I am a solo-female traveler with an extremely minimal budget and limited days. So, I am eager to inspire females to travel and want to help with all sorts of information from my experience to make it easier for you. This time I will be writing about my solo trip to Vietnam. If you have any questions, do feel free to ask.
Vietnam-D1: Midnight in Ho-Chi-Minh
Let us talk about food, transportation in Vietnam this time.
Till now, I believed as I have a Bangladeshi tongue, which is accustomed to the food of various kinds of spice/ masala mixed food, so India is probably the heaven for street food. Because, as Asia has a vast variety of street food, I might not like it out there, particularly as west Asian's food seems rather bland!!
Yet, I was lifted up to the sky and put down to the earth by the street-food of Vietnam be it for the deliciousness or the variations of the delicacies.
Every big city (perhaps all the cities and provinces) has 1/2 renowned street-food corners, where 50+ shops are packed on both sides of the road or sometimes in an open field like place!
You can smell that place in the air, all those frying, cooking, boiling, and all...the fragrances going and blending in the air, making you drool before you even reach the place!!
I have been to Ho Chi Minh, Sapa, and Hanoi street food market, however, I have been to Phu Quoc Island but I did not see any street-food corner there but cannot be so certain but possibly there is none.
Anyway, due to my whole plan going successfully to the south right after I arrived in Ho Chi Minh, I kind of felt lost along the road. Google does not really have much necessary information about Vietnam, particularly if that place is not famous.
My first dear friend, who picked me from the road and took me to her home 😇
The first home I found there!
Particularly, public transportation in Vietnam I found quite complicated and expensive. As I am from a city where there is all sorts of transportation from public/local bus to private Uber services, and almost at every end of the main road there are bus stations to go for long distances as well, it was quite a challenge for me to calculate and travel the destinations. Which eventually led me to sit that Vufarmcoffee café day long and think about the whole plan and expenses once again, that I forgot what I wanted or planned to experience, leading I absolutely forgot about tasting foods!
And only after 2 days, the friends I made from Vufarmcoffee told me we can go food hunting when I am about to catch a bus to the next destination. I was already sad that I could not do any fun thing at all in Ho Chi minh and about to leave, also could not even go to the famous Opera house to see the traditional dance! So, I decided to at least go visit the street food.
Ho Chi Minh street food heaven!
Honestly, I literally did not expect much, like I thought, there will be probably some noodle and noddlesyy staffs and not much of a variation or enchanting delicacy!
But damnation to my knowledge, the moment I stepped on to the tip of the street-food, I was first stroke hard with the fragrances of the food, which was floating in the air and almost drooled!
And then I saw the street like the zig-zag back of a dragon, the street went on beyond your eyes can see!
Every stall has a whole list of their food with price written beside it. You choose what you want to eat and tick the list, then take whatever you want from the van, where all sorts of food is stuffed. You will be given a tray and picked food, then given to them to cook or boil, sitting beside the road on small tools.
Surprisingly, it does not take really much for the food to be prepared!
I have been to the street food market in Ho Chi Ming, Sapa, Hanoi, more or less everywhere, it is the same sort of food, maybe 3/4 items differ.
Sapa food market, located near the Futa bus station, the center of Sa Pa
And though I choose the foods without having a zero clue of how it would test, I kind of liked it all, especially all the beef items they have with various flavours and types, I absolutely loved it all.
As for the daily food, in the morning, you can see many shops selling a crispy bun stuffed inside an egg and salad with more or less 10-15k vnd, which is the cheapest and delicious breakfast to start your day.
Also, in Hanoi it's very cold during spring, so I tried that famous "Egg-rice-noodles-soup with beef", mixing a little spice and lots of coriander-leaves and other green veg-type things they provide along with. On that cold morning, after a long bus journey, while eating that warm/hot big bowl of noodle soup, which smelt good as well, I felt like having a breakfast in heaven!!
It was extremely satisfying at that moment.
Hanoi in the morning!
In Ho Chi Minh
At Sa Pa
On the Phu Qouc IslandThe recipe is more or less everywhere!
Also this same thing you can have for lunch and even for dinner as well, quite cheap regardless in north or south of Vietnam, averagely cost 30-40 K vnd, depending on the pork, chicken, or beef you choose.
And trust me, I never got tired of eating it!
And fortunately, I did spend more than I calculated or assumed in Ho Chi Minh, due to some unforeseen circumstances, but in Hanoi I lived with a Vietnamese family, so mostly ate with them.
The house lady was so kind and sweet of a soul, she not only let me stay in her home, but also insisted on having lunch/dinner with her and her family.
Like herself, her high-schooler son was quite apt in cooking and cooked some nice honey chicken for me with some other traditional/local Vietnamese food.
So, I would say you do not really have to spend much for food in Vietnam if you want to save more, except you should NEVER hold back spending while testing the street-food mentioned above.
Well, that is all about food and related stories for now, let me know if you have anything you would like to know.
All the contents are mine, until mentioned otherwise.
