I'm quite worried about what I should/shouldn't be eating, I'll be in Vietnam for 2-3 weeks, I've been told to avoid all street food (common sense) but also to eat at western owned restaurants, get packaged food and bottled water. Any tips from someone who's been there and done that? I have possibly the weakest stomach known to man…
Any advice would be much appreciated (:
Just make sure the street food is recently and properly cooked and you should be ok. In fact a street vendor where the food is cooked on the spot may be better than a kitchen where you can't see what's happening. Other than that spicy food may not be for you. +1 for bottled water. Have a good time.
lol … whats the point of going to Vietnam and eating at "western owned places"? if you're there just experience the real deal! I'm Vietnamese and still get sick whenever I go there.
my advice:
this, this, this.
When traveling ALWAYS eat like the locals. The best way to get food poisoning is to eat at a restaurant serving 'western' food.
100% bottled water and you can eat at food stalls with confidence if they cook it in front of you.
Like Vietbargain I'm vietnamese, been back to Vietnam twice and got terrible gastro both times. I stayed in the countryside with family though and eat just about everything they threw at me so that's probably my own fault.
The only thing I want to add is to get a typhoid vaccine in addition to your hepatitis. You can get one combined with hep A (vivaxim) and get hep B (Engerix) on its own, or you can get hep A + B combined (twinrix) and get typhoid on its own (typhim). This site says hep A and typhoid are the more important ones, so ask your GP.
Thanks guys, I've got hep A and B vaccines, typhoid vaccine and malaria tablets too just to be safe haha, yes I've experienced sickness in the past from salads in other countries, tap water is horrible, I guess cooked food is the way to go, thorough fried hehe, I have concerns over seafood, the Makong Delta is filthy, wouldn't want to eat anything caught from there…
Get some strong alcohol that you can tolerate (gin for me) and have a shot or two with each meal - it will decrease your likelihood of getting food poisoning while simultaneously lightening your mood.
http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol/HealthIssues/1110384069.html
+1 for including some references :)
avoid salads, as they have been washed with tap water
Bring tablets over if you do get food poisoning. I had the worst food poisoning I'd ever experience and couldn't get medicine there!
But you'll have a great time!
I won't add to the advice - plenty already for you to heed.
However, I was reminded by the thread that the American chef, Anthony Bourdain, in an interview, described Vietnam as his favourite place to eat in the world.
If you can cope with his verbal diarrhoea (while maybe pondering your own actual diarrhoea…) I found the 'No Reservations' episode he made there, on Youtube.
your probably more likely to get gastro eating from a restaurant here in Australia serving Thai or indian or even a meal of odd sushi and pork roll…
most of the comments above are absolute correct. immerse yourself in the culture, way of life and the food and if you do get a bit sick it would be worth it. you'll be a stronger person and when you go back a second or third time… you will have built a stomach of stone and be a real traveller for life.
think of it as training… NO SACRIFICE, NO VICTORY
the only place I didn't eat in Vietnam was the dodgey looking food cart they pushed up and down the reunification express - if you watch it, you see all the locals picking up pieces of food, examining and then putting it back and choosing another piece, probably the same hands they wiped their asses with too. If you can wander up to a food cart and pick up a piece of food and put it back without a squawk from the vendor means chances are another local has done exactly that.
Sit down stalls it is hard to go wrong. Pho is universally good. Western food…seriously…you're travelling all that way to eat something you can get around the corner?
Stay away from the snake's blood milkshakes!! But I've had the Elephant Ear Fish from the Mekong without any problem. I got hooked on "Bahn Mi" sangas when I was there and was constantly eating salads of all sorts without a problem (over 3 weeks, from North to South). But I would strongly suggest that you get Hep A & B and Malaria shots and if you are travelling in the South, apply an insect repellent containing DEET (especially at dusk!)
I usually bring a load of Travelan (http://www.travelan.com.au/) which is available in most pharmacies and are meant to help prevent diarrhoea. I used to get sick every time going overseas even when I didn't eat any raw/street food or iced drinks but ever since I got this, I haven't been sick once knock on wood. You take one every time before you eat. I don't know if my immune has just strengthened after being sick many times before.
I usually take this for the first 2 weeks and watch very carefully what I eat - no ice, sashimi or raw beef during this period and only order street food that they cook immediately before you, nothing that has been pre-cooked and is sitting on the counter. If there are pre-cooked items, I normally ask for a "fresh" one to be made and if they can't, then I move on until someone will do it. Two weeks after I've acclimatised, I'll allow sashimi or raw beef from reputable/clean looking places - usually hotels.
^Yep those pills are great, I've used them before and was able to eat salads I couldn't stomach in the past, kills off the e.coli bacteria (: , I'll look out for the pre-cooked foods and try to avoid them. Although Vietnamese cuisine comes across as being fresh, that doesn't give me confidence in believing that their uncooked meat hasn't been out for a few days, will have to pick out my live animal I guess…
When I'm travelling, I don't do raw..no sashimi, carpaccio, civiche etc…why take the chance?
To add my two cents on street vendors,or rather hawkers…I was in Saigon (HCMC) near the War Museum (walking on a 40 degree day)and this guy follows me trying to sell me an Evian out of his eski for $US1…it was sealed with cello tape! As you may know they get the bottles from a tip, rinse them out and fill with tap water.
However, I was in Hoi An and I had a (very large) bowl of Cau Lau noodle with pork and salad, washed it down with a bottle of beer (bir) for 1 US dollar, the lot! Then I had a smoke from my $1 pack of White Horse!…..is this Paradise or what??
Best tip is, same as everywhere …eat where the locals eat!
Having only done Saigon and surrounds, there there are plenty of more true supermarkets where you can buy bottled water. (Never tried the convenience stores) Nothing wrong with BYOBW when eating out so you can be sure of the quality.
Also there are quite a number of French Deli chains where the cakes and bread are fantastic, so you can enjoy wonderful food even though it's not truly local (but much better than our "french" pastries.
In this case you might actually wish for the runs, so you avoid the big belly that you are sure to experience.
We tended to eat in the department store eateries, for local type food, but avoided the really exotic type dishes. No upsets for me or Mrs Raccoon.
Enjoy your trip, you will probably have to watch the motorcycles more than the food…. and everyone we met was polite and friendly, even when they were hassling you to buy…
Make sure you drink bottled water where you can.. but at the end of the day, you're in a country that has amazing food and some of the best of that is street food. My tactic is not to worry… I eat what I want to eat, if I get sick then I get sick.
Best meal I had (in Hanoi) was Bun Cha Ha Noi - amazing pork belly / pork patties grilled over charcoal with warm dipping sauce, vermicelli noodles and loads of different fresh herbs. From a pretty dirty looking street stall. The princely sum $5 for 2 people including the most amazing spring rolls. I was fine.
Some of the street food is so good that if the chance of shitting myself the next day is 50/50, I would take it. Vietnamese pork baguette from a dirty cart in 30 degree heat where the meat had been sitting out all morning? No problem.
Sure, you might get a dodgy stomach.. but then again you might be fine. Only one way to find out! :-)
Hahahaha…I applaud your bravery Perez, you won't only leave your heart in Vietnam, but half your guts as well!
I love the food there too and I have eaten out of all sorts, but if I felt the stall looked dodgy, I moved on!
However, I saw a television, story on a Australian, cricket tragic living rough in India, who actually drank untreated water from the Ganges!….no problem!!!…so I guess its the luck of the draw!
haha vietnam, it's where they eat dogs isn't it?
That's pretty much the worst travel advice I've heard. Vietnam is one of the world's greatest eating experiences.
Do the opposite and only eat Vietnamese food at Vietnamese run and owned restaurants for your 3 weeks.
You can thank me later.
I've been to Vietnam a quite a few times on 2-3 week stints and I've also go the weakest stomach.
Personally, if the food looks questionable, I weigh up whether I like the food enough to risk sitting on the toilet for next three days - Those few days add up to about 10% of my total holiday.
The food itself more comes down to common sense. Obvsiously, if you can see something that's been hanging out there, exposed to traffic fumes the whole day, then don't eat it.
Having said that, I've noticed that every time I do need to pray to the porcelain gods, i seem to be able to put it down to some water or ice that that i've had in a drink within the few hours prior.
Always stick to bottled water by the well-known brands that are SEALED - I can't remember what those brands are off the top of my head. The reason for this is, there have been numerous cases where locals will fill the bottles with tap water and resell it. It sounds a little far-fetched, but it does happen and I learnt that the hard way with a bottle of water on a long distance trip that was handed out by a reputable bus company.
When out drinking at restaurants or on the street, you'll notice that there are two two types of ice used for drinks. One is the type that has been chipped off from a huge block so it's oddly-shaped. It'll more than likely be a single piece in your glass/mug. The "origins" of the water used for this ice is questionable and if you stand along the the side of the roads, you can sometimes see a huge block being transported on the back of a scooter covered by a piece of dirty cloth - it'll be dripping water from the back of the scooter. When it arrives at the restaurant, it's stored in the back and pieces are chipped off and used as required.
I avoid this type of ice at all costs.
Then there's the second type of ice that you will see in your glasses. They are smaller pieces that look like tubes. They are cylindrical-shaped with a hole in the middle. These are machine-made at the factory with filtered water. This ice is much much less likely to be contaminated (not saying it's impossible, but just much less likely).
Have fun on your trip!
You won't find a more ardent fan of Vietnamese food than me. I also like Cambodian (except their coriander, which is particularly pungent!), Thai and Laotion…..but I'm smart enough to tell the good from the dangerous. I don't mind taking a chance, but I would prefer to live to munch another day!. After all there are plenty of stalls and eateries to choose from, with great food, in all of these places. Just err on the side of caution and you'll enjoy the food and the experience, without any down-time in the dunny.
Avoid salads and stick to boiled soups even though it's hot. Also fried food is okay or anything that's been cooked so that a lot of the germs are killed off.
When we went overseas Travelan was our saviour! Found at most chemists on the shelf for about $18 from memory. Take one before you eat. No problems at all and I couldn't resist trying traditional salads and other dodgy looking street food. So delicious though!
So take one of those and you'll have a blast.
I get sick on these trips too - but I eat anything that doesn't "contain" unboiled water explicitly.
Unfortunately, most of these food outlets that wouldn't drink unboiled water still use that same water to wash their dishes - so you're screwed either way.
I spent a month in vietnam and ate pretty much everywhere: street food, markets, small hole in the wall pho places, fancy western and asian restaurants, hotel buffets, etc.
Didn't get sick at all.
I do recommend sticking to bottled water. Also avoid ice.