Travel notes in Vietnam

I‘m  back:)  For preparing IELTS exam, I haven't written article for over 70 days. It's a good experience that  I may get a desired grade or not, but I improve my English, including speaking English, listening English, reading English and writing English.  English ,which is the most univeral language in the world, give me a dfferent way of thinking and help me to communicate with the world.

I went to Vietnam to take the exam. It's located to the south of China  ,but so different  from China.

Train

There is a train from Nanning  to Hanoi, which leaves Nanning at  6:10 PM  and reachs Hanoi at 5:30 AM the next morning. It is cheaper than flying, while the passengers must get off the train for two safety checks at midnight.

(this is the train.)

(Train ticket)

（Train Station in Hanoi）

（Frontier Inspection Station）

The train arrived at Gialam Station,  a little far from the city center. The railway station is very simple, there is a hall, for waiting , selling tickets and checking.  To start with, people should change some Viet-namese Dong ( 1 RMB = approximate 3389 Viet-namese Dong) in the local shop outside the station.  It's better to change with other Chinese , so as not to be deceived. Then, I called a taxi on the road to go to my hostel ,which I had booked before. However, I was deceived by the driver who couldn't speak English and overcharged me. So the best way to call a taxi or motobike in Vietnam is to use an app named Grap which can caculate the price automaticly.

（Viet-namese Dong）

Vietnamese

Although I was deceived by  the taxi driver ,  I  found that most Vietnamese  are simple, friendly and enthusiastic.

I met a Vietnamese college student in the train, who had just studied Chinese for one month and came back to Vienam with his classmates. When he heard I would take the IELTS exam in Vietnam, he talked with me in English all the night to help me practice speaking English.

The staff in hostel are very nice.  I arrived very early and the staff allow me to check-in without paying extra fee.  Meanwhile, I found that my room is a little noisy for the construction outside, and the staff  helped me  change into a high-rise quiet room without any hesitation.

Wen I go outside and  need help ,  most Vietnam would help me ,even though they can't speek English.

Most Vietnamese can't speak English, they just say Vietnamese. Although  they look like Chinese , I can't communicate with them smoothly.

(Vietnamese)

Transportation

To my surprise, motorcycles and cars share the driveways  in Vietnam, thus traffic seems to be a bit confusing.  Also，The streets are also very dilapidated. However, the Vietnamese seem to be accustomed to all this.

(There are traffic lights, but people often ingore them.)

（street view）

(outside the hostel trhongh window)

Diet

Actually, I would like to say that Vietnamese food look like Chinese food, and they have rice, vegetable, while  the taste are so different. Vietnamese food are more light and not spicy.

（a combo in a Vietnamese restaurant, cost me approximate 30 RMB.）

Living Standard

There are many high buildings and modern supermartkets in the city, whereas, there are also many shabby houses and damaged streets. So I suppose that  the gap between the rich and the poor is large in Vietnam.

(In the shopping mall in Time City, which is the affluent neighborhood in Hanoi. )