We rarely think of personal disasters or unforeseen circumstances when we travel. Our sense of adventure and our busy lives tend to gloss over the need to consider what we should and can do in the event of an accident or health crisis. Preparation prevents heartache, so here’s something people can print/write out and stick on the back of their phone or in their wallet. Just copy and paste it and take it to the local photocopy shop.

Trong trường hợp khẩn cấp vui lòng liên hệ:

In case of emergency please contact:

Nói tiếng Việt

Vietnamese speaking

Tôi có/không có bảo hiểm y tế

I have/do not have medical insurance

Công ty bảo hiểm y tế của tôi là

My medical insurance is

Nhóm máu của tôi là

My blood type is:

Tôi bị tiểu đường: Có/Không

I am diabetic: Yes/No

Dị ứng: Có/Không

Allergies: Yes/No

Living in a foreign culture is exhilarating, frustrating, life-changing and mind-boggling. Provided you haven’t landed in our fabulous south central coastal Vietnamese slice of heaven with rose tinted glasses, it can be a great life. Chilling at the beach, cheap beers in a sports bar, a local housekeeper to help you maintain that colonial prestige become the norm.

As the central coast lifestyle’s fame spreads, the overly enthusiastic newbies land on our shores imagining that it’s a short step from tourist visas to renting a mansion to making a fortune as an English teacher.

Slowly the harsh realities appear. Difficult landlords, over-pricing, time-consuming bureaucratic madness, noisy neighbors and the daily assault by traffic take their toll on your sanity. You need to be mentally tougher, learn the local lingo and learn to accept the unacceptable as part of the price of living here.

And then there’s the dark question of what to do if you get sick or injured in Vietnam. The national road toll here is horrifying, up to 30 people a day die on the roads with dozens more injured. Dengue fever is an ever-present threat requiring rapid medical attention. Theft and rip-off hazards can easily strike if you don’t maintain awareness of your surroundings.

Think of where you are going and what you are going to be doing. If you’re going to teach in the countryside, how far are you from good medical care? Do you have a reliable local contact who speaks sufficient English to help you when things go wrong? Have you got enough medical insurance to cover the costs if you have a medical emergency? In particular, check if your insurance covers a full medical evacuation to your home country.

If you plan to live here for some time, research the availability of medical insurance locally too. During my research for this article I uncovered three main providers that you can check out; Blue Cross Vietnam, Liberty Insurance and Bao Viet. There are plenty more but this will give you a starting point.

Quick tips:

Wear covered shoes and a decent helmet if riding a motorbike.

Wear long pants and use mosquito repellent if you are travelling around wet land areas.  Mosquitos carry quite a few nasty diseases in the tropics.

Don’t carry large amounts of cash at any time, particularly late at night or in crowded places.

Negotiate ALL prices before you pay anything – and shop around: don’t lose your business sense just because you are on holiday.

Don’t drink in places that look sleazy or over-priced at night: people do watch you.

Stay in regular touch with family or people who you trust, in case something happens.

I think you get the general idea...

Research: use the net to seek good expat bars and some expat knowledge for each of the places you plan to visit in Vietnam. There are hotlines for tourists in Vietnam however I haven’t provided them here as the numbers and current information may change.

Although it seems scary, a little bit of thought goes a long way towards a safe trip. Vietnam is an extraordinary nation well worth exploring. I hope this advice helps! Happy trails!