Last Updated on August 17, 2017 by Christine Kaaloa
You don’t have skydive out of a plane or eat strange bugs or worms to be a daredevil . Sometimes, adventure and danger can fit into the simplest and most ordinary things. If you’re a solo traveler, it’s the simplest things that can feel the most dangerous!
Top 5 Most Dangerous Things to Do in Vietnam
Table of Contents: Top 5 Most Dangerous Things to Do in Vietnam
1. Cross a Vietnamese street
Ready for a death wish? Offhand, crossing a Vietnamese street can like a feat for daredevils, but I assure you there’s a simple trick to it. Just go slow and with caution. Use the lady in the photo and video as an example. Do it with a group first and then you know what? When no one’s looking, try it on your own!
Old food vendor lady crossing the street
Video of an old lady crossing the street and then of me crossing the street
2. Drive a motorbike in the city
In Vietnam what else is there to do? Motorcycle madness in Vietnam is in full swing as the culture’s predominant mule. Streets in larger cities like Hanoi and Saigon can feel stressful and manic; unless you’re an advanced driver, why not start small? Rent a bike in one of the smaller towns or villages where you can enjoy easy motoring. There’s nothing like exploring a town’s map or local countryside on your own terms via motorbike. Moreover, you feel at one with nature, free and need I say, empowered?For advanced riders seeking a cross-country trip: why not book a tour with Easy Riders. 15 years in the service of handling motorbike tours, I hear they’re pretty incredible!
3. Ride a xylo
Hop aboard, take a one hour ride through the streets at the pace of Old Vietnam before the modern motorbike arrived. What’s so dangerous about riding in bike-pedaled pedicabs? Aside from breathing exhaust fumes, perhaps not much. But unfortunately, these age-old vehicles may be extinct soon. Due to the fact they add to the traffic problem in heavily touristy areas, Vietnam is closing in to ban them from operation.
4. Ride threesome on a motorbike taxi.
Motorcycles are Vietnam’s modern-day station wagon– families toting babies and children (3-4 to a chair), two men moving a dresser bureau…! Why not experience what it’s like to be a Vietnamese family? Hire a motorbike taxi, step in and have a laugh as you gain insight into what it’s like being a third wheel!
5. Eat the street food
“Avoid the street food! ” people say; yet some travelers do it and live to tell its tale. Street food is a big part of local culture and the fast food preference of hungry Vietnamese. Cooked on the spot, you can cop a squat on a plastic foot stool and peruse through menus, ranging from a cardboard sign to a grease splattered one page carte du jour. While I can’t guarantee the food being better than restaurants or that practices are always sanitary, it offers front row ground-level seating to the popular local spectator sport of street watching!
What are your most dangerous things to do in Vietnam?
Disclaimer: These activities all contain an element of danger to which this author and site claims no responsibility. If you attempt them, it is at your own risk.
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