When coming to Vietnam for the first time, many Western tourists are often shy and confused when imagining the distant S-shaped land.

1. The country is not too poor

Most Western travelers who have never been to Vietnam only know that this is a distant country on the other side of the world with people with yellow skin and black hair.

Even some older American tourists coming to Vietnam for the first time are worried that the previous war is the reason why they may be discriminated against by local people.

2. Vietnamese people often use English

Many Western travelers shared that they felt surprised to learn that English is popular in Vietnam.

Due to geographical, cultural and linguistic differences, many Western tourists often think it will be very difficult to communicate in Vietnam.

“While I was resting on a bench, a student approached and told me stories about Hanoi city.

3. Stay away from street vendors

Western tourists are often considered lucrative targets of street vendors.

Not as lucky as Mr. Wilcox, most Western visitors to Vietnam are often considered `easy prey` for street vendors on big streets.

4. Service prices can be exorbitantly expensive

In almost any area with a large number of tourists, shops and stores selling products or services maintain two different prices in parallel.

This problem is often whispered about by Western tourists and many tips for bargaining are shared.

5. Avoid being scammed

With language differences, many Western tourists have been confused between 15,000 VND and 50,000 VND (fifteen thousand dong and fifty thousand dong).

6. Don’t be discouraged when you fall off your motorbike

Even though they have to endure painful injuries from falling off their motorbikes, Western tourists still like to ride this vehicle when traveling to Vietnam.

Being a popular means of transportation in Vietnam, almost every Western tourist likes to explore this land on a motorbike.

7. Vietnam is vast and has many beautiful scenes

Before coming to Vietnam, some Western tourists thought this land was very small, poor and without many beautiful scenery.

“This is very different from the trip from New York to Los Angeles.