In Vietnam, she visited the ancient town of Hoi An in Quang Nam province, and traveled to Da Nang and Hue in central region, Hanoi and Ninh Binh in the north, and HCM City in the south, and discovered local food.

In Hanoi, she challenged herself to spend no more than $5 (VND125,000) to eat and drink within one day.

“I wanted to see how many Vietnamese dishes I could eat with just $5 (or VND125,000 with current exchange rate),” she said.

The first destination was a café on Dinh Tien Hoang district in the busy central business district of Hoan Kiem. She paid VND25,000 for a cup of coffee.

After that, she went to a well-known banh my shop on QuanThanh street in Ba Dinh district. After reading the menu and checking prices, she ordered a banh my priced at VND25,000.

Diana said that though banh my at the street shop was cheaper than in the restaurant, it was still very attractive. The shop was just a small one and not well known on social media, but she was still satisfied with the banh my because it was delicious.

“It was a perfect banh my which I could buy for just VND25,000,” she said.

After walking around, Diana stopped at a bun rieu (vermicelli and sour crab soup) on Duong Thanh street in Hoan Kiem district. It was a small shop in a small alley, where diners sat and ate on the sidewalk, with a friendly shop owner and workers.

Diana noted that eateries located on small alleys are commonly seen in Hanoi. There was no menu at the shop and waiters carrying big bowls. A bowl of bun rieu, with good broth and full of toppings (fried soybean curds, beef and fish pies), was VND40,000.

She said she found the place by chance when walking around.

For dinner, Diana visited a rice shop in a small alley on Trang Tien street where she had ordered com ga (chicken rice) before. “There was a whole chicken leg and pickles and sauce. I can't believe that such a delicious dish had such a low price, just VND45,000,” she said.

Thao Trinh