If you want to eat a bowl of tender noodles and protein in a broth as rich and flavorful as the plasma that created Life Itself for THREE dollars, instead of paying 35 euros for a plate of grated mystery cheese and dry pasta bought from Esselunga on an important and statusful Positano terrace.
If you want to be greeted by scores of kids smiling, high-fiving you, and shouting shyly but insistently “HELLO!” to you as you roam the nation, instead of being judgmentally stared at by bitter boomers in sparsely populated ghost villages in the European countryside (think Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Django Unchained).
If you want to get immersed in the mission-driven optimism of a huge, vibrant nation on the economical up and up, with the energy, power, and social immersion only young people can bring (half of Vietnam’s population is under 30) - letting go and floating in the river of scooters, honks, bustling kitchens, partying teens, and enthralled tourists.
If you want to be greeted on buses with a free water and a bag to take your shoes off in, instead of with a silent curse from an employee fed up with having to work for a living.
If you want to get massaged for 10-15 dollars (four hands, hot stone, Lao, Khmer, you name it!) and sleep in a five-star hotel with a rooftop infinity pool for 60 dollars, instead of paying 150 euros to sleep in someone’s attic in Copenhagen.
If you want to be greeted with a smile and served immediately in restaurants, with staff catching your signal whenever you raise your eyes, instead of paying 50 euro to buy frowns, rudeness, and mediocre chow in Paris.
If you want to spend January and February in 25-30 degree weather and get a tan, instead of jumping freezing rain puddles on broken pavement back home.
If you want to find mountains, bays, sandy beaches, sprawling megacities, and jungle canals all within a few hours’ drive.
If you want to go up in hot air balloons or paramotors; go tubing, diving, and snorkeling; drive buggies and ATVs; or just chill in hammocks, on boat decks, and on park-like promenades.
If you want to mingle with humble people whose tragic experience has taught them to treasure the lack of conflict and be super friendly, accepting, and open, instead of with people who down a couple of pints and go looking for trouble in Benidorm or force upon you their never-ending theories on Why Everything is Fucked (but it’s not their fault).
Go now. Don’t wait. Chances are it will get less authentic or more expensive or more crowded or all of the above before long.
P.s. I leave you with this episode of Tony’s show, which I feel captures very well the essence of Vietnam (never mind the famous cameo, but I do appreciate the guest’s appreciation of the simple pleasures of the region). Tony’s obsession with and affinity for Vietnam was one of the reasons I chose to visit. I urge you to watch it and get inspired if my words above haven’t been enough.