Wilma C. Inventor-Miranda l November 20, 2024 l Business Mirror
It was the first time for my husband, daughter and me to visit Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, but we were impressed.
Our 5-day itinerary was mostly centered on food—one of our favorite meals are the ones on Vietnamese restaurant menus—and a visit to popular tourist spots. We didn’t go to other places in Vietnam because we wanted to immerse in the culture of the city. Also, whenever we travel, we would like it, as much as possible, to be at a relaxed pace; just enjoying the time, place and food.
Vietnam has been an alternative country for businesses to invest in for those who are looking outside of other countries in the Asian region.
The country has succeeded in its electronics, footwear and textile industry. Vietnam has retained its Moody’s credit rating of Ba2 with a “stable” outlook since last year. A good investment-grade rating signifies low sovereign risk, helping the country to avail funds with lower interest rates and enabling it to use interest savings for social programs and projects.
Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach 6.8 percent to 7 percent this year (The Investor Vafie magazine), which is significantly due to exports and tourist arrivals. The latter adds over 1-percentage point to its GDP growth this year (Vietnam Travel). On the other hand, Moody’s Analytics expects Philippine GDP to expand by 5.9 percent this year, 6 percent next year and 6.1 percent in 2026.
When we arrived in Vietnam, the plane was full of mostly tourists from different countries. Traffic was light as we rode on a double-decker bus. If we had this bus in Manila, there’s a good likelihood of being stuck in traffic and inhale polluted air.
Like Manila, Ho Chi Minh City also sees motorcycles on its one-way streets. The streets were lined with trees that protect pedestrians from the scorching November heat.
What impressed me most, too, is that all the restaurants we went to have very clean restrooms with ample toilet papers and soaps. Even restaurants that are small and not unlike our “carinderia” are crowded with tourists because of their good ratings). I was surprised that these small restaurants have clean toilets, too.
The best way to know if a restaurant is good in Vietnam is not to rely mainly on bloggers’ comments or reviews on the web. Check also the recommendations of friends or check on the list of Michelin-star rated food places so you will not be disappointed.
A blogger-recommended restaurant we went to had prices that were exorbitantly high while the food was not that good.
We stayed in a Japanese hotel knowing that it is clean and, just like hotels in Japan, is generous with amenities that other hotels cannot provide such as sunscreen, face beauty masks, hair brush, lotion in travel packs, herbal teas, and mouth wash stowed in travel packs. They also provided a pair of tops with matching pajamas made from what we consider high-quality materials. Of course, I love the Japanese toilet bowls with their usual sophisticated bidets.
Vietnamese foods are one of our favorites in the Philippines; that is one reason why we chose to travel to Vietnam this year. And we had food galore at their Vietnamese restaurants. We enjoy such food adventures wherever we go since we believe that it is not only in the tourist spots that we get to know more about a country but through its foods. We found out that the authentic Pho is far better than what is served locally and they have a varied way of cooking foods.
We also took a Saigon River Cruise and I should say that it is almost similar to the cruise we had last month on Bangkok River. The only difference is the people on the boat seemed to enjoy more the music on our Bangkok River Cruise rather than the people in the Saigon River Cruise and I should say it is more in the choice of music they sang in the boat rather than the people having no musical inclinations.
Cruising the river or any cruises provide such a beautiful night view with the buildings, skyscrapers and certain temples lining up along the river bank. There were no shanties and informal settlers along the river bank like in Bangkok and I hope we can replicate such here in the Philippines.
If you ask me if I want to go back, maybe; but not in the near future. In the meantime, I want to see more new places in this beautiful world we are in.
*** Wilma Miranda is the 2024 chairman of the Finex Ethics Committee, managing partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs, and member of the Board of Directors of KPS Outsourcing Inc. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions and the BusinessMirror. Photo from Pinterest.