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My Vietnamese is currently zero. Zero. I can say pho and that is about it.
In Hanoi and Hoi An I figure I will survive on English and pointing, but we want to spend a few days out in the countryside around Mai Chau and Pu Luong, staying at homestays.
For people who did the rural homestay thing with no Vietnamese, did Google Translate actually get you through? Ordering food, finding the bathroom, explaining a food allergy, that kind of thing.
Any tips for making it work? Download the offline pack, screenshot key phrases, or should I just bite the bullet and learn fifty phrases before I go?
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It works, but learn the numbers one to ten anyway, takes an hour and saves so much hassle at markets. Also screenshot your allergy as a translated phrase and just show it every time, do not rely on typing it out while a waiter watches. I have a peanut allergy and this method never failed me.
Replying to Dee Savage
Replying to Dee Savage @Dee Savage The allergy screenshot trick is genius, stealing that. Did you show it in Vietnamese script or was English enough? I have a shellfish thing, not deadly but ruins a day, wondering how much effort to put into the translation.
Replying to TrailBlazerMike
Replying to TrailBlazerMike @TrailBlazerMike Vietnamese script, definitely. Mine had the dish name in English plus the Vietnamese underneath, something like the phrase for I am allergic to shellfish, please do not put it in the food. Showed it at every place, got nods and a couple of spots even called the cook over to double check. For shellfish I would put in the effort, one ruined day is not worth skipping it.
Did exactly this, Mai Chau and Pu Luong, zero Vietnamese beyond cam on. Google Translate got us through about ninety percent. The camera mode for menus is magic, and downloading the offline Vietnamese pack before you go is non negotiable, there is no signal in half of Pu Luong. The other ten percent was smiling and pointing, which the homestay families are very used to.