Debunked: 11 Common Misconceptions About Vietnam (From Someone Who Lives Here)

When many people who haven’t yet travelled to Asia think of Vietnam, their minds instantly flash to images of chaos. The Vietnamese eat dogs. It’s a lawless and dangerous country. The traffic is a complete free-for-all and you’ll get mowed down if you’re not careful. All of these ideas are rooted in truth, but those roots are pretty well buried at this point, and some of them are just cultural misunderstandings. I’ve created this guide to unpack some of the most common misconceptions about Vietnam that I’ve encountered while living here over the past decade. For each misconception, I’ll explain why people might think that, what’s actually happening, and why Vietnam is so worth visiting. My hope is that I can “demystify” Vietnam a bit for new travellers and make you feel more secure in visiting one of the most welcoming, accessible, and quickly modernising countries in the world. All the tea on Vietnam 🇻🇳 (DragonImages/iStock) 1. Vietnam is heavily communist One of the most common questions I get when I’m visiting Western countries and tell people I live in Vietnam is “aren’t they communist over there?” It’s a fair question to ask; Vietnam was heavily communist in the wake of the Vi...