[icarus]

I spend a lot of time in Thailand and Vietnam so I can give more detailed recommendations on specific restaurants, bars, etc if you would like.

Vietnam has a lot to see but depends on what you're into and how you like to travel.

Phu Quoc is a beautiful beach island with the best sunsets in Vietnam (because the rest of the country's beaches face east), but if you're going to Phuket in Thailand it's a bit of the same.

Ho Chi Minh is a lot of fun if you're into nightlife and the food is great. I don't do much of the touristy stuff anymore but the Cu Chi Tunnels are worth the day trip, especially if you go by boat up the river. The War Remnants Museum is sobering, not a really fun place but interesting. The Presidential Palace is pretty cool too, not as dark but very cool as it is pretty much maintained as it was when Saigon fell. Some great breweries in HCMC (Heart of Darkness, Pasteur St) if you like beer. If you want to hit the beach, you can go out to Ho Tram where they have a casino, Ernie Els golf course, and a very interesting nightclub in the Intercontinental.

Nha Trang is a beautiful beach city in a gorgeous bay. It's a stunning place.

Danang is the main beach city of Vietnam. For whatever reason it is full of Koreans, which is kind of weird and fun. From here, you should make short trips to Hoi An (the prettiest city of Vietnam), Bana Hills (a cool cable car ride up into the mountains where a faux French village has been built--there is one hotel there if you want to stay the night otherwise you have to line up for a long time to get the last cable car back down), and the old Imperial city of Hue (home of bun bo hue, the beef soup which is a central, not northern, dish and my favourite).

Hanoi is more chill than HCMC. A bit more conservative but still fun. Sip beers along the train tracks where the trains come through with just a few feet of clearance on either side. Ha Long Bay is stunning and should not be missed even though it's super touristy. Splurge on the best room you can book on one of the overnight cruises and you'll have your own private balcony.

Domestic flights are short and and the budget carriers like VietJet are still better than Air Canada or WestJet IMO, so economy is fine. They also have luxury trains in Vietnam which I haven't taken but I've seen some of my friends stories and they look very comfortable.

Locals eat pho for breakfast and drink ca phe, so just go to the busy spots and live like a local. Get used to sitting on comically small plastic chairs.

It's an amazing place. You'll fall in love with it and maybe a girl or two along the way haha.