wow. I was still using uber in February when i was in vietnam

Me too! I think it may have changed in March or April.

My first Grab ride is in HCM city

Greetings alison!! American man planning trip to Vietnam for vacation this year. Come across you great video here. Would love to email Facebook what ever for continued tips with English speaking folks allready in country. As I might would retire to Vietnam in about 5 years. I am over the north America blizzards and snow storms. Had my full lol. Jprater73@yahoo.com

when are you in vn again

Ash B Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry this happened to you. At least other people can learn from this. Safe travels wherever else you end up going! :)

Also they pretend to tell you sad stories about themselves to make you feel sorry so you can tip them more.

That happened to me years ago, I got out of the taxi and refused to pay. He got antsy and a lot of Vietnamese came over and helped. I missed my show, thank God I now have google maps. I map out the journey before I start and make a point of showing the map to the taxi driver.

Nguyen Phan Viet Hung Thanks for the tip!

Nguyen Phan Viet Hung Im sure this will help a lot of people have a nice time in Vietnam. :)

Don’t trust them, you could get scam and got rob easy. My friend got rob when he tried to take his money out and pay. Lucky for him he called me to lend him the money. I guess it rare to see foreigners got rob but they are the easy target. Most importantly, watch out for your important documents such as passport.

Thanks Nguyen

Call 113 hahaha, yea goodluck with that, they hang up on you or just simply ignore you, thats IF you live in HCM or Hanoi, where you MIGHT get lucky and they speak English, any other city, they just simply dont answer or hang up in your face because they dont speak English

Oo I almost forgot that one. Thanks for sharing!

I'm glad you could find this video helpful! Vietnam is such a beautiful place to travel around. :)

@fitboy 86 no need to apologise my friend, there are plenty of scams in the West too but they feel legitimate by being called "white collar crimes" or "corporate fraud"!

I'm so happy I could help! Hope you have a nice trip!

xX/Mards_Sachiko\Xx Haha yeah, it seems hectic to us non-locals, but the locals there seem to have a system of driving there that we don't understand. Glad you made it back safe!

Correy Law Thanks for your comment Correy! :)

Hi Kenneth, I am so happy this video was helpful to you! Wish you safe travels and an amazing trip! :)

Yes, pick pocket and snatch and run theft! Thanks for sharing your tip!

I used to live in Hanoi for more than a year. Thank God never of these happened to me.I still consider Hanoi as a safe place to live in. I can not just say that all of the street foods are clean

Nguyen N. I'm happy you found this helpful! I hope you have an amazing trip to Vietnam! It's so beautiful :)

Alison Linh The only thing that would’ve made this video better is if you didn’t mention already having a boyfriend 😎👍

David King hahah thanks David!

Brett Burns Oh wow, that sounds like a bad experience. Sorry that happened to you and thank you for sharing with us! Booking with the hotel does seem like the way to go. :)

Aw I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you have a better experience next time you come to Vietnam!

Tom S Happy to help! Thanks for the comment :)

oo2deep o hahaha it’s like my most popular video for some reason. Probably the only reason I have so many subscribers.

Madusha Dedigamuwa I'm so happy you found this helpful! Hope you have an amazing time and safe travels!

Glad I could help! Hope you have a wonderful trip :)

I'm glad you found this video helpful! I hope you check out my other videos also. I've done a decent amount of traveling around Vietnam and it is such a beautiful place to see. :)

Good Cook Bad Cook Haha same here! Thanks for the comment and support! :)

Glad you found this video helpful! Safe travels! :)

Cheers Alison, enjoying your videos about your life in Vietnam. I'm an English teacher as well, sent you a message on your 'daily life in Da Nang video'....keep enjoyin' the good life! Ken

Kenneth Monette Thanks Kenneth! I appreciate your comments. :) I hope all is well over on your side of the world!

Travel With Henry Thanks for the comment :) I hope you have a great trip!

Thank youu :)

Van Vo come back!!

JP P Oh yeah! Thanks for pointing that out. That almost happened to us a couple of times in Hanoi, but the ladies were selling baked pastries. Sorry that happened to you. Thanks for sharing though!

Never any "free" samples.

I am being extra wary of this scam on my visit. As a coconut 🥥 drinking and eating sort of guy, this has quickly become my litmus test for any decent country

Sammy from Alabamy Glad I could help! :)

Jess Yates Yes I am! I actually teach online. I made a video on it if you want to learn more :)

Jfoodreviews Eating Show I hope you have a great time there! 😊

Aw I am so sorry that happened to you. Yeah, sometimes you just get unlucky. I hope the rest of your travels are good!

i was super uncareful with my phones 4 times now nothing got stolen even in small alleys near bui vien, if you don't look like an easy target they don't try.

Aaron and Wera haha seriously! It's so sketchy trying to vlog while walking around Vietnam. Hope your good luck continues!! :)

That’s how the Vietnamese people and their culture are. They wonder why people stop going to Vietnam. Vietnam is a third world slum!

Still better than some parts in the US where you can shot at and killed for being in the wrong place.

se7en Zee You can be killed anywhere for being in the wrong place. Which is the point I was trying to make ok the beginning.

@Alison: my comment was towards the person above. I like Vietnam very much, esp. Da Nang and Da Lat. I try to stop by whenever I'm in Asia.

Val Beauregard Glad I could be helpful! Safe travels! :)

Sang L. Yes, it's usually the larger the vehicle, the more power they have in the road. Big buses and trucks drive like crazy while smaller cars and motorcycles have to get out of the way. It's really dangerous actually, but it seems like everyone understands this system and flows with it. I don't drive in the city (Saigon), because I'm terrified haha. I also work from home so I don't need to drive everyday. However, Da Nang is a lot less crowded and easier to drive around.

If you have never been to Vietnam before, Da Nang would be the city to visit first. It's a lot less crowded comparing to Hanoi and HCMC. You can stay at one of the high-end resorts and also visit a few historic sites. As for the car/motorbikes, no issues. They have their systems and it seems like it's working better than in the US. When I was there last year, I saw a Bentley surrounded by motorbikes. Some Vietnamese are very wealthy!

VN has no road rules!!

RyanNguyen165 I was scammed twice by taxi and I am also Vietnamese !

Thank you! I'm sorry you got scammed. I hope this video helps other people!

Shag Wellington Thank you! Yes, I recommended Uber or Grab as well. But you are right, Grab bought out Uber. Way better to use instead of a taxi though!

So what , idiot.

I'm glad this was helpful! Thanks for watching and good luck with your trip to Vietnam! :)

Dennis Vu Yup! That's what I said in my video too. I love using those apps. :)

Lost&found Hi, thanks for your comment. I guess I'm talking a little bit about both, but it is a little confusing. Vietnam is pretty safe in terms of personal safety. Scams can be common, but are not usually physically harmful.

That's terrible. At least $500k is only ~$22 USD.

KL taxi even worst....you give big note like RM50, no change to you. The taxi fare was RM33.00 If you ask for change, the taxi driver tell you the balance is the tip to him or the balance is cover the return to their main pick up point. And the worst, the taxi driver tell you, he didn't have small change...RM2 to RM5, give him to buy coffee.

Glad it was helpful. Safe travels!

Phuong Ngo wow thanks for letting us know! I didn’t even think about that.

IQ CREATIVE Oh wow! I’m sorry that happened to you guys. Some of these people are skilled. It’s hard to be on the look out all the time, but if you’re aware, it makes you more cautious. Safe travels!

Joyce Le lol yeah me too!!

Don't be so frugal. The wet napkin only costs 10 cents each.

se7en Zee Yeah, I didn't say they were expensive Haha. Just don't like using them.

Not only Vietnam is a third world slum, the people and the culture reveal they are liars, cheaters, scammers, and they will do anything to rip you off. Even the food that you think might be safe, but it’s full of cheap, toxic, and absolutely, unsanitary. The Vietnamese got no sense of honesty whatsoever! I’m screaming as loud as I possible can, so the people can steer away from going to Vietnam. What a third world slum Vietnam is!

What a shame you can’t even write a proper English sentence, let alone reasoning your stupidity. Admit you’re stupid and go get some education, will you?

haneul ishika Im always happy to help! Safe travels! :)

TROLL FX I’ve been numerous times and never had a issue, but yeah I get a bad feeling sometimes.

Stan McKinney You definitely should visit! I love Vietnam :) I hope you have a great time there!

@@AlisonLinh Thank you!

Very true. Hopefully this will help a little bit though!

Maggie Phan Glad this was helpful! Safe travels :)

Aji Bang You just need to make sure to have a good contract and maybe even go through a renting agency. I had some great people help me with the rental process in Saigon. Check out Honey Comb rental if you’re looking for a place in Saigon.

Victor Creed Happy to help!

A T Thanks! That's awesome! I hope you have an awesome time connecting with your relatives and home land :)

Let's go Dong Nai

Nipu Nath Thank you! Glad it helped :)

Yeah, it does. Keep uploading such informative videos.

Hello! Unfortunately, I am not living there anymore and while I was living there I did not own a motorbike. However, I have heard that it is 100% possible to get a bike and drive without having a bike license. It is not legal and if you get pulled over by the police, you might be asked to pay or ticket or forced to bribe them. We've never gotten pulled over in Vietnam, but in other Asian countries, we've bribed police before. It's never more than $10 though. We've also only gotten pulled over because we did something stupid like not wearing a helmet. You should be fine, but be careful! It's crazy driving in the city. We only ever rented motorbikes and drove around the countryside in Vietnam. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

Floppy Arms Here I completely agree! :)

Thanh Hoa ppl are dicks jesus chris dude...

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Alison Linh You’re welcome! Have a great time in Vietnam!

Bachitter sandhu Aw I’m sorry to hear that. :( it is very common in the city. I hope you’re experience gets better in Vietnam. It’s a beautiful country!

Yeah, that is true. Also, most foreigners only get data on their phone and don't have calling capabilities.

Get hotel to book it

James Sal Haha no this is not true! Once you pay for your visa, you're good to go! :)

do not bribe periode

If you look like Viet mostly they will find a way for you to give them some cash.

I hate customs officials the most when traveling to VN. They ask for gifts (quà) even though you did not do anything illegal entering or leaving the country. Very annoying so I learned to ignore them.

Don’t pay. They legally can’t do that. Now that they’re more security cameras in airports they do it less now but don’t do it you’re not obligated to

Oh wow, I never heard of the coconut scam, but I'll be sure to look out for it now. Thanks for sharing! :)

that was the "worst" actual scam, asked for the price understand 40k gave him 100k he told me 140k. Told him to f. of. But in the end that was the price of a Cheeseburger i "over" paid him.

jack white hat My relatives are local Vietnamese and they help me out a lot. :)

but is have some body scam you when you buy thing

Oh yeah, I get overcharged a lot when I buy things, but it is not too bad.

exactly

Darling D You never know! I grew up in Asia and said I wasn't going to move back to Asia again, but here I am! Things change. You might be surprised at how developed and comfortable Vietnam is (in the city) now. You should check out my apartment and neighborhood tour video if you are ever interested in the future.

Vừa vô cảm vừa đánh giá VN quá sai

It is pretty difficult, but if you're living there, it's a lot easier to pick up since you are using it more often. :) I hope you have a great time there!

Lena Le It's always good to be careful wherever you travel. I'm glad you guys are being smart about traveling. Best of luck with all your future travels! :)

Much Love Generally, I do feel safer in the States. However, my home got robbed in the States and I've gotten scammed out of concert tickets there. I never encountered any problems in Vietnam. But then again, I lived in the States for five years and Vietnam for only 8 months. I do believe you are targeted more as a foreigner in a different country so I think I always had my guard up in Vietnam and was very careful.

I've seen several home/store robbing and shooting news every week in the States, how is it safer? And scams are literally everywhere, from trading to promoting/advertising.. It didn't happen to you yet doesn't mean "safe", if you walk around poorer areas they could snatch anything from you in no time for drug money. Don't lie you guys don't even dare to walk out in the street as often as people do in VN, and downtown areas especially in big cities are full of panhandlers and sneaky robbers/stealers for drug money. Drug dealers are the money Queens in the States! Talking about being unmindful in downtown, are you joking?? I think VN should spend SOME BUT NOT MUCH MORE money for public security, because it's like paying to protect idiots who walk and chit-chat or play games without looking at the street or the surrounding. There are crooks everywhere, not even less in the States, and general local Vietnamese can't afford paying more for that stupid extra cost of having police everywhere (they prefer being mindful to protect their own properties.. as common sense and mindfulness are the most basic survival skills..), so if you want to have the luxury of being unmindful, go to high-class shopping centers and there, you're at "home"!

Sounds nice! I really liked Mui Ne. I will check out Ham Tiem next time. :)

Madeleine Reilly If you feel Vietnam more and more dangerous, try to live in Paris, Italia

BRUH Vietnam is getting safer what you saying

Pheezy420 REEFER Vietnam is amazing!! So excited for you :)

@@AlisonLinh yes! I cant wait less then a week away! I'm staying for 2 months learn about the culture

same in cuba, we ended up asking them for money first before they had the chance, it was so fun that the last couple fo days we were there we just walked the street looking for scammers to prank.

I'm sorry to hear that! :( But thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate you helping others as well!

I hope the rest of your travels through Vietnam go well!

Alison Linh so... Is it safe to travel?

William Sepulveda As long as you're careful about the scams! Just be smart and you will have an amazing time there!

Alison Linh thank you Alison :) And your right, any country could get you scammed if not wise about it... Good point.

Lufia Daos Thank you for sharing! I never experienced it, but I’m sure it happens. Stay safe!

Tom Nguyen True! I will admit it is a dumb title for this video, but it’s what got people’s attention. Just wanted to let people know that Vietnam is generally a great place to visit!

White Tea Roblox Channel Yeah, the malls in Vietnam are pretty nice!