Fun fact#278
Vietnam grows most of the world's cashews
Vietnam is the largest exporter of processed cashews, and also a leading producer of robusta coffee.
Vietnam
Sixteen hundred limestone islands, a railway that runs through people's front rooms, and coffee worth crossing a city for.
8 entries · 5 stories, 3 fun facts
Vietnam at a glance
The practical numbers, before the stories.
- Capital
- Hanoi
- Currency
- Vietnamese dong (VND)
- Official language
- Vietnamese
- Climate
- Long enough to have three climates at once - a cool winter in the north, dry heat in the centre, tropical year-round in the south.
- Best time to go
- Varies by region; February–April suits most of the country
- Time zone
- UTC+7
- Driving side
- Right
- Plugs and voltage
- Type A / C / F, 220 V
Worth knowing: The country is 1,650 km end to end. Check the forecast for the specific region, not for Vietnam.
Planning a trip to Vietnam
The decisions that determine whether the trip works, whichever country you are going to.
Hạ Long Bay contains close to 1,600 limestone karsts, most of them uninhabited because the cliffs are simply too steep. In Hanoi's old quarter a working railway runs within arm's reach of house fronts, and residents pull in their chairs twice a day as a matter of routine.
The entries here also include the advice for crossing a road full of motorbikes - walk slowly and never stop, terrifying for two days and obvious on the third - the sleeper bus with three rows of reclining pods and a strict no-shoes rule, and the bún chả stall that opens at eleven and sells out by one.
Entries from Vietnam
Fun fact#280
Hanoi has a train street
In the old quarter a working railway runs within arm's reach of house fronts. Residents pull in their chairs twice a day.
Fun fact#282
Ha Long Bay has 1,600 islands
Ha Long Bay's limestone karsts number close to 1,600, most of them uninhabited because the cliffs are too steep.
Story#465
Motorbike lessons
The advice for crossing the road was to walk slowly and never stop. It is terrifying for two days and completely obvious on the third.
Story#469
Train street tea
We drank iced tea sixty centimetres from a railway line. Twice an hour everyone stood, moved the chairs, and sat back down as the train passed.
Story#471
Overnight bus to Sapa
Sleeper buses have three rows of reclining pods and a strict no-shoes policy. I slept for six hours and woke in fog with rice terraces underneath it.
Story#475
Bun cha at eleven
The stall opened at eleven and sold out by one. On the third day the owner recognised us and put extra herbs on the plate without a word.
Story#479
Ha Long fog
We had booked for the view and got two days of white. Then on the last morning it burned off in about fifteen minutes and sixteen hundred islands appeared at once.
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