TygerTyger

I thought I would love Vietnam, too, for all the reasons giantgem lists, and we really eagerly anticipated our trip there. And I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t like it, either.

It is beautiful and moving, which is why I think it is worth visiting. The history and culture of the Vietnamese are fascinating, and you just can’t experience that without going. On the other hand, most of the foreigners can’t experience it anyway, or at least that is how we felt. Foreigners are pretty well pushed to stay in the foreigner tracks—you basically can’t go to a train station and buy your own tickets or whatever you want to do. You will likely end up, as most foreign tourists there seem to, spending much of your time in the foreigner-friendly Internet and travel cafes and hostels and such and mostly meeting other foreigners.

Our experience with the Vietnamese people was not exactly warm and friendly. The rickshaw drivers and the salespeople constantly approach and do not take no for an answer. Several times my husband had to shout at them in Japanese to finally make them go away. I’m of average build for a Westerner, but the Vietnamese of course thought I was tremendously huge and fat and constantly commented on it and touched me. I do not like being touched by strangers and found that and the constant siege, “buy this buy this buy this buy this buy this” to be nearly unbearable. We also didn’t like that many places in Vietnam are impossible to get to without a guide, which practically means foreigners frequently ended up on big bus tours, which I hate. I especially hated when the one bus tour we took stopped in some little, “traditional” village where the children make money by harassing tourists to take their photo and then saying “money money money” while holding out their hands. I didn’t like the whole stop. I would have vastly preferred not to stop, like, “here you go—commodified Vietnam tradition, just for you, if you’ve got the money to pass around.” No, thanks, I’ll just wait in the bus.

We did have good experiences (we were there several weeks): Handspan travel sets up awesome, very small tours, and we very much enjoyed backpacking in Sapa and kayaking in Halong Bay with them. Our time in Sapa and that area, away from Hanoi, was really miraculous. We stayed in Sapa several days, though, because I was ill-most tourists don’t stay there long-and we got to know some of the locals a bit. I would recommend it if you want to get a small glimpse of how Vietnamese ethnic minorities live day-to-day. Hanoi is interesting and fun and very vivid, and the architecture and the Temple of Literature are worth it, but make sure your skin is very tough to survive the constant assault from peddlers who don’t understand ‘no’ and curious cats who can’t resist touching you no matter how much you shrink away from it.

Yeah, a really mixed bag. We doubt that we will ever go there again, despite the positive experiences we did have and despite the fact that we never made it to the Mekong Delta as we had intended. If we do go back we will entrust ourselves to either Handspan or Explore Indochina to take us to places that aren’t so touristy, with guides who can maybe introduce us to a little of the real culture (as one Handspan guide did for us while we were in Sapa—the most interesting experience of our time there).

I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it, but if you’re in the area already or live nearby (as I do) it’s worth a stop. The museum is pretty hokey; the whole town is a little hokey, but it’s fun for taking pictures and eating UFO hamburgers and buying alien souvenirs.

If you’re in the area and into aliens, you might also check out the Sierra Blanca Brewery in Carrizozo. They brew the Roswell Alien Amber beer there. The beer is pretty good, and the labels are definitely keepers. You don’t have to go to the brewery to buy the beer, though.

All in all, a fun-cheesy little day trip or stop, but don’t expect it to require a whole vacation.

This is a place where you truly need to be prepared for any kind of weather when you go. Don’t think that it won’t snow in July—it might. One time I had a van full of Japanese exchange students up there in late July, and there was a full-on blizzard which taught those shorts-wearing kids a lesson.

Also, please, please remember the animals are wild. They are used to people, but they are not pets or museum exhibits; it is not a petting zoo. Don’t feed them. Don’t get too close to them. Respect their wildness and respect their space. It makes for much happier park excursions.