(Part 2) Best products from r/VietNam

The best modern history book:

Christopher Goscha, Vietnam: A New History (Penguin, 2016).

and...

If you'd like to take a deep dive, starting from 1,000 years ago:

Keith Taylor, A History of the Vietnamese, (Cambridge, 2013).

I loved Norman Lewis' "A Dragon Apparent".
http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Apparent-Travels-Cambodia-Vietnam/dp/090787133X
It's a travelogue from the period when Vietnam was under French occupation, and Lewis is such a great writer that you get an incredibly vivid sense of what Vietnam was like at that time. There are some indications in it of the war that's to come but it's not a "book about war" at all.

I used this step down electric adapter to make sure my charger did not get overloaded.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W9DJ1Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My Samsung Note 4 has WIFIi calling which I used in Vietnam. I did not have to get a sim card because I could always find wifi when I needed to. For instance, I mostly messaged people, posted photos, or called when I was back in my hotel. However buying a sim card on the fly is very easy to do too.

This is only an adapter to fit the plugs. Your electronic chargers should be able to handle 220V in VN. If you bring a travel hair dryer, buy a dual voltage one like this https://www.amazon.com/Travel-Smart-Conair-Voltage-Dryer/dp/B002B8VE4U

For higher wattage devices such as iron, don't even bother, buy or borrow one , or hire someone local to iron your clothes.

The short list:

-a decent pair of ear plugs if you like to sleep in more than 1 hour increments bc Vietnam has to be in the top 5 for noise pollution,

-bring a surge protector or buy a 220v surge protector there ~$2.50 USD in the markets bc electricity in vietnam is sketchy,

-spare phone charger & cable bc electricity in vietnam is sketchy, unlock your smart phone before you go,

-forget the shoes and socks/dead weight, you'll be getting very wet more often than not, wear some throw aways on the flight and buy flip flops ~$2 usd when you get there bc tevas won't last

-long sleeve UV shirt bc you don't know hot until you've been in vietnam and sunscreen is useless

-I'd bring my own helmet bc I trust any [DOT rating](http://westwards.typepad.com/photos/vietnam_201302/helmets.html) more than the novelty baseball helmets sold as protection there. You might opt for a face shield also if you plan on riding in the rain,

-change money in the jewelry shops, the difference bt one versus the other is usually less than a buck,

-travel with soap and TP/wipes bc it's not readily available in most businesses

There's more but this is what I can think off the top of my head. Are you male or female? Are you backpacking or on a tour?

I looked around and only find knock-off chargers with bad reviews like not working or fire hazard. So getting a 220v charger for 2ds in the states is pretty hard.
Some people had recommended that you could buy a charging cable like this and use the iphone or android phone adapter to charge your 2ds. The cons for this method is that it will charge slower and sometimes you can't play while charging.

Vietnam Today: A Guide to a Nation at a Crossroads

Mark A. Ashwill

http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Today-Guide-Nation-Crossroads/dp/1931930090


Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam

Robert Templer

http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Wind-View-Modern-Vietnam/dp/0140285970


Understanding Vietnam

Neil L. Jamieson

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Vietnam-Philip-Lilienthal-Book/dp/0520201574

I really liked “Eating Vietnam: Dispatches from a Blue Plastic Table” by Graham Holliday. It was one of the first books published under Tony Bourdain’s imprint, and he wrote the foreword.

https://www.amazon.com/Eating-Viet-Nam-Dispatches-Plastic/dp/0062293060

Honestly the only recognized source I know is Duolingo. There are also some textbooks and websites that provide online courses.

If what you're looking for is like tako-yaki in Japan...

Here's one with 25, tho it's cast iron and would be expensive to ship: https://www.amazon.co.jp/池永鉄工-Ikenaga-Iron-Works-たこ焼きピン付/dp/B0033YH350/ref=sr_1_29?s=home&ie=UTF8&qid=1539092945&sr=1-29&keywords=たこ焼き

Pro style: https://www.amazon.co.jp/日本製-たこ焼職人-業務用・たこ焼き器・タコ焼き・たこやき・鉄板・銅板/dp/B01MQJB7OY/ref=sr_1_3?s=home&ie=UTF8&qid=1539093200&sr=1-3&keywords=たこ焼き

Or get a portable wifi thingy.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-E5330-Unlocked-Mobile-White/dp/B00INXBW3U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478191939&sr=8-1&keywords=mifi+3g+unlocked

Like that ^^

Get a cheap indoor grill like this

dipping sauce is up to you really.

https://www.amazon.com/ProArt-27-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor-PA27AC/dp/B078S2YHHN, same monitor on Amazon isn't too far off. No idea why I'm defending them, I have no connection to the store at all. You're right though stuff is cheaper in the uk. During the great gpu shortage of 2017, it was just straight up silly

Assuming you live in an area easily serviced by Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000F17AKC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451847939&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=trung+nguyen&dpPl=1&dpID=51tL6weAdDL&ref=plSrch

Care Du Monde is a shitty alternative. I'm not sure why people suggest it. For starters, it's a blend of arabica and robusta, when most of the street coffee here in Saigon is 100% robusta. Secondly, Viet coffee doesn't have chicory. Thirdly, Viet street coffee is roasted with butter and sugar and is the only coffee in the world, that I know of, that is roasted that way. The coffee I linked to is roasted that way plus they add cocoa. It's the stuff I use at home and is the closest I can get to the same caphe sua da that the lady on my street sells.

Finally, re: yogurt - Viet yogurt is made with condensed milk. I'm not sure what the equivalent to that would be. If you want to make a caphe sua da (condensed milk) you should hit an Asian market and try to find Vietnamese condensed milk because it tastes a lot different then western.

HTH

Both of those questions are pretty complicated to answer, in short, the party/government structure of Vietnam is still Marxist-Leninist, but when it comes to the economy it becomes much more complicated. Officially the economy is called a "socialist-oriented market economy".

Some further reading on the topic:

https://medium.com/@otelocarvalho/socialism-today-in-vietnam-ac22ce2edf47

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00472336.2013.822988

https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Worlds-Vietnams-Transition-Globalization/dp/0199377588

https://return2source.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/actually-existing-socialism-in-vietnam/

https://son-vnprodukty.cz/vn/ch%E1%BA%A5m-sushi/217-m%C3%B9-t%E1%BA%A1c-wasabi-kingzest-43-g-6921929402420.html

Wasabi like the one above may be found in most supermarkets, you could also try asking your street store. Many Vietnamese do like eating seafood with that. The yellow ones similar to Dijon mustard are rarer. Some store specialized in imported goods may have them but I'm not sure.

You may try some vietnamese spicy sauce such as this one https://www.amazon.com/Cholimex-Tuong-Vietnamese-Squeeze-Bottle/dp/B0108MINLC

I actually brought a whole whack of these with me, just in case, but I've only used a couple pairs. If you want, send me the address and I will have my office mail him a few pairs!

Is it one of these? [Cholimex] (https://www.amazon.com/Cholimex-Tuong-Vietnamese-Squeeze-Bottle/dp/B0108MINLC) Chinsu.

Had the same problem as you. Just got this on audiobook, but haven't listened to it yet. https://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-New-History-Christopher-Goscha/dp/0465094368/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1524615036&sr=1-1

Interesting insights into the literature, politics and culture in Vietnam after the war, and up to the recent developments. http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Wind-View-Modern-Vietnam/dp/0140285970