Vietnam

Background

I decided to take a trip to Vietnam mainly because I booked my flight back to Taipei quite late. When I checked the prices, a direct flight cost around NTD 12,000—almost double the price of my outbound ticket. I then started looking for alternative routes and discovered that flying from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City, then from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, and finally from Hanoi to Taipei would cost less than NTD 13,000 in total. That was how my Vietnam trip came about.

這趟越南旅行其實是臨時決定的，主要原因是我太晚訂回台北的機票。當時查到直飛的價格大約是新台幣 12,000 元，幾乎是去程機票的兩倍。於是我開始尋找其他路線，後來發現如果改成「新加坡 → 胡志明市 → 河內 → 台北」，三段機票加起來反而不到新台幣 13,000 元，也因此，這趟越南之旅就這樣誕生了。

Travel Plan

Last year at NTU, I had an American classmate who is Vietnamese, so I asked her for travel recommendations. She suggested Sapa as a great place to relax. Based on her advice, I planned my Vietnam trip around three cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Sapa, staying four days in each.

去年在台大時，我認識一位越裔的美國同學，於是向她請教越南旅遊的建議。她推薦我一定要去 Sapa，說那是一個很適合放鬆的地方。最後，我的越南行程安排了三個城市：胡志明市、河內和 Sapa，每個城市各待四天。

However, since the first and last days were mostly spent on transportation, I effectively had only two full days to explore each city. I wrote more detailed reviews in separate posts for each destination: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Sapa. In this post, I focus on some overall observations and common experiences from my time in Vietnam.

不過，由於第一天和最後一天幾乎都在交通移動中，實際上每個城市真正可以完整探索的時間只有兩天。這三個地區更詳細的記錄在這裡：胡志明市、河內 和 Sapa。這一篇則主要整理一些在越南旅遊時的共通經驗與整體感想。

Communication

Grab

I used Grab in all three cities, and it was extremely convenient. After booking a ride through the app, a driver usually arrived in less than two minutes. The only confusing part was finding the exact meeting point, especially at airports. Sometimes I couldn’t locate the pick-up area, and since many drivers were not fluent in Chinese or English, I often sent photos to show my location.

在這三個城市中，我幾乎都是使用 Grab 叫車，整體體驗非常方便。透過 App 預約後，通常不到兩分鐘就會有司機來接人。唯一比較困擾的是集合地點，尤其是在機場時，很難找到正確的上車位置。而且大多數司機不太會說中文或英文，我的方法是直接傳照片給司機，讓他知道我在哪裡。

Overall, using Grab was a great experience—it was cheap, fast, and convenient. I paid by credit card, so there was no need to handle cash when getting out of the car.

整體來說，Grab 的使用體驗非常好：價格便宜、速度快又方便。我是直接綁定信用卡付款，下車時也不用再處理現金，省了不少麻煩。

Toward the end of the trip, I realized that Grab offers vouchers for each ride, and that you can also pay a small fee to become a member and receive additional discounts. This membership is definitely worth it if you plan to take Grab between the airport and the city. Unfortunately, I only discovered this after completing all my airport rides.

到了旅程後段我才發現，其實 Grab 每趟行程都可以使用優惠券，另外也能付一點費用升級會員，享有更多折扣。如果有機場與市區來回的需求，這個會員方案其實蠻值得的。可惜的是，我是在搭完所有機場接送後才發現這件事。

Vietnam Airline

For all of these flights, I chose Vietnam Airlines. One major advantage is that in all three cities, the airline offers self check-in and self baggage drop machines, which usually take less than five minutes to complete. The process was very efficient and saved a lot of time at the airport.

這幾段航班我全部都選擇搭乘越南航空。它最大的優點之一是，在這三個城市的機場都有提供自助報到和自助行李托運機台，整個流程非常快，通常不到五分鐘就能完成，對趕時間或不想排隊的人來說非常加分。

另外，越南航空也有提供學生優惠，包括 10% 的票價折扣以及一件額外的托運行李。不過學生票其實不太好買，因為它有一個獨立於官網之外的訂票平台。如果沒有在正確的網站購票，即使你有學生身分，也無法享有這些優惠，這點需要特別注意。

Vietnam Airlines also provides student benefits, including a 10% discount and an additional baggage allowance. However, buying a student ticket can be a bit tricky. There is a separate booking platform for student fares, and even if you have a student membership, you won’t receive the benefits unless you purchase the ticket through the correct website.

Two of my flights were operated by smaller aircraft, with only six seats per row and no seatback entertainment screens. The only flight on a larger aircraft was the route from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.

其中有兩段航班是使用較小型的飛機，每排只有六個座位，而且座椅前方沒有個人螢幕；唯一搭到大型客機的是從胡志明市飛往河內的那一段。

By the way, the uniforms of Vietnam Airlines are absolutely beautiful. The flight attendants wear ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress. This was actually what inspired me to buy one myself while I was in Ho Chi Minh City.

順帶一提，越南航空的制服真的非常漂亮，空服員穿的是越南傳統服飾「奧黛（ao dai）」。也正因為這樣，我後來在胡志明市也買了一套奧黛當紀念。

Cost of Living

Food in Vietnam is very affordable. A bowl of beef rice noodle soup usually costs less than VND 100,000, and a bánh mì is around VND 50,000. Hotel prices are also quite low—across all three cities, I paid about NTD 500 per night. While these hotels were not located in the very center of the city, they were still comfortable and offered good value for the price.

越南的物價真的很親民。一碗牛肉河粉通常不到 10 萬越南盾，一份越式法國麵包（Bánh mì）大約 5 萬越南盾左右。住宿方面也相當便宜，這三個城市的旅館價格大約都是每晚新台幣 500 元左右。雖然地點不一定在市中心，但整體來說 CP 值很高。

Food

Here are some food that my buddy recommended me to try:

• Nước mía tắc – Fresh sugarcane juice with calamansi; very refreshing and slightly tangy.
• Bánh xèo – Vietnamese crispy pancakes filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts.
• Bánh bột lọc – Chewy tapioca dumplings, usually filled with shrimp and pork.
• Canh chua – A Vietnamese sour soup with a light, tangy flavor, often cooked with fish and vegetables.
• Cơm thịt kho – Braised pork served with rice, rich and comforting.
• Bún riêu – A tomato-based crab noodle soup with tofu and herbs.

這裡是學伴推薦給我必吃的美食：

• Nước mía tắc：甘蔗汁加上金桔，清甜中帶點酸，非常解渴。
• Bánh xèo：越南脆煎餅，裡面通常包著豬肉、蝦子和豆芽，外皮酥脆、內餡豐富。
• Bánh bột lọc：用木薯粉做成的Q彈小點心，常包蝦子或豬肉，口感很特別。
• Canh chua：越南酸湯，帶有清爽的酸味，通常會搭配魚和各種蔬菜。
• Cơm thịt kho：滷豬肉配白飯，味道濃郁又下飯，是很家常的一道料理。
• Bún riêu：以番茄為基底的蟹肉米線湯，搭配豆腐和香草，味道清爽卻有層次。

Expense

The total expense of the trip is about NTD $30,000 including flight tickets, hostel expense, visa, food expense and souvenir cost.