The 10 Things Vietnam Does Better Than Anywhere Else in Asia

Vietnam is not the best country in Asia at most things. But there is a short list of things it does better than anywhere else, and the visitor who knows the list has a fundamentally different trip.

1. Street food, full stop

The number one ranking in every world street food index for a decade, and not even close. A bowl of phở from a sidewalk vendor in Hà Nội for $1.50 is one of the great meals of any kind, anywhere. The category is enormous: bún chả, bánh mì, cơm tấm, bánh xèo, gỏi cuốn, chè, and on and on. Hygiene is usually better than it looks.

2. Coffee culture that takes itself seriously

Vietnam is the world's #2 coffee producer, the birthplace of cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with condensed milk), and the only country in Asia where you can walk into a "specialty coffee" shop and get a hand-pulled espresso with a side of eggs. Egg coffee (cà phê trứng) was invented in Hà Nội in 1946 and is now a global curiosity.

3. Motorbike culture as a real way of life

Vietnam has 45 million registered motorbikes. The Hà Nội–Saigon motorbike tour is the great Asian road trip. The Hai Van Pass between Huế and Đà Nẵng is the best coastal road in Southeast Asia. Renting a bike and going is easy, cheap, and life-changing.

4. Hội An and the lantern-lit town genre

Hội An didn't invent the "old town + pretty lights + silk + river" formula, but it perfected it. On full-moon nights with the electric lights off and the lanterns on, the Thu Bồn river is the most photographed place in the country, and rightfully so.

5. Halong Bay and the karst landscape

1,600 limestone islands rising from a flat sea. The standard Halong Bay cruise is mediocre; the smart version is a 2-3 day boat into Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long, where the crowds vanish and the karsts feel like the world before people.

6. The bánh mì sandwich

The French brought the baguette; the Vietnamese made it lighter, crispier, and put everything inside. The world's best sandwich per capita, found at any corner store in any city, $1.

7. Cave systems

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park has some of the largest caves on earth, including Sơn Đoòng (the world's largest), but also dozens of smaller ones open to non-expedition visitors. Hang Sơn Đoòng alone could swallow a 747.

8. Silk and tailoring

Hội An and Hà Nội have the best custom-tailoring in Asia. A bespoke suit, fitted in 24 hours, $150. Shoes, $80. Don't expect Savile Row construction, but the value is unmatched.

9. Northern highland cultures

The ethnic minorities of Sapa, Hà Giang, Mù Cang Chải — H'Mông, Dao, Tày, Giáy — are some of the most photogenic traditional cultures in Asia, with markets, festivals, and homestays that haven't been Disneyfied.

10. The bowl of bún chả at 11 p.m.

Barack Obama went to Bún Chả Hương Liên in Hà Nội with Anthony Bourdain in 2016 and the rest is history. That bowl, that evening, that simple combination of grilled pork, rice noodles, herbs, and fish sauce dipping broth, is the platonic ideal of Vietnamese food. Eat it. Anywhere in Hà Nội. 11 p.m. Plastic stool. Beer.