How to prepare for a trip to Vietnam

Hello again!

During the last few months, some friends and I have planned to go to live in Vietnam for some time, for exactly three months (from June to the middle of September).

The idea came about because two of my friends had to do an internship at a university abroad, and Vietnam seemed like a good option. In addition, one of them has family members living there that could put us up during our stay and also, like it or not, it is reassuring to know that they already know how to get around there and they can help us if we come across any problems, etc.

I have spent various summers wanting to do some volunteer work, so the other girl and I joined her plan.

The truth is that going to Vietnam isn't like going to any old European country (like when we did our Erasmus in Croatia) but it is necessary to bear in mind a lot more things when you are planning your trip.

Vaccinations

When you travel to different foreign countries it is essential that you inform yourself about what vaccinations you will need to travel to that country. In the case of Vietnam, there were no obligatory vaccinations but there were some recommended ones according to the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare (although I also recommend looking at the webpage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

But the best thing is to go to an International Vaccination centre where they will analyse your situation and recommend you some of the usual vaccinations.

So this is exactly what I did, I went to the International Vaccination Centre that was nearest to me, and a doctor asked me for details about my trip and about my medical history to be able to give me advice.

In my case, I am only going to be in Vietnam for three months and I will be living in one of the most developed cities in the country: Ho Chi Minh; therefore lots of the recommended vaccinations weren't too essential in my case.

The doctor prescribed me with the vaccination against Hepatitis A and the vaccination against Typhoid fever. The first one he injected that same day in the centre, however, the second ones were tablets which you have to keep in the fridge and that have an effect around 10 days after taking the final dose.

It is advisable not to leave this till the last minute because some vaccinations have to be done with time to spare and you already know that these things take a long time, between getting an appointment, sometimes they have to do a blood test, etc.

Medication

It is advisable to make a first aid kit before going. In my case, I followed the advice of my doctor, which are usually similar for any kind of trip abroad similar to this.

The first aid kit included basic medicines such as aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen, antiseptic, bandages... . But also something specific in case of diarrhoea (very common in the first few weeks of the trip when your diet changes dramatically), the one that I was prescribed was called Fortasec.

I also bought a mosquito repellent as they are quite common there and so they recommend that you always keep one in your bag.

Visa

Everyone whose trip to Vietnam and their stay is going to be longer than 15 days should apply for the visa to be able to stay in the country.

In our case, we were really lucky, as seeing as my friend's family lived there, I could apply for it from Vietnam. We only had to send our plane ticket and a scan of our passport.

Anyway, what you usually have to do is apply for it online and to be able to get it; in general, you need to have a passport with more than 6 months left before the expiration date and a photo of your driving license, as well as filling in a form on the website.

Bank card

It is also important to make sure you inform yourself about your bank's validity and commission charges in the country that you are travelling to. Personally, I went to mine and they told me that I can take out money maximum 5 times per month. Saying that, if the cash point I use charges commission, they will not charge me.

Internet connection

I found out that my mobile phone carrier does very little about the tariff that I would have used in Vietnam, and the truth is that the price for calls was excessive, as was to be expected, so the best thing to do is, once you get to the country, buy a sim-card with internet for your phone there. This is what we will do, when we arrive we will buy one of these sim-cards; in fact, normally they sell them in the airport itself.

Travel insurance

Even though it is true that some bank cards already come with some kind of travel insurance, mine didn't cover me for that much therefore I decided to buy half a years travel insurance to travel with less stress.

There were quite a few options and for most companies, the insurance usually rounded up to be around 150 to 200 euros. Some of them were even more expensive. I finally decided to get one with the company Generali as I had heard good things about them and also, it was one of the ones that had the cheapest price and a pretty complete cover. But well, this depends on your preferences and on what you need, your budget, etc.

Clothes and shoes

The suffocating heat in Vietnam and especially the humidity makes it important to dress in comfy, floaty and light clothing. Therefore, it is recommended to dress in clothes made of fabrics such as linen, as well as light colours. Also, darker colours usually attract mosquitoes more.

In my case, I filled up my suitcase with floaty trousers and I left all my denim at home in my wardrobe, as it is almost impossible to withstand the heat with those kinds of fabrics which are so fitted. Also, I packed some comfy dresses and jumpsuits for day to day wear and some comfy footwear that let your feet breathe.

Anyway, what I had already been warned is that there are so many places where you can buy this style clothing in Vietnam and the prices are extremely low. Thus, I will try not to fill up my suitcase too much, bearing in mind that I will return with it a bit more full, once I come back with all of the things that I will have bought there.

Workaway

The truth is that my idea of going to Vietnam for three months was to do some kind of volunteering there. Searching on the internet there were so many options, but you had to pay to do all of them and it wasn't cheap (600 euros in advance and not including the flights, of course). I searched and searched but it was practically impossible to find one that was for free, so I decided to try Workaway.

Workaway is a website which allows you to find all kinds of volunteering opportunities, exchanges with other families, cultural changes... even travel buddies.

In my case, I was searching in Vietnam, specifically in the city of Ho Chi Minh, and I found every kind of experience. Working in a hostel, teaching English to children who don't have resources, working helping out in small businesses, social canteens.

All of this is, of course, not paid work, but in exchange they offer accommodation whether in the hostel, with a different family or in a different completely free accommodation; and other times they promise to offer free meals.

But this isn't anything, with these experiences you especially win with getting to discover local people and their culture.

In my case, I applied to work in a hostel, as for studying tourism it is something that, as well as enriching me personally, would also benefit me professionally. And being there for three months, I also got in contact with a small organisation which is dedicated to giving English classes to children without resources.

Both experiences offered free accomdation, as well as some free meals. They even offer to teach you Vietnamese and how to cook the traditional food of the country, for anyone who is up for learning! These all seem like pros to me.

To be able to put yourself in contact with these organisations/businesses, you have to sign up to Workaway. For this, you have to pay 36 euros a year; but to me, it seems worthwhile because they give you a pile of options and you can use it for the whole year and travel where you like.

Other advice

- During the trip, it is important to ensure that the foods that we eat, whether they are street-food or from a restaurant, are cooked properly because if not, it is likely that they could contain bacterias which could cause you to get ill.

- This is the same thing with water, you can only drink bottled water, you can't drink water in the shower, and you should also be careful with ice-cubes when you don't know where they have come from... In my case, I also bought some disinfectant tablets for non-drinking water which do exactly what they say on the tin, to make the water suitable for drinking and thus ensuring that we won't get ill. Anyway, I've been told that it is easy to find those tablets in Vietnam.

It is also important to be careful in the sun and use sun cream which is minimum factor 30.

- Vietnam and in general the Asian countries are characterised by their excessively humid and suffocatingly hot climate, therefore it is important to stay hydrated.

- Always make sure that your passport isn't expired and that it isn't going to expire in a few months.

- You have to be careful with scammers as, even though Vietnam is considered quite a safe country, it is very common occurrence that people will try and scam you. Especially in taxis from the airport.

- In the same way, for everything that you buy here, you have to haggle for it. That's the daily lot here.

And so that's it! I hope that this has been interesting, or helpful for those who are planning a trip abroad.

Thank you for reading!

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