I lived in Hanoi for 7 months as a volunteer, a little different to Hai Phong in some aspects, but the same in many others...
Firstly, dont be scared of anything I have written, I'm only trying to prepare you, not scare you off! It's better that you know these things now, than after you arrive. My time in Vietnam was the best year of my life, and I wouldn't change a single thing that happened, good or bad, because I learnt from each.
Travel in Vietnam is very, very cheap. Make sure you allocate at least a week (depends on how much money and time you have) to travel throughout Vietnam.
You can catch a cheap public bus from most places to Hanoi, including Hai Phong, and stay in the Aussy Backpackers or a cheap hotel for the weekend if you need an escape to a semi-Western world. Make sure you take your passport with you to every hotel, (even though you’re living in the country, you are still a foreigner).
As for safety, I can’t say enough: You can never be too safe, too precautious, too paranoid. I am all of these things multiplied, and I still managed to get in some strife.
The Vietnamese are very distrusting of creditcards, so you wont be able to use it as a credit card (except at the Hanoi French Hospital: I used it there), but you can use it as a bank card. In Vietnam, the main foreign bank is ANZ, so if you are with them, great. You shouldn’t have too much trouble locating ATMs that accept your cards.
I really enjoyed teaching, especially since I had such a range of classes and agegroups. My youngest student was 2 years old, and my eldest 36! Most of the teaching materials I brought over were quite useless, and I learnt to think on my feet and teach with the bare essentials. A few of my classes didnt even have a blackboard or whiteboard (and chalk is always an issue to find!) let alone a cd player or tv! Learn as many songs as you can, do not count on having a photocopier, or your students having pens or paper.
Despite it being hard work, and having a few issues at the start, I have really enjoyed working in VN. The younger students are gorgeous, the highschool studets were awful, but amusing, but the best thing was seeing the improvement in the college students' English. They went from barely being able to say hello, to disscussing topics with me. To know that I helped them achieve that is priceless. I will always look back on Vietnam as being lifechanging.
Food/Health
My partner and I were sick (as in vomiting) once a week for 2months. In that time, we didnt eat street food. Eventually we braved the street food, and found we didnt get sick any more often! Just brave it when you're ready. Its so cheep, a breadroll with egg should set you back about 6,000vd. A bowl of pho 15,000, and a plate of fried rice about 13,000. As for being sick, keep your fluids up, and hard as it may seem, keep eating. You wont feel like it, but you'll never get better if you dont fuel your body. One time, I didnt get out of bed nor eat for 3 days, and then I tried to get up, but couldnt as I had no substance in my body to give me energy. Apples are good to eat, (a big one costs 10,000), and get a loaf of bread too. Ask for some sweetened condensed milk and heat it up. Pho is always good for a funny-tummy as it's quite salty. Once in a while, splash out on a steak, but make sure it's well-done, just to keep your iron levels up. Most importantly, drink lots and lots of water, every single day. The Vietnamese dont drink tap water either, so there's plenty of water filters that you can fill your drink bottle up from.
Safety
You'll have heard this a hundred times, but you can never be too carefull. I'm a stressed-out, overly careful individual when it comes to my belongings, even back home. On my first day, I left my bunch of flowers down stairs for literally 2minutes whilst I lugged my suitcase up the stairs, and came back down to find that the security guard had stolen them and already sold them..... Lock up everything. Never leave anything valuable in a hotel room, always leave it at the desk. I left my bag unlocked (with my cash in it) once when i went out to breakfast. It was quite a nice hotel, but dont be fooled. I came back to find that 200,000 had gone. Not a lot for a tourist, but a lot for a volunteer. And wrong all the same. Take the time to lock everything, leave things at the desk, and double count your money. I was at the nightmarkets in Hanoi, and i clutch my handbag under my arm like a defensive mother. I thought that no-one could even touch my bag without my knowing it....My handbag got slashed and my mobile phone stolen. Dont take your phone, wallet or camera into any market. Hold your handbag infront of you, not under your arm, and under no circumstance should you wear your backpack on your back! Backpacks are prime targets, I wouldnt bother even bringing one to Vietnam. Not unless its slash-proof and you lock every single zip, and tie it around your waist so it cant get pulled off. Hold your bag infront of you, push away anyone who pushes you, (its ok, thats not so rude in Vietnam), and stay alert.
-taxi drivers. I was told that the Vietnamese are the friendliest people on the planet, and that I didnt have to worry about violence.... I got threatened by a taxi driver with a pair of scissors, 'cause he took us a long way and we refused to pay the rediculous 150,000 fair! I got kicked, had my skirt pulled up, and my boobs pinched by a group of children one evening in the street. They're not cute, they want your money. Do not laugh at them, it only encourages them. Yell "No!" at them, and move away quickly. These little street urchants will nick any unguarded wallets or phones. You wont be able to catch them once they start running.
Girls, after a night out, the odd xe om driver will like to feel up girls' skirts. If you get felt up, hit the driver, (though not hard enough to make the bike fall over!), yell No! and ask him to stop. Get off and dont pay. If you're in the middle of nowhere and theres no one around, as long as its not serious "feeling up" the best thing is to get to your destination, get off the bike, and run into the building. Hanoi is a quiet city at night, and if you get followed, loud screaming does the trick. However, xe om drivers are not all bad, my friend was on a xe om once, and he stopped the motorbike, got off and bought her some red roses, said "I love you ok?", and took her safely home.
The Roads
Don't worry, it wont be long and you'll be able to cross them like a pro. The motorbikes dont want to hit you, 'cause if they do, they're going to get hurt too. Watch out for buses, they slow down for no-one. I got sideswiped by a car, and broke their sidemirror with my side, but they didnt even stop! So, be careful of cars too.
If you're riding a bicycle, the trick is: Act confident, but be nervous and constantly alert on the inside. Ride to the right-hand-side of the road, the slower the vehicle, the closer to the right you should drive. However, feel free to drive the wrong way down one way streets, (so handy!), and drive as slow as you please. you will be honked at constantly, and thats normal. You'll get used to the beeping. A bell is a good things to invest in, though I didnt have one, and I managed fine. However.....I did get knocked of my bicycle by a speeding motorbike, and flew like wonderwoman, (well, more like a flying lump of meat, but anyway) to the ground. My first concern was that someone else would run me over whilst i was on the ground. I was lucky enough to get away with a grazed elbow and a week of painkillers for my back. Wear a helmet. It might not be the law, and you will most definately get laughed at by the Vietnamese, but atleast you'll still have your brains in tact.
Money
I was told that if I was careful with my money, $250 would be plenty to get me through my 7 months with some sparse budget travelling.....2 weeks in Vietnam and all that money was gone. If you want to go out on the weekend, or do any sightseeing, I would budget for min $10 a week, but max about $20 a week to bring from home. However, doing tours is quite cheap. 2 nights all expenses paid in Ha Long Bay should cost about $100. My trip from Hanoi to Hue to Hoi An cost $200, including 2 pairs of pants, and a fair stack of souveniers. I am an absolute stinge and hate spending money, so if you're a little free-er with cash, keep that in mind.
To give you an idea, one night out on the town including dinner costs about 300,000.
Try to pick up some extra tutoring, at first I couldnt find any, and then I had more than I could handle! It's all word-of-mouth. But remember, your school comes first. US$10 per hour is the going rate. They should provide the text books for you, and if its far away, pay for the xe om to get you there and back.
Last few things:
Cocktail: approx $3
Beer: $1
Homebrew street beer (Beer Hoi) : 20cents
Gin and Tonic: $2
Bottle of water (reg): 20cents
Best Bar In Hanoi: Dragonfly Bar: Hang Buom Street.
As for clothing: conservative is always better. I went to Vietnam with nice neat clothes for teaching, and had to go out and buy a suit, stockings and heels. I found that shop owners and people on the street were much friendlier if I wasn't dressed like a backpacker, (but by the same token, no need to wear a suit on the street!). Always have your cleavage covered. When teaching, you will need your shoulders covered, and skirt at least to the knees. But on the street, shorter skirts/shorts and tank tops are acceptable.
Best wishes, and goodluck!
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