· Q: Is the region’s (street) food as awesome as it’s touted to be? Expectations are sky high but I’m generally quite self-constrained with carbs - I’m curious if high doses of noodles will agree with me. Was Bourdain right to rate Vietnamese street food above all others? Or will I get the stomach bug randomly just to create the wrong impression that street food there is what people suspect it is supposed to be?
· A: Long story short: Yes, it is just as awesome as it’s touted to be. Long-simmering broths are the main magic factor, but the combination of noodles, protein and LOTS of herbs works very well too. While all three countries do noodle bowls, though, Interestingly, I found this to be true mostly of Vietnam. That is the place where street food infallibly is cheaper and TASTIER than restaurant food – and I never had any stomach issues with it in my thirty-five days in Nam! While I did run into two street food stomach-related incidents in my two weeks (each) in Cambodia and Laos. The Vietnam street food safety and supremacy is extremely counterintuitive to everything we’ve been taught, so it requires a very conscious struggle to overcome all the wrong preconceptions!
· Q: Is there any residual hostility towards Westerners, particularly American-looking-and-sounding ones like yours truly, in Vietnam? I mean, the war was just fifty-odd years ago – there are plenty of people still alive who’ve experienced first-hand the horrors of battles and bombing. How do you forget that and move on, ever…?
· A: On the surface, from numerous conversations – not at all. When I asked a taxi driver directly this question, he told me that Vietnamese people prefer to look forward and have all as a nation learned that only peace sustains and improves life and families. Was it a memorized or self-rationalized line, or a true insight into how the national psyche has overcome this trauma?
· Q: How will my pale skin and European disposition manage the transition from North to Central to South Vietnam, with some jumps in between, with temperatures shifting from 12 to 35 degrees Celsius and the corresponding amplitudes in sunshine and humidity?
· A: Amazingly, I suffered zero redness and burns. Was it my discipline in applying sunscreen (which I was VERY diligent about)? Or was it some weakness of the sun or a variety of landscapes, providing intermittent shade? I don’t know.
· Q: Are Cambodia and Laos and their people just softer, even friendlier versions of Vietnam’s, or are they very different, standout cultures? I’m expecting distinct vibes and sprinkles of Thai and Chinese influences.
· A: The Cambodians and the Lao are very different from the Vietnamese, alright, but in ways quite different than what I imagined before I set off on my journey. The Cambodians are much more open than the Vietnamese to Westerners, much more willing to engage, and emotionally responsive (talking back, smiling, arguing, etc). Very much like the Thai (the Cambodians may not like this comparison, as they are currently at war with the Thai, but it’s true). The Lao are the complete opposite – so shy and reserved that you could easily mistake this for unfriendliness. You will not elicit emotion, responsiveness or engagement from most of them, but you will learn that this is just how their culture is, and that it by no means signifies ill will and a negative predisposition.
· Q: Will I occasionally be subjected to a barrage of aggressive selling or (relatively) innocent scamming, like I’ve experienced in the Marrakesh Medina or on the Zanzibar beaches? I really hope not, it’s possibly my least favorite thing in the travel universe.
· A: When it comes to aggressive selling - not really. There are enough people trying to sell you stuff - mainly ladies selling you massages and dudes selling you ricksha rides or shoeshines (by the way, I’m wearing sneakers – how the hell do you shine sneakers!? Is that a thing?). In Vietnam, just one firm, polite “no” completely stops the process. In Cambodia you will often need two ‘no’s, and in Laos you will never need to fend off any aggressive selling – it just does not happen, even in the most obvious places like street markets.
When it comes to scamming – I just decided that I’m not going to buy anything that someone on the street approaches me with. It’s a simple, but sure-fire way to avoid scamming.
· Q: Will I be able to occasionally peel a layer of the onion, to discover more about what locals value, what they’re really like beyond the tourist-facing façade, and what their real feelings towards the likes of me are? In Japan I scratched this surface once in a few karaoke bars in Kinosaki Onsen but didn’t get to the important layers. I’m curious – and willing – to give it a try.
· A: With the Vietnamese it’s difficult, as the culture is quite closed. Similarly to the Japanese, your best bet it to meet someone Vietnamese relaxing, partying, having a few drinks and willing to open up. With the Cambodians it’s much easier – you just have to get into the right conversation. With the Lao, I feel it’s nearly impossible.
· Q: Will I even want to do that in reality, though, as the fatigue of travel and the comforts of solitude and self-sufficiency set in over time?
· A: Yes, I never stopped wanting to delve deeper into what makes locals tick and makes them happy, excited or angry. It’s a very normal tourist curiosity.
· Q: Can I go through the entire trip avoiding in my writing and social posting the use of travel influencer cliches? If you see me posting stuff like “I’m super excited for the next chapter of my journey…” please send me a cease-and-desist bitch-slap emoji of some sort.
· A: You tell me?
