Inside the Cheapest Country in the World | Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the cheapest countries in the world. If we take it back to 1975, Vietnam just emerged from its 20-year-long war in economic distress. Its economy grappled with significant challenges in manufacturing, debt issues, and escalating inflation rates. But Vietnam has always displayed resilience. And if you fast forward to today, the country has been having rapid economic growth, making them now the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia. So I've been to Vietnam four times now, and it truly is one of my top five favorite countries in the entire world. From its delicious cuisine, avatar-like landscapes, and it being very affordable. So we just got three beers each, so six beers total, and it came out to 30,000 dong, which is just over one dollar. That's pretty good. It's better than a ten dollar beer in New York City. I've stayed in hostels in Vietnam that were under five dollars per night. So for under five dollars, this is nice. Check out how clean this is. Freshly washed sheets. You have your own outlet right here, so you can charge everything. And then you have this curtain, so it's like your own little room. Every bed that we've stayed in so far has been like rock hard, and it's like, okay, whatever. Dude, there's some bounce on these. Boy's gonna sleep great tonight. To staying in hotels that were under 100 dollars per night, that were literally a gold palace. I can get used to this. This is living like a king. To even staying on this massive yacht, Halong Bay, for about 350 dollars per night, where you get to sail around one of the seven wonders of the world, all on this insane ship. And after traveling to over 60 countries, my number one favorite thing I have ever done in the entire world has been the Ha Giang Loop. For five days, my two friends and I rode around in a loop where you're on the border of Vietnam and China. The landscapes are unbelievable and is the experience of a lifetime. And to sleep, you stay in small villages and stay in the coolest homestays. And if you're lucky, they'll even invite you into their home for dinner. So this is Tuan. Is this your hostel? Yeah, my homestay. Off to Tuan's parents' house we go. Let's go guys. I was not expecting this. This is so cool. So Tuan over here told us something about Vietnamese culture, which is how you don't leave unless you're drunk. Is that what it is? No drunk, no go home. One by one? But now one of the main reasons why I love Vietnam is because of the people. They truly have the kindest and funniest people in the world. Hi, Lee from Hanoi Backpackers Sweethouse. Yes, strong handsome man. Strong man and handsome man. He's got a point. You know, the man in Vietnam is a little bit crazy, but very funny. I love this place already. I love it. I remember my friend and I randomly met a local on the street by the name of Bing, who just invited us into his house. So we met one of the locals, very friendly. What's your name? So we were just taking pictures in the middle of the street trying to get a quick picture and Bing came up to us. He got out of the car behind us and now we're going to his home for a drink. My house. Okay. Nice home. Okay. Wow. Bing is an art collector. Check this out. He has this gold statue of himself. This is beautiful. Bye, Bing. It was nice to meet you. Thank you for welcoming us to Hanoi. See you next time. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Right now, Vietnam is the third largest exporter in textiles and garments, and then the second largest exporter in coffee. It's worth traveling just to this country for the coffee. It is that different and that delicious. They use a robusta bean, which is completely different than what you'll get at Starbucks or other chain cafes. So if you are in Vietnam, just go to every coffee shop you can. They are everywhere, probably like five on every block at least. So definitely try out the Vietnamese iced coffee. Get it with condensed milk and it's just so good. So with Vietnam marketing themselves as being very affordable and the perfect destination for any budget, they welcome over 18 million tourists every year. And while tourism is a major component in Vietnam's economy and GDP, the thing that has been a real game changer is technology. So right now, I am on my way to Times Square to go to an event for the first ever company from Vietnam to be listed on the Nasdaq. And the company is surprisingly not a Vietnamese coffee company, but rather a technology company. So I'm here in Times Square because today, VinFest is going public, which is so awesome to be a part of this Vietnamese history and witness the first ever Vietnamese company to IPO here in America. And I think this truly just goes to show the advancement that Vietnam is making and the statement it's making here in the U.S. They're ready to hang with the big dogs. So to celebrate, we're gonna get some Vietnamese coffee. I love that they brought the Vietnamese traditions here to the U.S. too. So this model right here is the VF8, and this is their base model here in the U.S. It goes for $46,000, which relative to other EV cars, seems like a great price. Let's take a look inside. Here, we got a massive screen. Okay, you can see here, like, you can control the, you see here, right? For the both rows, you can control it. So you can pretty much do everything from this right here. This is mission control. Getting to explore this car, I feel like I'm really understanding how technologically advanced Vietnam is and how they put so much of that technology into this VinFest car. I gotta add, it is very comfortable. Chris, how is it back there in the back seat? For a tall guy like me, I have plenty of room. I could probably take a nap on this entire back seat. You know, I'm very excited to be working with VinFest because I want to manifest this. Chris, you and I are going to be taking some type of VinFest automobile through Vietnam. Ripping through the streets of Vietnam in VinFest? That's what I'm hoping for. VinFest, if you're watching this, let's make it happen. I want to go back to Vietnam. At the same time, they're going to like, do we really let these two guys on the loose in Vietnam with our vehicles? Yes. Yes, you should. Now, what I find so incredibly impressive about VinFest is the speed and perseverance they had to defy the industry norms. Since, first of all, they turned this swampland in Vietnam into a state-of-the-art automotive factory and launched their first three car models all in a mere 21 months, which is just mind-blowing to think how quickly they were able to go from research and development to product launch, to where they're now even capable of manufacturing hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year, with their body shop being 100% automated and looks like the place where they built Optimus Prime. And now, VinFest just announced how they will be building their new manufacturing plant in North Carolina, and it's just super exciting to see a Vietnamese company expand so rapidly. Hey Brad, yeah, can you put in an order for 100 shares of VinFest? So a lot of the early investors and a lot of super successful entrepreneurs from Vietnam are here today to celebrate VinFest going public. So we're going to try and get a hold of a couple of them and talk to them about why and how Vietnam is having this rapid growth in its economy and business. We have about 75 stores in the U.S. What was it like being from Vietnam and bringing Banh Mi, which is one of my favorite foods, as a young person moving to the U.S. from Vietnam to start a business? Right, U.S., 1979. I worked at a food truck, you know, I learned how to sell food and I make Banh Mi and coffee. What was your motivation to try and be an entrepreneur here in America from Vietnam? So when we come here, you know, it's a land of opportunity. We work very hard, you know, with the family. How does it feel for you to see the first ever Vietnamese company to now be listed as a public company in the U.S.? Oh, I'm very excited, you know. I'm the first customer, too. Now I have Tecla, now I ride VinFest every day. VinFest every day, yeah. You were the first customer? Yes. Does it make you feel really proud to be Vietnamese, to see... Yes, yes, yes, yes, thank you. VinFest is the first one, but more coming. When did you move from Vietnam to America? Oh, that's a long time ago. Long time ago. 48 years ago. Wow. Was it difficult for you to get a start here in America from Vietnam? Yes, from the very beginning, it's very, very difficult. We start from zero with a job that nobody wants, like a janitor. You started as a janitor? I started as a janitor, and then we save money, and we can buy a house, and we finance the house, and then do business. That's insane. So moved from Vietnam, became a janitor, and worked your way up to owning a mall. Yeah. I know right now Vietnam is having crazy economic growth in business and technology. Why do you think that is? I think hard working. Hard working? Hard working. Wow. Now, I didn't even know this, but the founder of VinFast, who is the richest person in Vietnam, got his start when he moved to Ukraine and started an instant noodle business that he then sold to Nestle for a reported $150 million. And following his exit, he then moved back to Vietnam to start what is now known today as Vingroup, and became Vietnam's first ever billionaire. After diving deeper into Vietnam's history, I've come to realize that the Vietnamese have always been extremely hardworking and relentless, which makes sense why their country is currently having this rapid economic growth. I am super excited to see Vietnam continue to push the limits of technology and business, and look forward to seeing what they have in store next. Thank you again to VinFast for making this video possible, and until next week, let's get out and get busy in the next one.