she went with her friends. And, you know, as you know, with a lot of Asians, right, they are very good with their money. So when they go back, they stay with family. And even the best accommodations, possibly in Vietnam, is very different from what we have in the Western side, right? And so did she enjoy it? You know, I'm not sure. But, you know, she was always happy to come home, right? Let's just say that. And so for my mum, it was to, you know, she's 75, right? And you don't, you know, at a certain age, you don't have that many more opportunities ahead of you, because after a while, maybe, you know, your health breaks down a little bit and sitting on a flight for 20 plus hours is going to be very difficult, right? And then also, she just had her knees replaced. And for me, it was spending time with my mum, right? Because it's an experience, right? We could go around town here, but it's very normal. This is different. Yeah, it's bonding. This is something I can share with her. And I can see her where she grew up, so I can better understand sometimes. You know, we don't always mess well. She would say things, I'm like, that doesn't make sense. And she's like, well, if you understood how I grew up, you know, you would be more sympathetic or understanding about it. And here's the thing, because I didn't grow up that way, I'm not going to understand. And so it was just an opportunity. And then also, after, you know, with my mum, it'd be nice to really know where I came from, right? Because all I know is the US. I'm all American, right? That's all I know, right? And so that was the deciding point. And that was when the ball got rolling with contacting you. 17:33 Kerry Newsome There was really specific locations. And I want to now start to talk about those locations, because I think, you know, everyone listening is going to be fascinated about these locations. Now, let's start with Saigon. Did Saigon blow your hair back when you got there? 17:51 Vicki Thai I loved it. I loved it. I loved the hustle and bustle. I love city life, right? And then like, I would go to the more remote for quote unquote, a vacation or a break. But I love city life. I love the sounds. I love the smell. I love the people. It was it blew my mind. And I think all the scooters at one time blew my mind. And I remember saying to our tour guide, I said, I can never drive here because I would kill, you know, two or three scooter people at every drive. And she's like, oh, you'll get used to it when you live here. But I just loved it. I loved how everything was so close. And I loved how if you want to eat a certain food, there is a street and there's all these restaurants that just sells that. I'm going to be honest, I loved it. That is a city that's close to my heart. I can tell you, you know, anytime I go back, that is I will never miss that city. It just felt so at home to me. 18:34 Kerry Newsome Look, I'm really glad you've said that about Saigon, because a lot of people skip Saigon. It's like a little bit too overwhelming or whatever. I think it's got over the years better. I mean, it's embraced commercialism to the absolute max, but it's got a vibe. It's got an energy. I agree with you. I get a grab bike and I, you know, I'm on that bike in two seconds flat around the corner, you know, the best coffee, coffee houses everywhere. Yeah, I'm really glad that you had that experience because I wasn't sure because I have such a mix in my suite of people who want to visit Vietnam. And some just go, oh, you know, the bikes, the pollution, the rubbish, you know, all of those things. And they're all there. They're all definitely there. But you either are a type of person and you go, I'm going to just embrace this and go with it. 19:40 Vicki Thai And I was really glad to hear that you did. Right. And it was funny because we had a couple when we were going to the Mekong Delta. So the shuttle picked us up. Right. And so they picked us up first and then we went to their hotel. They're a British couple. And every year they take, you know, global trips. And one of the things that they said to us, and I will never forget it, just because we were just talking about how much I love the hustle and bustle of Saigon. And they said Saigon is exactly where Singapore was 10 years ago. And then we all hear about Singapore now. Right. And so I'm really excited, you know, to each time I go back to see how Saigon transforms. Right. And then maybe eventually 10 years, they will be, you know, the Singapore of, you know, Asia. But it was just really interesting. And I just, I just loved it. I just, I love the hustle and bustle. I just loved all of them. 20:29 Kerry Newsome . No, I can remember where there was a time where there was no malls. There was, the shopping was very, very limited to Ben Thanh markets. And that whole experience was just at a really basic level, but it's so sophisticated. Now I've had, I've been to fine dining restaurants that would rival any restaurant that you would find in the US or here in Australia. Like the food was just absolutely fabulous. The service, I get blown away. I think you also had a really good guide in Saigon. 21:02 Vicki Thai . Oh, yes. Thuy was phenomenal. My mom and I are just like, who is like that? Right. It's like, I believe I'm a pretty nice person, but she blows me. I'm mediocre compared to her. You know, she's just so thorough. She is so caring. You know, I tell you what, I can't speak enough of her. And as you know, I requested specifically that with my brother's family, you know, if they should have Tui as their tour guide. Yeah, she is phenomenal. She is, my mom, I think considers her as her fifth child, you know, just because the hospitality there is one of the things that I think one of the highlights of the trip, and I think I mentioned to you, is our tour guides. You know, Tui was exceptional, you know, on any respect, right? But, you know, even our tour guide on the Mekong Delta, he was phenomenal. Our tour guides and their drivers. It was just, I just could not believe these people, the hospitality, the kindness, right? And I really feel like, you know, we could all talk about tour guides and then we've, I think we've all experienced tour guides who clearly don't want to be there. It's a job. None of our tour guides, yeah, yeah, none of our tour guides like that. And I just think to myself, if I just had people after people coming day after day, could I keep this up? I'm not sure I can, right? And so I, and that's one of the things that I love. And I mentioned it to my family and my part of it, that's made me so proud of my heritage is that just the kindness of the people, right? Because growing up, we always hear about how poor Vietnam is and how uneducated the people are, right? And all that stuff. And just being there in May, it blew me away because they were educated, they were kind, they were well spoken. And, you know, here's the thing, they spoke English to me and they spoke Vietnamese to my mom, you know, without a hitch. And so I will tell you that the people there are so kind, are so good. It was, it would not, you would not consider people in a developing country like Vietnam to be as, I don't want to say classy, but I'm going to use that term because I can't think of another, as classy and thoughtful as the people and the tour guides that we had in Vietnam. And Tuy was, I mean, they were all phenomenal, but Thuy is at the top. 23:22 Kerry Newsome When you go to a foreign country, the people and how you are treated to me, uh, says a lot about the country itself. Now, I mean, we both know the history of Vietnam and just how the country has been through so much, and yet they can still welcome us so warmly, so friendly, so openly, so generously. I feel the Vietnamese have a generous spirit and they, you know, they will, nothing, nothing is too much trouble. Service is just. 24:13 Vicki Thai Yeah. Well, it's like what we're talking about. It's for, you know, for maybe in Australia and the West, you know, and the U S it's a, it's a job, right? And where I just, you know, I never felt like we were imposing. I never felt that, um, you know, we were asking for too much. I never, they never made us feel that way. And it was so welcoming. I remember we stepped off the plane, right? It was a 24 hour flight. Tuy picked us up and it was like 10 30 at night. And she just waved and I was just like, you know, and then the first thing she says is happy birthday. And I looked at her. I was like, how did you know? She was like, it was on your passport. And it was like, it's just the little things, right? And I think, you know, it being in sales and for you working with the public so much, it's, it's always accumulation of little things that adds up to a really big thing. Definitely. And I think Vietnam exemplifies that with their people. I'm keen to hear what you thought of the Mekong Delta and what story and history you got around that area. So we did the Mekong Delta cruise, right? On Mekong ice. And I tell you, um, you know, our tour guide was Jonathan there. He was phenomenal. He was just phenomenal. So friendly, so educated on everything. And the thing I love about the Mekong Delta, what it was, you know, we're on the cruise and we're just going by and then you see so many homes, you know, on, on the coast of it. And so many are just so very run down, right? And some of it breaks your heart because you realize, you know, he actually lived this way, right? And then, but we went to, you know, we stopped and we did this walking tour and it's all these tropical fruits. And we went to this house and they have this huge, oh my God, I can't even imagine this garden with fruits, vegetables, everything. And the people were just so kind. I'm not sure I can sit and cut fruit for people every day, multiple times and have a smile on my face. You know, strangers coming to your house, eating your fruit, right? And it was, I tell you, it was just phenomenal. And, you know, and there's just, there was something about Jonathan that he was just so kind. And I just remember he liked talking to my mom because my mom's a jokester. She's not that way with her kids, but she's that way with others, right? You know, I was just talking to him and he is just like, you know, I love talking to your mom because it reminds me of this and I said, oh, that's nice, right? And one of the things that, and it really like, it really, you know, touched me. He was like, she reminds me of my mom. And I said, oh, how nice, right? And then he was just like, and here's the thing, his mom died in 2017. And here my mom is, and he was like, her voice sounds like her, the way she jokes sounds like her, everything. And after I heard that, I'm like, talk to her all you want, you know, because it was like, and I could tell my mom was enjoying it because she's in her element, right? Because English, she understands a lot of it, but not as much as Vietnamese. And so it was, I loved it. We went to the floating market, which I, you know, just watching the people and you think to yourself, oh my God, how do you make a life out of it? Right. And Jonathan was saying, so when the kids, I said, well, when the kids, where do they go to school? And he was like, well, they don't go to school. Right. And I said, well, where do they bait? You know, he's like, well, they'll jump in the Delta. I'm like, it was like, if you and I were to jump in, we would come out, I'll itch you, right? But they're so accustomed to it. And then I was just like, you learn all this stuff. And I said, well, these boats, like the pineapple couple boat, I said, is there a bathroom in there? And he was like, no, he was like, do you see these ladies with their boats? They're like taxis. And so if you need to use a restroom, they build it, you know, at a certain area and they take them there. And I just thought to myself, oh my God, what a tough life, but they're choosing it. And you just have to think to yourself, God, props to you for, you know, he said a lot of the pineapple, they actually have a home on the mainland, right? But they choose to live on the boat because it's more simple. I don't know about you, Carrie, but I would not be, you know, choosing to leave my home to live on a boat where I have to take a taxi to use the restroom. You know what I mean? A water taxi. And you just have to think to yourself, number one, how tough they are. And the love for living a simple life, they're willing to give up modern necessities or modern conveniences to this life. So for people like us, touring can climb on their boat to have some pineapple. You know, you just have to give them props for that because they're choosing to live a life that's far more difficult than a life that you and I would ever choose. 28:52 Kerry Newsome You've got to also think that it's kind of in their DNA. You know, they have come from that heritage. So they intrinsically know it so well. Like you and I, we'd be falling out of the boats. We'd be, you know, wanting to go to the toilet every 10 minutes. So we'd be getting, we would be an absolute pain in the neck. I know I would be. So I think also where it's challenging for the future, when I've talked to various guides and I've been a couple of times now, is that it is a dying industry per se because the children that they're having are getting better educated as obviously they want them to be. So they don't want to come back and earn a living on those boats. They don't want to have those inconveniences of life. They want, you know, they want the modern future. And so there's probably only about a hundred or so families that now choose that and continue that. So, you know, it's not going to be there for much longer, which is a little bit sad, but you can, that's progress, I guess, in its most basic form. But it's fascinating, isn't it, to see it and to realize that this is happening. This is not a show. This is not like put on just for tourists. This goes on whether I come and visit it or see it anyway. It's day to day existence and livelihood for a lot of people. So I'm glad you got to see that because it's just even a good measurement back for yourself when you come back to your own country and you've got all the mod cons and you've got, you know, your life, you go, oh my God. 30:44 Vicki Thai Well, it certainly makes you appreciate what you have in your life, right? Because I don't have to call a water taxi to use the restroom, you know? 30:52 Kerry Newsome All right. So then we moved you to Dalat and I really want you to go all out on Dalat because it's the one city amongst all my podcasts that I haven't really found the right person to talk about. I've been myself, but I really wanted someone that had a reason to go there and had some history about the place. And guess what? That's you. So tell us about Dalat. 31:21 Vicki Thai Yeah. So Dalat is a city my mom grew up in with her family. And so, I mean, not only did her family start the bakery and their business in Saigon, but they actually started in Dalat, then moved to the larger city. And so they were successful in Dalat as well. And so I wanted to go back to see where my mom grew up. Right. And, you know, it's like, maybe it could explain something. Right. And I tell you what, it was nothing that I expected. It was first off, amazingly beautiful. It was, I mean, I remember our driver and tour guide. I'm like, where are we going? Right. Because it was like, we're on the freeways and also we exit and we're like in this forest. And I said, I thought we're going to Dalat and they're like, yeah, we are. And I was like, what are you guys talking about? And so I'm thinking, oh my God, we're going to this, you know, one horse town, one stoplight, you know, we're going to have to dig our own place to use the restroom. And so we're just driving through the, you know, driving through and it's just beautiful. It was just, and then you see some, you know, some farmers on the side and I was just like, oh my God, this is so beautiful. And then before you know it, you drive in, you take a curve and this, this city just rises up to meet you, you know? And I was just like, okay, this is not what I expected. And we're driving through and it's this bustling city. It's not like Saigon, right? There, I mean, there are scooters, but it's, it's, it's, it's a slower pace, but it's not slow, right? Don't think it's country. It's not. And then there's still the food, the markets, everything, but it's just a different feel. I, you know, I was thinking about this the other day and it was maybe it's more of a calming city where, and you know, and I think I mentioned it, you could see the difference, right? In our tour guides, like Thuy is very high energy and our Dalat tour guide, he's very high energy too, but there's also a calmness about him. And I, and you can actually relate that to Dalat because that's how it is. It's this bustling city, but there's this underlying calmness about it as well, you know? And it was, I have to say it was beautiful. It was very lush. There's commerce, but not like you see in Saigon where it's just hustle, bustle. You know, the streets are cleaner, I believe. And the people are friendlier, I think, right? They're less city because I live in the city. I get it, right? They were just, you know, it was an amazing experience. And then there's this fog that I just, it's probably one of the most peaceful things I've ever seen. You have this hustle and bustle of the city and then you see like this layer of fog, just kind of like, and it's just, it's such a contrast, I think, the city is because there's this calmness about it, but then there's also a lot of activity going on. I loved it and the climate was different. Saigon was hot. Yeah, Saigon is just hot. I mean, I remember I just continually sweat. And, but Delac, it's warm, right? They call it cold. Our tour guides wearing a jacket. It was kind of funny, right? And here I am in shorts and a tank top, you know. But there is just, there's a difference humanity about the city that's different from the larger, more hustle and bustle. I agree. You know, and, and it's beautiful. And there's a lot more colonial architecture, I believe is, is the right way to say it, right? Well, colonial and there's also a lot of French, there's more European influence. Yes. Yeah. 34:52 Kerry Newsome And it's very pretty. It's, it's a pretty city. Did you see the purple? Very hilly. 35.00 Vicki Thai Yeah, it's very hilly, right? And I just, I tell you what, and it was just a different feel. It's a city. Don't get me wrong. It's not country. There's nothing country about it, right? It was beautiful. And I think it's like Saigon, you have to really hustle and get to where you need to be. I think Dalat, you could really dilly dally and linger and just, you know, walk and enjoy the scenery. I think that is more expected and accepted in Dalat than you would have in Saigon. 35:26 Kerry Newsome I'll tell you what I know about it and see whether it matches up with you. It's, it's very well known to be a romantic city. So a lot of Vietnamese go there. And if it's got the vibe that you're talking about, they go there for the honeymoons. So ,it's chosen for a lot of Vietnamese as their honeymoon resort place to visit. And I think that's also because it's cooler. So that kind of helps. And it's very pretty. And they've got the beautiful lake and they've got that purple restaurant there. I don't know whether you remember that. I remember that. Yeah. But the other things that I noticed about it was its fruit and the size of the fruit. And they do a lot of things like jams and things like that, which is really unusual for Vietnam, but it's one of the very few places. There was strawberries the size of apples. They would just, I couldn't believe them. Like one strawberry would consume me like one apple. It was just, and you know how you love the pineapple in the Mekong Delta? Well, to me, those strawberries, if I could have taken them home with me, I would have. And then they have beautiful gardens and they have beautiful flowers and they have what they call their “Everlastings. And these are flowers that are said to never die. Now I thought like someone's pulling my leg here, like seriously, but these flowers are real flowers. They're not imitations, but they are said to never die. Why or how? There's a mystery behind it. I never got to the bottom of it, but you're right. In the hills, the beautiful scenery, beautiful scenery, and I got to visit some of the waterfalls. And my favorite waterfall was Pongour. That's P-O-N-G-O-U-R. If I was sending people to Dalat, I would definitely be sending them into the hills. So talk a little bit about your stay. 37:43 Vicki Thai Yeah. So we stayed, I forget the name. You're going to jump in and tell me what that accommodation was in Dalat. Ana Mandara. It was a dream. I tell you what, if you think of a, number one, the service was impeccable and they have their reception center. It's actually a built out. There are no doors. You just walk in there, seating with pillows. It is, I tell you what, it is when you think about where you go to relax. And I could really see this be a honeymoon place, like you mentioned, just because there's this romantic feel about it. Everything is just serene. It's calm and the decor was impeccable. And the people were just unfathomably nice. I just could not believe it. I mean, talk about service. And so there are, this is actually where French soldiers, I believe, during the war, they built it for them. And so there are these individual cottages throughout the resort. And that's where your accommodations are. Right. And so they actually have someone who drives a golf cart, who takes you to where you're staying. And then you walk up these stairs where ours were upstairs. And then you walk in, you go up to your room and you walk in. And it's like this paradise, dreamy. There's this king size bed. The furnishing was impeccable. There are these, what are they called? The little curtains above your bed? The netting for the mosquitoes. Yeah, the netting. And it was, I would, I tell you what, whoever redid it and designed it, props to them because, and it was just so comforting. It was so serene. And then they give you, like you mentioned, the fruit, a plate of fruit, local fruit there, the wax apples, which we don't have a lot in the U.S. And I opened up the balcony door and then you just see the whole resort. And it was, I tell you what, if anyone's going to Latt, that is a good accommodation to really feel that you're in the middle of it, the culture. Right. Because I sent you the videos, I woke up at six in the morning, opened my balcony, walked out and there was like, it was, you see the beautiful trees and everything, but there's this, there's this fog that moves around and the smell, the sound, everything. And it was because of my mom's knee surgery, we had to ask them to bring the golf cart. I tell you what, I call front desk and I said, Hey, listen, we're heading to the dining hall for breakfast. She's like, okay, we'll be there. They are there literally in like three minutes, three minutes. I mean, talk about service, right? In the U.S. we're like, if they get here in 10, we're good. But three minutes, so how else? Yeah. And then like after dinner, we had the staff at the restaurants, I mean, after breakfast, Hey, will you call them? We need right back. Two minutes. It was impeccable service. The accommodations were impeccable. The food was amazing. And the room size. Oh, the room size. Massive, isn't it? Like I lived in places that size. Yes. Yes. And here's the thing too. It is very, it is not what you, it's not the developing country luxury. It is modern Western, what you would expect luxury. And so I think if any of your guests want somewhere where it's romantic, because here's the thing, I think no matter what time of day it is in Dalat, it's going to be romantic, right? Just because it's that kind of city. You should stay there just because, and there's a lot of privacy too. And it's just, I just imagine walking through the side box that they have that's so paved and in the morning with the fog, I mean, how much more romantic could that get, right? And the food, I mean, everything that we ate is very local. They had a jam, a mulberry jam that they actually, I think, picked not far from where. That's so I was saying to you about the jams. Like, yeah, who would think of Vietnam and jam? Like, yeah, yeah. And mulberry jam, right? And so yeah, but it's, it is just one of those accommodations. I loved it. I thought it was beautiful. I, and everything was mull weight. And I think one of the things I want to throw out there, I purchased plug converters, power converters, two of them, just to take every accommodation that we went to had the the US accommodation, the two prongs. So I never had to use it, which was a huge surprise to me. And it kind of tells you how developed Vietnam is becoming. 42:22 Kerry Newsome That's really good to note. It's something I haven't thought to mention, because I have to take converters from Australia, because ours is different. Yeah, now that's really good to mention. When I think of Dalat I think of that lushness and that, and the fog and the architecture and the lake and the purple. But the other thing to share with you about Dalat which I don't know whether you went to, the markets are specialised in fabrics. So people often go just to Dalat to the markets because they are well known in all of Vietnam to specialise in fabric. So I have bought fabric there to have made, to have something made in Hoi An. And in Hoi An, they told me, oh, if you want this and you want that kind of fabric, and you've got to go to Dalat for that. So it was one of the things that I did was to investigate. And in these markets, there was just like flaws and flaws of all this fabric. It was overwhelming, the different I didn't even know that many variances existed of different types of fabric. And then they also have, because the traditional dress, the alzai, which I've got a few of, because I love them. I think they're a beautiful garment, really elegant, really lovely. Well, they have some of the materials that are used for the alzai, where you know how the top part might be plain, but then the bottom part will have some kind of image or decoration or just on the flow embroidery. So they have lots and lots and lots of that. So I was buying all this stuff and I was with a Vietnamese girlfriend of mine. She said, how many alzais are you going to have made? For God's sake, you're never going to wear that many of them. And I found it hard to kind of resist because it was so beautiful. And so I only bought two to have made, but yes, it was charming. I went up into the hills and I stayed at a chalet and it was called Zen Chalet. And get this Vicky, you will laugh at this. The situation with the chalet was the guy that owned it was from Europe, came to De Laet fell in love obviously with that architecture. And he just wanted to have this chalet overlooking this beautiful forest area like just, and the air was so sweet and so beautifully clean. And he didn't fill out a piece of paper because it was called Zen. So I said, but how do you know what I'm going to have? He said, all the girls will remember. And I said, yeah, but I had a massage as well. Yeah, it'll be fine. Like they never took any anything. It was crazy. That's amazing. Because they wanted you to Zen out. That was the whole idea of you stay there to Zen out, take in the environment, go for a walk, rest. We had a massage person come to our room and do the massage. And you know, the curtains opened out into this beautiful thing. I'm going, I'm in heaven. I just want to die right now because it was so good 45:59 Vicki Thai .. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we at the resort, we went and got massages as well. And here's the thing. I get massages here all the time. It's a different, you know, feel, but we're getting a massage there. Can you hear the birds? You know, and it's just like, literally, am I in heaven? Right? Where it's like, you're getting a massage, which is a luxury. And then you're in this, you know, the smell, and then you just hear nature where, you know, I love the city life, but what I hear is cars zooming by. And so it's just, I would say, and I also, our tour guide in Saigon says that when they go on vacation, her family goes on vacation. They actually go to the lab. She said they sleep better there. Yeah. And, and here's the thing too. And it rained overnight when we stayed there. And I tell you what, there was just something so beautiful about it because you're in this environment. You smell the air. Like you said, it's sweet. And then you just hear this rain. It's like, it's like what you feel that, and then people advertise as relaxing, you know, that this is what you want to do to, you know, de-stress to, you know, unplug all of that stuff. And I have to say the food in the lot was a little bit different. It's a little bit sweeter. I don't know if you noticed that. So they, they seasoned their food a little bit sweeter than you would get in Saigon. 47:19 Kerry Newsome Yes. So talk to me now about how your mom related to being back in Dalat and what did she notice were the most significant changes, you know, how, how did she react to the Dalat of 2023? 47:45 Vicki Thai It's so funny. She was in awe because everywhere she lived, they took us around the city because the goal was to find where she, where she grew up, the house where she grew up. And that Dalat and Vietnam is so developed now. We literally, and I say props to the driver. God bless him. He just drove us around and around hoping my mom recognizes where she lives, but she doesn't because everything is so new now. I mean, you have to admit she was 31 then she's 75 now, right? And so a lot's going to change then. And we kind of find it, but I tell you what, just she was in awe and she was just like, Oh, is that where it was? Like the open market where she went when she was little, she loved it. And all I was thinking is like, where is your house? Cause we've been around the circle like five times, right? She loved it. It brought back so many memories. And then just driving the street and she was an odd too, right? Because when she was growing up, it was a completely different city. And now there's just so much going on and she's my mom and I've seen her happy, but this was a different kind of happy and almost a peaceful happy, you know, just because it's back to where she was, you know, grew up and, and just seeing, I don't know, I can't explain it, but the city has grown and I just love watching, there were people selling raw meat, you know, on the side of the road. I even said to, he said to Dr. Torga, I said, when you eat that, do you get sick? Right? Because in the U S and Western culture, there are a lot of, you know, food, you know, there's a lot of different, uh, thresholds that you have to for your, for your meat and stuff. And he was like, well, when I eat it, I'm fine. I'm not sure if you eat it, you're going to be fine. Right. She says, because the U S has different standards and it was just seeing that. And here's the thing. What I wouldn't have done if we had the time to just walk around, you know, to walk past the style that's selling raw meat, right out in the open, right? Not in a refrigerated case to, to look at the fruit. So then, and it was, so I tell you what, my mom was so happy. She, I just remember on our last day, we were sitting and eating and she looked right at me. She's like, I want to come back. I'm like, well, hell me too. Right! 49:55 Kerry Newsome . You know, I kind of felt for your mom in the sense that it's kind of life affirming to go back to your roots, to, you know, see where you came from. It kind of, I think everyone in their life kind of has to do a full circle at some point to, to relate to why you are, how you are, where you come from. And you know, her saying to you during the time, you know, well, you, if you knew where I came from, you would better understand something. So that's kind of the older, wiser woman kind of giving you that advice. I think, you know, I think it was a lovely, and the thing I loved about you, that you wanted to do that with her, you wanted that bond and that closeness. Because as you say, in the ordinariness of every day, you know, come say, come sah! You don't do it. But when you're doing something purposeful like that, you know, and that's going back to something that she relates to, and she's got that comfort with her own language. She's with her own people. Like, you can totally get it, can't you? 50:54 Vicki Thai Like, Right. Well, it's kind of funny. I came back and I said, you know, if we were in Vietnam, mom would be the cool mom. Yeah, she would be the mom where all the kids would come to, you know, and it was just like, just because it was just the way everyone, our tour guides gravitated towards her, like Tui gravitated towards her, you know, Jonathan and, um, Hi from the Latin art driver. And I was just like, it was the side that I've never seen, right in the US. And so it was just like, it was, she was in her element. There were some things that I wanted to buy, like some jam, right? Some, some, a lot of coffee, right? Some tea, right? Cause the last 51:38 Kerry Newsome no for tea. So we did a lot of shopping, but we didn't do a lot of slicing. Oh, okay. So, cause I had you down, you were going to go into the Zen monastery and you were going to do the summer palace. Did you do any of that? Or did the shopping take over? 51:51 Vicki Thai Is that the one, is that the one where the last king? Yes, we did go there. Yes. Yes. All right. We did. It was impressive. And this is a history and here's the thing. It was impressive because all of this is surrounded just one man, right? And it was like, are you kidding me? Right. And, and I've actually, I think the story was a little bit sad. I really felt sad for his wife. Right. I remember the story. There's so many stories. Yeah. There's so many stories that he apparently very handsome. When I looked at the picture, she remembered him. She's like, isn't he handsome? I'm like, not my type, but it was cute who was so handsome. And, you know, he was a king or so powerful that he attracted a lot of women. And he had an affair and his wife, of course, is broken hearted. And there was just this room that she just stayed in because she was so broken hearted. And I just thought to myself, holy cow, you know, this day and age, we're like, we're getting divorced, right? It's over. But she just stuck with him because she just loved him so much. But then she had a room where 53:02 Kerry Newsome she grieved in and it's like, God bless her. You know what I mean? And so she had all these children that she had to keep up with and put on the show. But yet she was broken hearted through this whole thing. As we kind of getting close to literally when you're about to fly back to Saigon to meet up with your flight back home, we took you to Baloch and that was kind of, let's put it, let's put it out there, Vicki. That was kind of where things fell off the rails a little bit. We had you down to stay in a bungalow resort. I wouldn't call it a resort particularly, but it was supposed to be okay. But as it turned out, it wasn't okay, was it? So that kind of put it down on things. And that was the bit I was kind of most disappointed about. But maybe tell a little bit about that story because there's been so much good things. I don't want this one to be the last thing that people remember, if you know what I mean, because that was- Yeah, absolutely. And for the record, this was the only- Glitch. 54:08 Vicki Thai Let's say glitch. It was only glitch. And when I look back, this is not what I think of when I look back at our trip. And so we went to a little city in the suburb of Dalat named Bao Loc because my mom actually was born there. And so we wanted to see what it's all about, right? And it's an opportunity for her to go see where she grew up in her city and the main city part, where the commerce is, she remembers that very well. Where we stayed at, it's called the Danbury and- It's remote . It's an hour drive and it's through the forest, right? It's a beautiful drive, don't get me wrong, but it was very, very remote. And in its better days, it was actually kind of an amusement park, and there's a pond in it and so forth. So we get in, so we have two accommodations. My mom and I have separate rooms as normal. It was very basic. And when I say basic, I mean basic. It was a bed, an old blanket. And so we walked in and I was in my mom's room, thank God was in better condition than mine. I walked in, there was just this old blanket on this flat bed and there were these, there's stains on it. They were kind of sticky stains, which of course you avoid. And after coming from the accommodations in Saigon, our luxury cabin on the cruise in Mekong Delta and Dalat this was really an eyesore and it's drastically different. I don't think it was well-kept, maybe during COVID, as we spoke about, everything shut down and things got overlooked or fell through the cracks. But the bathroom, it was nothing I've ever seen before. And I hope I won't ever see again. I text one of our contacts at the travel agency and said, we want to get out of here as soon as possible, right? Because our tour guide and driver were expected to pick us up around 10 the next morning. They were there at 5.30. I said, still get out of here the better. Yeah. So I packed up my stuff at five in the morning, moved to my mom's bungalow and then our tour guides came around seven, which is perfect, right? And then we just got the hell out of Dodge. But would I recommend a Danbury? Probably not, right? 56:26 Kerry Newsome No, I won't be recommending it either. But it speaks to the contrast in Vietnam from the areas that are developed and obviously have more stringent controls around how they appear to tourists. But in some of these remote areas, it can be a bit of a lucky dip. And unfortunately, I guess to everyone listening, it's fair to say that some things are just out of your control. And thankfully, Vicki was able to handle it as best as you could. And I'm grateful for that. I just wish it didn't happen. I think it's something for people to double check when they're talking to their travel agents or they're questioning with me if they're talking about a particular area. I learned from it to be double checking these remote areas more so. I mean, you love the hotel, the new world you stayed at in Saigon. So I probably did the wrong thing. I set it up badly. See, I gave you all those beautiful places. And then you got there and you got to the flushing toilet place and you went what happened here? She steered me in the wrong direction. So let's not do that detour again. We will if we take you back to Dulat ever again, we'll keep you in Dulat and probably at Anna Mandara. So you'll have to do that hour drive. But that's funny talking about places out of Dulat. They are quite long drives to get the full benefit of being in that region. And it is hard to find places. That's why me stumbling on that Zen cafe chalet place was like, holy, this is like a little oasis in the middle of it all. And because there's just not that many of them that can sustain themselves that far out. So that's why everybody's in the city. And Dulat has grown exponentially in the last few years. It really wasn't even on the tourist maps for most people. 58:37 Vicki Thai They didn't even know about Dalat four years ago. We wouldn't have ever done if my mom didn't grow up there. Because I would probably pick the bigger cities. But yeah, it was our first trip. And I remember all I told you is this is where we definitely want to go because my mom grew up there. And you put the rest of the trip together, which was phenomenal. Because I would never have said, let's do the Mekong Delta. Because I've 59:04 Kerry Newsome never been there. I don't know. But the whole trip was phenomenal. If you had some tips for my listeners, like for their first time trip to Vietnam, what would they be and we can finish 59:18 Vicki Thai up on those? Sure. I would say do not overpack. Because I tend to always overpack. Just because like when we stay at a New World Hotel in Saigon, which was that is the hotel we'll stay at every single time because the service, the food, everything, it was beautiful, it was clean. It was central. They have cheap laundry. Like, you know, Kara, you and I discussed before our trip, I said, is there laundry service? And you even said, don't overpack, right? Because it's really easy. It's really cheap. And of course I overpacked. And you know, the laundry service was incredible. And it was very inexpensive. And even if you rush it, it's still inexpensive. And they bring it to your room, all folded and nice. It was amazing. Secondly, try everything. You want the experience, right? If you're coming from the US, you know, don't go to a KFC, even though I'm sure KFC is a little bit different, you know, in Vietnam, try the local foods. Go with what your tour guide recommends as you know, what we did is we asked our tour guide Tui, I said, I really wanted this, you know, congee, right? This jiupe, this rice soup. And I said, where is, where should we go? She took us to the one that she and her family always goes to. And it was delicious. It was amazing. And so, you know, trust your tour guides, right? And you know, something that and one of things that everyone talks about is, oh, it's a developing country. I hope I don't get sick, right? I eat something wrong. I hope I don't get sick. I tell you what, I didn't get sick once while we were there. And I basically ate everything I could get my hands on, just because I wanted to try everything. And so, you know, my thing is, don't be afraid to try new foods. Don't be afraid to go to different places. Because I remember when we went to the, where the VKONG, the war, I'm just like, I'm not a history buff. I don't even know where we're going. But it was an amazing experience, because that's part of the heritage. It's like, this is what they did to defend the country, right? They lived underground for years in these cramped little places, right? And then with this heat and everything. And so it's be open minded. Try everything. Trust your tour guides, right? Because I don't care what you say, you know, we talk about people who it's just a job with every single one of our tour guides and drivers. It was not that for them. They wanted to make sure that you were taken care of. You enjoy your time and you were safe, right? And, and you know, thirdly, go to Vietnam, you will not regret it. And since I've been back, everyone that I've spoken to, I have said, if you get a chance, go to Vietnam. And I know exactly who you could, you know, help book your trips. And then also the beauty of it. Yeah, exactly. And also the beauty of it too. Even if you don't know the language, your tour guide speaks English. So you're not, I would say go to Vietnam, try everything. And next time I go, I think, because I've seen so many beautiful dresses in the window, I'm going to go in and try on some dresses and find dress. But did you feel safe? Did you feel safe? Oh, I absolutely felt safe. Not for an instant. Regardless of where we're at, Mekong Delta, the lot fallout, right? Or Saigon. I never felt unsafe. Never. And, and, you know, it's just, you know, and like I said, the tour guides are there to take you around and to love their city, not to take you a place where you feel unsafe and you get robbed. Right? And so I say, trust it. I trust the process. Trust. This is what I'll tell you. If you took a trip to Vietnam, you will never regret it. And I'm 100% sure that you'd want to go back because there's so much more to see. 01:02:44 Kerry Newsome Vicki, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you for being my client. Thank you for being understanding about our glitch. I'm just glad you had a good time. I'm glad your mum enjoyed it as well. And I just feel very lucky to have met you. If I didn't do this podcast and I wouldn't have got to meet you. So just want to thank you and, and for your time today. 01:03:05 Vicki Thai say thank you and, and for your time today. Thank you so much. Thank you for being so understanding with everything.

S5- E11 - Out and About in Hồ Tràm Vietnam S5- E11 – Out & About in Hồ Tràm Vietnam Kerry Newsome : Xin chào and welcome to What About Vietnam. So today here we are in Ho Tram and this is the second installment in the What About Vietnam series which I'm kind of calling Out and About and Out and About is today in Ho Tram. Now, Ho Tram is a very small beach town located in Vietnam's, now you're going to kill me with this, I'm not going to be able to pronounce it correctly, but it's Ba Rai Vung Tau province. And it's kind of situated about 125 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. Now, the purpose of this episode is to look at the situation where you're going to choose a hotel as your location. Not a city, not a township, not an adventure. You're not going to go hiking, you're not going to go caving. You're going to come to a hotel. And I did an episode back in season four, episode 18, where we featured luxury brand experiences in Vietnam. And I did that with a lovely luxury expert. And she was able to share with me some places that she said, you know, you just go there the hotel. You don't go there to do anything else but to experience the hotel. The hotel is the place, it's the destination, it's the location. So today I'm joined with my partner in crime here, Kelley McCarthy, and I was able to ask her to come with me to do this together so that we could share and compare how we viewed this kind of experience. I'm sure you're going to get a bit of a giggle because she's all about giggles. And definitely I think some ideas because I think for most people they are short on ideas for about a two hour or three hour venture out of Saigon. Like typically those would be Mekong Delta, Ben Tre or out to Can Tho. So this is an alternative, but this is five star, so I'm going to ask my five star girl to join me here. Hello Kelley McCarthy. So here we are girl, we need to maybe give everyone a bit of a heads up into, let's tell them how we got here, as I think you might be the best to just recall that little trip. Kelley McCarthy : So our little adventure started when we left Saigon You can arrange with the hotel to use the courtesy bus that will bring you out here, which is a great saving because it's probably 1.5 to 2 million each way if you were to arrange transport, so it's a great little bonus in your package and You just book in advance you're out there and return. My suggestion will be get on that bus a little quicker than we did and don't think you're cool by going to the back. You end up sitting over the two back wheels which means really you should bring a kidney belt to hold everything in place as you bounce up and down on the great little roads out here. Kerry Newsome: Yes, there was a few twists and turns there and we did, you know, we're the type that just go to the back of the bus. That's just our thing. And we had, you know, a fair bit of luggage. But one of the, I think, smart things we did was do this on a weekday. So we didn't come on the weekend where traditionally I think a lot more local Vietnamese would come. So we did this on a Monday. So the Starting point was a cafe where everyone met. We were very welcomed at this cafe to leave our bags while the bus came to get us. And then we piled into that little bus and we trotted along at a very even speed. We could holler for a bath stop if we needed to. But yeah, we were on the back wheels there, and we were jogging along the way. And there's a bit of video that I think Kelly was so kind to capture during that part. So let's talk about, like, Kelly, for you, when we decided to do this, like, what was your headset around coming out here and, like, not going anywhere else other than the hotel? Kelley McCarthy : Well for me, for starters, anyone that knows me, I'm a shopper, so Saigon is my favourite city, getting out and about. So coming out here I knew it was all about relaxation, so we planned that we would make it a short stay of only a couple of days. um coming out here so on the way out it was a case of right let's get into wind down mode cocktails wine nibbles on the beach putting the swimsuit on and just floating in the pool if you could see me now you would definitely see that i've been floating in the pool today i'm like a little lobster so Don't forget to pack that sunscreen and take it down to the pool. It's all about relaxation when you come out here. Don't come out to a destination hotel and think you're going to go off to a little township. By all means, if you were out here for more than a couple of days, you can arrange tours to go and see the local area but you don't really want to leave the resort because it's got everything here. It's beautiful, it's got day spas which we sort of indulged in today which was magnificent. You've got a cafe, you've got a couple of choices of restaurants, it's got everything that you need just to unwind. Kerry Newsome : And I think unwind is a good word. I think I was mouthing the word chill, chill everywhere. I mean, we're in close vicinity to Vung Tau. So if you wanted to, you wanted to make a day trip, that would be a very easy one. Kelley McCarthy : It's very close by. About 22 k's for anyone. Yes. Interested. Kerry Newsome : So I mean, that would be a city and obviously with its own history and its own culture and its own story to tell. So you could do that. But getting back to, I hate to harken on this everyone, but like the purpose of this trip was to really find a destination hotel. In other words, a hotel, and I'm not by means saying that where we chose to say is the only hotel to do this, or the only hotel in this region. It's the one we chose to do, and we chose it because I'd had some great advice and some recommendations to do so. But, you know, in my mind I was thinking, now, you know, it's a short trip, it's two hours, I'm coming here with a fun girl, so, you know, I've got entertainment actually sitting alongside me if it all else fails. But the chill factor was, a great thing because we had been super busy in Saigon. And when you come to Saigon, it's so easy to get caught up in the electricity of that city and you're kind of doing things all the time. So if you are looking for just a breakaway, you've got the villas here for a family. You know, we walked past, you know, the pool tonight when you're coming down and they had a movie set up on the lawn with bean bags and they were selling popcorn. So I'm trying to get in that fulfill, I guess is the other word, that out and about story, but talk it through with you in regards to the headset you have. So if you are wanting to come out and about in Ho Tram and you're choosing a hotel, chill's got to be your number one factor. Come out here to literally do nothing. Now I'm going to put it on Kelly and I'm going to say, okay, what do you think are the standouts for this location as a hotel? Kelley McCarthy: I think it's got an amazing pool right with an infinity over the beach. So for those people that are just traveling and might be doing a quick seven day trip in and out of Ho Chi Minh City, you can get a little bit of variety by coming out here because you're actually getting to a beach where in Saigon there is no beaches. So you get out here. So that's a standout for itself. You don't have to take a flight. So there's none of those check-in times to go to a further away area. It had great food. We've tried all the restaurants here on site. It had a pool bar. Like I said, we tried the day spa today, which was exceptional. Kerry Newsome: The day spa, I have to say, is now, I've now decided that Vietnam has got the quality of day spas that you need and expect as a Westerner. It was just die for. Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, using Thalgo products, so it was a fabulous day spa, not using sort of a product that might have been a Vietnamese product that we didn't. And there is a kids club here, at the moment it is currently under renovation, so you could come out as a family if you wish to. But a little joke aside, Kerry and I did note that it was a lot of loved up couples out here. and over 55, so of course that sort of cut us out on both angles. We did talk about tonight being loved up coming back from dinner just to fit in with the crowd, but definitely a romantic place if you're wanting to bring your partner here for a couple of days to wow them or for those guys out there, pop the question. It's a great location for that. Kerry Newsome: But don't come out here thinking that you'll find somebody to pop the question. All loved up. No, they're definitely with somebody else and they do not have eyes to spare for you. Sorry about that. But so definitely families, couples of any descriptions. Probably misfits like us who you know like we could pretend to be a couple any day but like probably not have the full length of that. but like it was just very very noticeable for us as we walked around. Kelley McCarthy: It's where you seek a little bit of privacy as well because if you're a traveler that's been to some of the other resorts of places you know that got pool bars such as Bali or Thailand this is not that kind of destination it's not party crowds by the pool. It's more intimate. I think everyone comes here for a little bit of intimacy. But very beautiful. The wind blowing. The beach is divine isn't it? It is really lovely. Kerry Newsome: White sand for miles. Very easy access. I really liked the openness. No gating. hard security kind of feel around it. It was very, very relaxed. Staff were mostly good. I think, you know, we're still experiencing some issues with language where, you know, lots of hand gestures goes on and lots of kind of pointing to things. And I think staff is still trying to, you know, step up to the ability to be able to converse with us with English as well as they did pre-COVID. Kelley McCarthy: I think a really important point to note here, if there's any travellers out there that are mobility impaired, it would be an easy resort to get around. Wide pathways, there's also, even if you're a little bit older, as in the over 55s we spoke about, There is golf buggies that can drive you around the resort as well so it would cater to those sort of people that were just wanting to relax but really couldn't sort of walk too far or anything because it is quite a spread out resort so that would give you that opportunity if you are that way to enjoy it as well. Kerry Newsome: Yeah, and I think I tried to bring it up in the sense too that it's kind of an escape from Saigon. It's got beautiful golf courses. In fact, Ho Tram has been known mostly for golf in previous years. It's only really just come to the fore again in trying to promote itself as a luxury five-star resort location. So, you know, I get a lot of people that say, look, you know, they've been to Saigon or they're coming through Saigon and they've got a couple of days spare. They don't want to go out in the heat and do the Mekong Delta. They don't. They've already done the Cu Chi Tunnels. They just want somewhere else to go and I thought I needed to find somewhere else that could just give that escape. Sure, it's five star and it is a little bit more costly. Let's talk about cost just into the field of things today. What do you think? Kelley McCarthy: I think, well, Kerry and I did the package where you have a choice. You can come out here and you can either just do your room stay, which includes breakfast, or you do have the opportunity to do half board or full board. We went for half board, which gave us breakfast and dinners, and that made it extremely affordable. I think for the five-star resort that it definitely is, it made it extremely affordable because you got, at your dinner time, you got an entree, a main, a dessert, and one beer or soft drink. There was no wine or spirits, but for anyone out there that wants a nice cold beer sitting on the beach, looking out over the ocean, it was a great opportunity. So I think the board package definitely makes it affordable. Because just keep in mind, you are isolated, so you're a captured audience. So costs are a little bit higher when it comes to your drinks and your food. So if you can do that half board package, it just makes it really affordable, I feel. Kerry Newsome: Absolutely. And you've got to remind yourself too, you are in a five-star resort. So, once again, we're sort of saying it's a destination, but it's still a hotel. It's a five-star hotel. And it's got restaurants, and it's got bars, and it's got beach, and it's got drinks in the pool, and it's got spa, and it's got everything. The room sizes are definitely ample. We're staying in a two-bedroom apartment, which is just delightful. We've got, you know, water provided, we've got coffee, beautiful breakfast. So, you know, I think if you can get your head wrapped around the idea of, you know, being out and about in Ho Tram but at a hotel. I think that's the caveat I need to put to this that it, we didn't go out into Ho Tram. You know, we looked out the windows and we've kind of seen some farming areas and we've thought, you know, maybe next time we would venture out and look, you know, further. Both of us have already been to Vung Tau, so, you know, that's not a city that we wanted to go to on this trip. So I really honed in on the fact that the hotel is the destination. So I hope if you've got any further questions you'll get in touch. We're certainly keen for you to share these episodes as I'm going out. I'm really enjoying the fact of being out and about and trying new places. and even some old places, to be honest, and finding new things. And doing this with Kelly has just been an absolute joy. So please share, please send me your reviews, please follow us on our Facebook, our Instagram and TikTok and LinkedIn pages. and we'd love to hear from you. Thanks, Kel, for being on the show. Kelley McCarthy: Yeah, and I think we should also note that we haven't been paid to come out here and review The Melia Resort. Kelley McCarthy : This came out of our own back pockets, so to bring you the best reviews on this, and I would highly recommend it for a couple of days out of Saigon. Kerry Newsome : Right with you. Anyway, thanks, everyone.

14e1533c-3922-4356-b2d5-5f8c211cf3bbLanguage tips in Vietnam week 1 - "greetings" Learn "greetings" in Vietnamese Episode 19 S3-19 Learn "Greetings" 00:00 / 17:18 You have just arrived into Vietnam and you’d like to know a few words in the form of greetings, to help pave the way. You are in the right place. English is widely spoken in the main cities, but in the North and in the more remote regions, not so much. It is always nice to have some greetings down pat to help break the ice and come across polite and courteous to those you meet. Vietnamese rate courteous behaviour highly and you will win them over very quickly simply by trying. This episode is 1 of a 3 part mini-series I am running over the next 3 weeks;- Week 1. What About Vietnam – S3-19 – Learn “greetings” in Vietnamese Each week will be a new episode focusing on a particular setting or scenario. Its lots of fun as I am the guinea pig. My Expert Guest joining me in the mini series is Ha Dam. Ha is Vietnamese and well versed as an English-Vietnamese translator. I caught up with her in France where she now lives with her partner and is currently an English to Vietnamese translator for a UK company helping immigrants settle into their new country. A few years ago she did this Video which is why I thought she would be great to have on the show. You can see her by clicking on the YouTube video to the right - Vietnamese 101. My thanks to www.hoiannow.com for helping me track her down. PLEASE NOTE: This not a training or educational language lesson, it is purely for fun and pronunciation and conversational purposes. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

892c01e9-aa45-4558-a940-95412b42bbb7What would it be like to live in a foreign country? Going from being a tourist to being a resident in Vietnam Episode 12 S3-12 From Tourist to Resident 00:00 / 56:05 Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a foreign country? Especially a country as beautiful as Vietnam. Have you ever visited a place, and thought, I wish we could go back and live there. With everything going on in the world over the past couple of years, I think many of us are asking ourselves big life questions, like - "Is this as good as it gets?”, Meg Le, is my guest in this episode, and she shares with us what it's like to be 40 something and give up a corporate lifestyle in Seattle to go traveling the world. Meg shares with us the journey she and her husband took in 2 years of traveling the world, and how a series of events led them to move to Hoi An, Vietnam. Meg and I take a deep dive into what the process of setting yourself up as a resident involves, and what the pros and cons are of going from a tourist to becoming a resident. Including some fun stories along the way. If you have ever considered this as an option and are looking for some real honest-to-goodness advice this is definitely the episode for you. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

S6-E8 Where should you go first in Vietnam < Back S6-E8 Where should you go first in Vietnam S6-E8 Where should you go first in Vietnam 00:00 / 20:57 Series 6 Episode 8 Question 8 Where should you go first in Vietnam? Where do you even begin with a country like Vietnam? It’s one of the most common questions I’m asked… and one of the hardest to answer simply. Because Vietnam isn’t just one destination. It’s a country of contrasts — north to south — where each region offers a completely different experience. In this episode, I take a step back from listing places… and instead guide you through a smarter way to think about your starting point. Because the real question isn’t just where you should go first — it’s how you want to experience Vietnam . What You’ll Discover in This Episode Why there is no single “best” place to start in Vietnam The key differences between North, Central and South Vietnam How your travel style should shape your own answer to this question Why trying to “see it all” can work against you How to match your time frame with the right regional approach The importance of pacing, connection, and flow in your trip Essentially, we take your desired experience of the country and match it to where you should visit first. If this question has been sitting in the back of your mind… this episode will help you move forward with confidence. 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

6ba55c6c-2c3e-40fb-a5c1-e03d00a8882b8 Tips for Vietnam travellers during TET What About Vietnam – S1- E7 8 Tips for Vietnam travellers during TET Speaker – Kerry Newsome Welcome to the What About Vietnam podcast. Happy New Year everyone. I'm delighted to be back bringing you stories and insights to travel to Vietnam. There is a big year ahead. I have a new program style that I'd like to tell you a little bit more about later in this show. But suffice to say that it's an exciting year ahead and today's program We're going to focus on one very special time in Vietnam, and that's the celebration of Tet. Now, when I talk about Tet, I have eight tips for travelers. Now, these eight tips have been born from my own experience. are actually on the ground. And each time I've gone to Vietnam and found myself in various locations, there's been different things I've learned along the way. And I thought, as much as I could, I'd like to share those with you so that you can, I don't know, respect the tradition for what it is, understand a little bit about what it means for Vietnamese, and plan accordingly. that you don't get disappointed or you misunderstand just what's really going on. But let's kind of just brush over or very kind of very broadly talk about what Tet is all about and what it means to Vietnamese. Largely, I think from my experience, it's about giving, it's about gratitude, it's about paying homage to traditions to a beginning, a new start. It's all about preparing for the new year. It's all about the advent of spring and getting together with people, reaching out to family and preparing your home, preparing your family, clearing off old debts, and really gearing up for a new year. Each year the dates fall on different dates according to the lunar calendar. If you're planning ahead just a few years For 2025 it is January 29th and that will be celebrating the year of the snake and in 2026 it's going to be February the 17th and it's going to be the year of the horse. I've actually gathered a little table together of the future years and the future dates because unless you're aware of how to manage the lunar calendar And because the dates fall differently each year and you want to plan your trips accordingly, then I think this table will be helpful to you. I think for me, the experience of Tet has been twofold. I've been in Vietnam before Tet and I've been there during Tet and post Tet. In each of these time periods you kind of witness a different evolution of TET. Some say when you're talking to people before TET and there's some decisions to be made that literally you either make a decision before TET or after: but nothing gets made in big decisions during TET. Because as I said in the beginning TET is really about paying homage to family and spending quality time with the people that are most important in your life and in particularly your family and friends. And that extends also to teachers and people that you respect in the community. You're going to see a great movement of people in that process. And that begins my, or I guess is a good segue into my eight tips for travelers in Vietnam during Tet. So number one is definitely buy your travel tickets if they fall, if the dates fall during the Tet season. Now, Tet is not just a day. Whilst Tet is about celebrating the advent of spring and all of the things I've just spoken about. It literally can span kind of about eight days minimum, maybe even up to two weeks. And it's very hard to define actually the eight to 14 days as they kind of blur a little bit for people, depending on their jobs, their workplace, their family environment, you know, some people who are Vietnamese who live overseas, they're coming back into the country. So, you know, everybody tries to kind of fit it in a window of time, but it does kind of mishmash, but kind of starting about a week before. So for this year, it's the 10th of February. So about a week before you're going to see some of these preparations happening. and people starting to gear up their travel plans. So, number one is buy your travel tickets. So, your train, your bus and your flights because they will be chock-a-block. So, if you're wanting to move around, you're going to be moving around with, you know, the population of Vietnam all wanting to try and get to their families to celebrate this event. No 1 – Tip - So number one, buy your travel tickets in advance and make sure when you're booking, especially with things like flights, et cetera, that you do get your seat numbers and your allocations. Number two, be early at the airport or bus station or train station. I can't stress enough the need to be a bit of ahead of the game and be prepared for long queues. In this celebration, because there's that beautiful aspect of giving, you're going to see the Vietnamese travelling with a lot of luggage as they're travelling with a lot of gifts. I mean, traditionally you're seeing the red envelopes that are very much a part of the giving process and part of Tet here and in China and in most places that celebrate the Tet celebration. However, you'll also see that families are renewing their houses and they're doing a lot of cleaning and throwing out and renewing and reinvigorating because this is to set the platform, the process for their new year. This is to build confidence in a prosperous, healthy and happy house with their family and friends. No 2 - So, be early at the airport, bus station or train station, expect long queues, be prepared for it. If you can, especially with flights, I would definitely recommend that you go online and check in online. where you have the advantage of an online process, take it, because any way you can cut down on time is going to benefit you. No 3 - Number three, make sure you bring all of your travel documentation with you, confirming all your travel arrangements, your tickets, your accommodation, contacts, and all of that. Now, I say that because depending on what days you're traveling around this Tet season, is that because the staff are generally skeleton staff in a lot of the places, there is less resources on the ground to help you as a traveler to guide your trip in the case that you haven't got this. So I just say to all my travelers, Double, double check you've got all your paperwork, all your documentation, whether it's on your phone, whether it's printed, but you've got access to it easily so that you, I don't know, is it just peace of mind? I think it is. And just knowing that you've got that and you don't need to reach out to people because once again, you might be standing in a long queue to get an answer from somebody to help you through if you haven't got all your documents with you. No 4 - Number four. I don't normally stress this when it comes to Vietnam, but in this time and season, especially as Tet and New Year's Day falls, Don't expect too much activity once the day, the New Year's Day falls. There's a lot of lead up. I personally think that the lead up to Tet is the most exciting. There's just such a vibe in the air. There's an atmosphere. There's also so much color. There's traditions and you can read up about them and I've got some links for you in the notes. but you can read up about what some of the colours mean, the yellows, and you know, you'll see these beautiful kumquat trees, peach blossoms, and they will be lining the streets of your cities and your localities that you visit, leading up to Tet, because every household will want to put some symbolism or an offering to their elders, to their ancestors, express their gratitude. So they will be buying in food, they will be out and about, buying new clothes even to dress their children and themselves in to really celebrate this day. So there's a real, I don't know, anticipation. But once it actually arrives, as in New Year's Day is on the 10th of February, New Year's Eve would then be the 9th, you'll get your fireworks and you'll get all that buzz and all of that celebration on the eve, traditionally, as you would in a New Year's celebration. But once Tet falls that day, in particular in those ensuing days, it's quiet. And one thing I did experience, which I probably would have appreciated if someone had told me about, was that I'm not going to expect a lot of places open. So your hotels and all of your tourist attractions, et cetera, may be closed or may only operate in limited hours. They may even charge extra. And you may find that there's just not a lot of activity in the streets because people are in their homes, they're in their abodes where they can bring together the important people that they love and they can celebrate with. Now, because Vietnam is such an evolving country, not everyone is as old-worldly traditional as each other. And the young, you know, whilst they want to hold on to their traditions, they're probably going to make some adaptations about that. So there will be places open and there will be you know, the chance to get a coffee and things like that, but just not at the usual standard. So once again, for me, when I'm talking to travellers, it's about trying to manage your expectations and not expect on those national holidays in particular, they might not be as much open. No – 5 _Number five, I really would like you to make sure that you check in with your hotel or your homestay about what services they are operating, you know, for meals and just, you know, things like laundry or just what eateries are going to be open on those national holidays in particular, and may extend to things like, you know, your spa center, the gyms, anything that is depicted in your booking that is the standard may not be fully operational during the Tet season and in particular on the public holidays. And as I said, be prepared that in each area, in each location and in each facility or hotel or homestay, they will make their own decisions based on their staff and their ability to accommodate you, they will make their own call on what's available. So be prepared to contact your homestay or contact your hotel ahead of your visit, well ahead of your visit, maybe even two or three weeks or a month ahead to ask them what their plan is during Tet as you will be arriving or you may be staying during that time. and ask them to give you some clarification. Because once again, you may want to buy some snacks or some extra foods, et cetera, especially if you've got families, because that may not be as available for you during that time. I'm not saying it's going to be zero, but it's just not going to be at its optimum levels. No 6 _ The other thing I found during my TET experience was that some places use Facebook as a way of managing and handling their events, their hotels and their restaurants. So I recommend you to reach out to Facebook or Instagram, but certainly Facebook is very strong in Vietnam. And I know I was kind of a little bit on my own in this time period, The hotel was very quiet while it was all open, but I thought, oh gosh, you know, it'd be great if I could get a massage or, you know, a pedicure or something to fill in my time as I was going to be meeting up with some Vietnamese families in the ensuing days. So I reached out to a Facebook page of a place that did run massages and all the rest of it. I knew of them well. And I was very grateful that they were operating. They communicated with me back through Facebook Messenger. They even offered, because the taxis weren't as prevalent, once again, this is another sideline kind of effect of Tet, to come and pick me up if I was willing to be a passenger, a pillion passenger on a bike. So one of their lovely girls arrived at the hotel, picked me up, took me there to the place I had a lovely massage, and then they brought me back. So, Facebook can be your communication tool, for want of a better word, to reach out to some of these places. A lot of the younger staff that work for these organizations do have good to reasonable English, so they're going to be able to communicate with you and get you some information. If they don't respond, then you know, of course, that they are not operating. So that is just one other way to help manage your stay during Tet. No 7 _ Number seven is around expectation of restaurants food quality, freshness and the extension of the menus. One thing I did find was a little bit of a warning from people that because of the movement of people that their standard suppliers may not be in full operational capacity. So their ability to get fresh food in and in particular, you know, seafood and things like that. So they sort of cautioned me to be careful about what I selected to see that the restaurants would probably be offering a much condensed menu and it would be built around what they felt they were most confident in offering. I mean, you know, in In managing this, you're going to have to read the play yourselves when you are out and about. You're going to kind of have to get your confidence from seeing how many people are in the restaurants, just how much staff they look like they're having on board. And, you know, use your common sense where you can to decide where to eat. If you're staying in a hotel, the hotel's going to be very proactive in this way to let you know what is going to be available and you're going to be able to make some decisions there. I mean, personally, it's a good time in my experience to take advantage of the hotel or take advantage of the opportunity to chill out, to relax, to go for some nice long walks, you know, a chance to do some yoga, some just generally chill out. and try to get into their vibe of being grateful and appreciative of life and what's brought you to Vietnam in the first place. So just being aware of the freshness of food and restaurants is my number seven tip. Lastly is to make sure you've got enough cash No 8 _ So my number eight tip is understanding that in the element of closures and organizations that close will be banks. Banks that also fill out the teller machines, et cetera, that are, you know, quite prevalent in Vietnam. So making sure that you've got enough cash with you to get around, buy taxis, do whatever, I think is very important. So once again, I'm saying being prepared is the way to go. So I hope you found these tips helpful and I'm going to just finish off by talking about what's possible in Vietnam post Tet. So once Tet is finished, there's a time where people are enjoying the opportunity to catch up with friends and family and even reaching out to teachers and other principal people in their community that they want to pay respects for. I think you'll find that as Tet finishes, you'll see just a rejuvenation of the location that you're in. And, you know, expressing your gratitude to the people that you're meeting and mixing with, sharing with them some of the favorite foods, the chung cake in the north, the Tet cake in the south, you know, making sure that you express the special greetings that come with Chuc Mung Nam Moi is very appreciative of the Vietnamese. They will love that you have taken the time to understand a little bit about what Tet is about and that you recognize the importance for them, that you're respectful of their time to do this, their dedication to this. And I think you're going to really see a little bit about what the depth of Vietnam is in their cultural traditions and how beautiful they are. I'm going to put a few links in the show notes to help guide you with this. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any further questions and I'm more than happy to help you. If you are trip planning in 2025 and in the coming years, please note those dates for TET. And now that you have this information, I'm hoping that you'll decide whether or not, you know, it is for you to travel in this time period that it It suits you to do so or not. And as I said, it's really up to the individual to decide how they want to play it. For me, I tend to travel usually before Tet or after Tet so that I give the people their due in having Tet because it's really not about us as tourists, in my opinion. It's really about the Vietnamese themselves and giving respect to them for that time. So take that on board, use it as you can and how you will in the future for your trip planning. And I hope you're going to have a wonderful time. That's all we have for today. I look forward to bringing you more travel stories and insights into traveling to Vietnam in future programs. Handy links:- https://nationaltoday.com/tet-holiday/ https://www.asiahighlights.com/vietnam/new-year/date https://www.myvietnamvisa.com/vietnamese-new-year-tet-holiday-dates-animals-food-and-traditions.html Future years table of dates: TET New Year 2025 January 29th Year of the Snake TET New Year 2026 February 17th Year of the Horse TET New Year 2027 February 6th Year of the Goat TET New Year 2028 January 26th Year of the Monkey TET New Year 2029 February 13th Year of the Chicken

2945b4d5-5239-4aff-b395-b00b0311b983A happening comedy scene for laughs in Saigon Discover an emerging comedy scene in Saigon Episode 18 S3-18 Emerging comedy in Saigon 00:00 / 31:55 What About if I told you there is a “happening” Comedy Scene in Saigon? After the years just passed, I thought this has to go on the "MUST DO" things during your stay in this vibrant city. I am talking about a fun night out in a funky place right in the heart of Saigon. My guest, Niall Mackay is no stranger to the comedy scene in Saigon having lived in Vietnam since 2016. A well known Stand Up Comedian, and Podcaster of his own Vietnam podcast “Seven Million bikes”, and “Did that really happen?”, he is ideally placed to talk about the evolution of English speaking comedy in Saigon. Niall takes us through some great stories of how the comedy scene has matured with some surprising talent and venues. As an organiser, promoter, and comedian himself he shares with us the bevy of talent coming through. From local Vietnamese doing English speaking comedy, to the many Expats who also relish the chance to jump on stage and bring the house down. Niall hopes to be back on stage next week. Check out http://www.sevenmillionbikes.com/ to find tickets to shows and everything about his podcasts. Kerry Newsome Don’t forget - Night out entertainment - COMEDY show - Saigon - its bound to set the right tone for the rest of your trip or for the trip home. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

40fb91b1-df13-4a4f-959b-2016c5181459Pgu Quoc is a highly sought after destination Phu Quoc - An unbelievably scenic island paradise Episode 24 S3-24 Phu Quoc A scenic island paradise 00:00 / 41:32 Phu Quoc is the destination focus for the latest episode of the What About Vietnam podcast. An island blessed with white sand beaches, turquoise waters, swaying palm trees and an abundance of sunshine, all make Phu Quoc island a highly sought-after destination for beach lovers, and those looking for a short getaway from the craziness of HCMC. In fact, Phu Quoc which is the focus of our chat today with Patricia Marques is only a short 45 mins flight from HCMC, and is VISA free to visit. NOW. YES now, the borders to Vietnam are open. In this episode we discuss things like: The best time to go; Closeness to Cambodia; Water sports; What food is most common; Is it expensive?: Pepper farms; Fish Sauce; The famous Phu Quoc dogs; Is it worth going to downtown to eat out?; Accommodation choices and how the Island is configured so you can find what you want. Patricia Marques is my guest today, and I was lucky enough to catch her just after a recent trip to Phu Quoc. A trip that coincided with the news that Vietnam is now open to general tourists. So our chat is current as of March 2022. Patricia is the General Manager of Starbucks in Vietnam. Amid the myriad of things we talk about, you will soon discover that Phu Quoc makes an ideal destination for families, couples and solo travellers alike. It literally caters for many types of travellers with amazing waterfalls to visit and trekking in the jungle like National Park. To, diving, snorkelling and a Theme Park for kids, that would rival Disneyland, located in the north of the island. As a place to kick back and relax or take off into the wilderness, the island has it all, and given its location, it’s a seafood lover’s paradise. Download Transcript PDF Read transcript

S5- E2 – Choosing Hoi An as a Digital Nomad Destination S5- E2 – Choosing Hoi An as a Digital Nomad Destination Episode 02 S5- E2 – Choosing Hoi An as a Digital Nomad Destination 00:00 / 1:00:24 I’m thrilled to have such an engaging conversation with our guest today about the digital nomad lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned nomad or just curious about this exciting way of life, this episode is a must-listen! I am fortunate to be joined with Florian Rucker who inspires nomads by providing a unique, friendly, and well fit out co working space in Hoi An called The Hub, to perform this kind of work. If you can imagine having high speed internet, in a glass workspace, in the middle of rice paddy fields, you have it right there! We get down to “tin tacks” as we talk through the evolving landscape of digital nomading and the transformation since Covid. No longer is it just for the youthful adventure seekers, employers are now funding some people to work this way, as they now recognise working remotely doesn’t have to impact output given the right set up. Hoi An and the The Hub provide workers a unique experience in Vietnam and now that the E-Visa stays are being extended to 90 days this looks like being a very viable option for more people. Flo is uniquely qualified to speak to this topic having lived abroad since he was 16. Originally a Berliner, he has a Cambridge education, and has lived in 7 other countries throughout his life. With a background in Development Aid and a IT Agency owner he fell in love with Hoi An after being a customer of the The Hub back in 2017. He bought the space in early 2021 and rebuilt it nearby, in the middle of the rice fields in ‘22/’23. If you would like to know about The Hub – You can contact Flo here – Website: https://www.hubhoian.com/ The Hub social links: 
https://www.instagram.com/hubhoian/ https://www.facebook.com/hubhoian Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S5-E10 - Out and about in Saigon - The Uncut Edition S5-E10 - Out and about in Saigon - The Uncut Edition Episode 10 S5-E10 - Out and about in Saigon - The Uncut Edition 00:00 / 1:10:31 Welcome to the premiere of "What About Vietnam" – the Uncut Edition! This marks the second instalment of our Out & About mini-series, where I, Kerry Newsome, along with the ever-adventurous Kelly McCarthy, take you on a journey through the vibrant streets of Saigon. Get ready for a deeply personal and unforgettable experience as we share candid anecdotes and insider tips. From quirky mishaps to heart-warming moments, we're laying it all bare – glitches and all. From laughable moments to unforgiving encounters, we navigate the uncharted territories that guidebooks overlook with frankness and open sharing. Our goal? To inform, enlighten, and hopefully bring a smile to your face. So join us on this adventure as we uncover the hidden treasures of Saigon, one smile at a time! Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S4-03 Travel Outlook 2022-23 Vietnam Travel Outlook 2022-23 Episode 3 S4-03 Travel Outlook 2022-23 00:00 / 58:37 This is a Podswap from the Conor Kelly & Kerry Newsome interview - ComebaCK Podcast #371 If you are sitting on the sidelines Googling madly, watching and reading social media chatter, but still unsure if it’s a good idea to take your next holiday in Vietnam, or go back there?;- then this show is for you. Why? Because Conor asks the questions I think many of you want to know the answers to. The doors are open, but is everyone rushing through the gates? And if not? Why? This is a totally different show. As I am the guest, not the host on the ComebaCK Podcast and this is what we call a Podswap. Essentially this allows me to share his show with you, on my channel. Conor Kelly, the host and ambitious podcaster of his own show ‘ComebaCK’ generously invited me to come on his show to talk about my thoughts on the future of travel in Vietnam and the ‘What About Vietnam’ podcast. Of course, I was delighted to do this, as it gave me a chance to share my journey with Vietnam from over 15 years working in the travel industry, talking with Vietnam travel organisations, industry boards and chambers, and travelling back and forth. Conor and I got down to business very quickly and settled into a hearty discussion on my personal history with travel in Vietnam as far back as 2007, and how I am tracking Vietnam’s comeback!! Great name for a Podcast, Conor Kelly. So here you have it - Ep #371 ComebaCK To make it easy- Some of the subjects we covered are here:- 00:02:34 – Kerry’s first visit to Vietnam 2007 00:08:33 – The travel boom 2019 to now 00:10:13 – When Covid hit 2020 – Kerry’s reaction 00:14:48 – Keeping tabs on Vietnam during Covid 00:18:16 – The launch of ‘ What About Vietnam’ 00:20:21 – What’s trending on the show 00:29:54 – Tourism forecasting beyond May 2022 00:36:01 – Over-tourism to sustainable tourism 00:37:27 – Hidden gems needing more promotion 00:42:54 – Managing over- tourism – some ideas 00:46:35 – Crystal ball – 2022,23,24 travel trends 00:48:45 – Sustainable tourism opportunities 00:51:35 – Is Podcasting a good platform to inform people on travel in Vietnam? 00:56:01 – How to access Kerry and What about Vietnam If you prefer to read please check out the Transcript on the www.whataboutvietnam.com website. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here

S4-04 Vietnam Wedding Planning Vietnam wedding planning - all you need to know Episode 4 S4-04 Vietnam Wedding Planning 00:00 / 39:03 When planning a wedding there are so many factors to consider. While you start with - Who to invite? It quickly moves into - the venue and destination. And along with that comes the budget, and what style of wedding you want? How traditional, creative or crazy do you want it to be? For those exploring options in this space I say “What about Vietnam?”. As you will hear from my lovely guest Jenny, a Wedding and Event Planner for 10 years in Vietnam, “the crazier the wedding the better”. Beach weddings; on top of a mountain; in a cave; on a boat; paragliding onto the beach as an entrance; rich and colourfully traditional; to everything in between. You will soon discover in this program, Jenny, found here at “Weddings and Special events by Hoang Anh”, has a lot to say about the kinds of things the bride and groom can experience in Vietnam. Climate, food, flowers, staff, culture and many beautiful locations can bring to life a dream wedding, that is both uniquely special and culturally rich for everyone who attends. Hoang Ang, who for easy conversation allows me to call her Jenny, is a very hands on planner as she engages with all aspects of the event, including the travel plans and arrangements for pre and post events; family get togethers’, and parties of celebration. You will have a good laugh at the “Hangover” story. You can find more about Jenny’s business and discuss your ideas using the links available at the conclusion of the Transcript available on this page. Download Transcript PDF Read the transcript here