Vietnam

I took a trip to Vietnam in March 2024. I was last there in 2015 and not a lot has changed in nine years.

The country still really needs a highway going North to South like highway 101. Major cities also need an extensive subway system. Otherwise, you’ll have traffic similar to what you have now. Getting to anywhere by car takes some time due to traffic and lack of highways. 40-50 mph is the fastest you’ll ever go and even then only for short periods of time. This in sharp contrast to South Korea and Japan both having major highways and fast, reliable, and reasonably priced public transportation. Saigon actually has a subway that was recently built, but is not yet open due to testing.

ADA: The country is not ADA compliant and if you’re mobility challenged, note that stairs can be steep and do not have hand rails or ramps.

Cars: Unlike Korea where the domestic Hyundai and Kia cars look like 70-80% of the market, Vinfast probably makes up less than 10% of the cars I saw. It’s great that there is a domestic car, since I didn’t see any in 2015. I looked at Vinfast EVs at a showroom and was impressed with what I saw. Not as good as a Tesla but still impressive. There is also a charging network, though it’s pretty small. I only saw one charger at a shopping mall, but a map shows them throughout the country especially concentrated in big cities. Toyota and Honda were the most common car, I’m guessing Toyota has 20% of the market and Honda a bit less. The shocker was seeing MG sedans and Mitsubishi brands that we never or rarely see in the U.S. There was the usual Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, but only two Porsche Taycans and zero Teslas or any other electric cars!

Vinfast was the most interesting car since it’s an EV and a domestic product. We saw this Tram Sac charging station located a few steps from the shopping mall. It only had 6 stalls though.

Since I didn’t drive one, my opinion is limited to just looking and sitting in it. I’m overall very impressed. The frunks are too small and as expected they use a CCS plug and not a NACS (Tesla) plug, but other than that, the cars look very competitive with their peers. The lineup includes a VF9 a very large SUV, VF8, 7, 6, VF5 compact car,

The Frunk is too small. Tesla and Ford have it right.

Demographics: In 2015 I’d guess the vast majority of people I saw were 20-40, and it seemed the same for this trip.

Food: I was lucky that a relative showed us around and took us to places to eat. You have to hire a local guide since it saves so much time and you have a much better experience. Several of the places we went to eat I would have never picked on my own due to how they looked on the outside, tables, chairs etc, but the food was 5 stars.

Malls: The malls we went to were really just like American malls with the same stores! I don’t shop when I travel, but this was a bit of a shocker.

Scooters: So many scooters! They are everywhere and the main form of transportation for young people. It always amazes me how much stuff they can carry. This is just one example in Vung Tau, but there are others with much more cargo.

Google Pixel 7 Pro, ISO ?, F/1.85, 1/3164 seconds, 48mm equivalent

nui Ba den

A must see. This place is truly awe inspiring.

Canon M6II, ISO 200, F/11, 1/320s, EF-M 18-55mm @ 31mm

Canon M6II, ISO 200, F/8, 1/400s, EF-M 18-55mm @ 27mm

saigon

Pretty much like any other big city, absent a subway. They actually have a subway that was built by the Japanese, but it was still in testing phase when we were there.
This is the main strip in town, one end is the river and the other is city hall I think? You can see it in the background.