Wherever you travel, the problem is the same

November 14, 2022 | 07:07 pm PT

Foreigners walk along Le Loi Street in downtown HCMC, August 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Asked about their biggest problem when traveling in Vietnam, most readers named road safety and scams, while some had good impressions and wanted more time in the country.

"Sidewalks in Vietnam make walking experience for families very difficult and dangerous. Many times we have to walk on the main roads as sidewalks are occupied with motorbikes and local vendors."
Ali Nakhila

"Road traffic laws only exist for road traffic collisions otherwise it's a free for all, unregulated truck and bus drivers constantly drinking beer, doing drugs and using the phone while driving in a country where motorcycles are the most popular form of transport, there are car-only highways but no motorcycle-only highways."
ani Aadham

"Coach and minivan drivers are killers, they don't care about other people safety. I traveled over 22 times to Vietnam from 1996. I live here now 6 years. I drove over 100,000km on my scooter. Although I have an official Vietnamese car driver's license, I prefer not to travel with my car.

Vietnam is a right sided road country but they all drive in the left lane and you have to take over on the right side......in a left sided steering car. How stupid and dangerous this is. Where I learned to drive a car you will get a ticket of €150 (US$155)) for this traffic violation.

A pedestrian crossing should be a safe crossing for pedestrians. From experience I know that many Vietnamese do not even know what a pedestrian crossing stands for. Traffic roads are not safe in Vietnam."
John Grofstein

"Taxis at Tan Son Nhat Airport, the drivers don't follow the meter price... they will quote an amount but they still on the meter just for show only."
afa CkCc

"Dodgy taxis at Ben Thanh market and Tan Son Nhat airport. Steer well clear! It must be a nightmare for tourists."
McBride Jerry

"Trying to find the real visa website, lots of agents' websites. Then when finding the official website, it looks dodgy. So very hard to know for sure it is real [...] Trying multiple times to pay for the visa through the payment system. It seems worse in the last few weeks since they changed it. Getting a reply from any queries/questions by phone or email. Phone is never answered and emails never replied to."
John Thompson

Also good things

"The bus system in HCMC is superb. The app provides routes, times and stops. The only downfall is the buses stop running around 7 p.m."
McBride Jerry

"Vietnam is great... The only problem concerns visas. One month is far too short."
Stéfan Breton

"Wherever you travel, the problem is the same. Vietnam is no different, but it's mostly good."
Bart Hamilton

The opinions expressed here are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress's viewpoints. Send your opinions here.