Shadowing Practice: Surviving on $20 a Day in Vietnam!! (3 meals / 1 hotel) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B1
Welcome to the series where I attempt to survive in a random city around the world on only $20 a day.
494 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Welcome to the series where I attempt to survive in a random city around the world on only $20 a day.
2
Today we're in Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh City.
3
This city of 9 million is known to be affordable,
4
but how affordable is it?
5
Today I will attempt to pay for breakfast,
6
lunch, dinner, local transportation and lodging all for under $20.
7
Can I do it?
8
Let's find out.
9
Behind me a breakfast location serving something known as Cam Tam Pan Mee.
10
Now these are two different iconic Vietnamese foods that evidently are fusing together at this location.
11
Gumtam is broken rice.
12
On the side it usually has a pork chop.
13
It has eggs, fish sauce, pickled daikon, and carrots.
14
But here they say they are serving that inside a sandwich.
15
This is something I have never heard of before.
16
Right here you can see they're making some delicious beef patties over charcoal.
17
It's hot, it's sizzling, it smells delicious.
18
Soon that'll be going into our banh mi.
19
Right here we have our mean banh mi maker.
20
Let's do it.
21
It all starts with the banh mii cut in half.
22
The first thing she puts in there is pickled daikon and carrot and then hukum Oh,
23
hukum, hukum, hukum, hukum, hukum, hukum, hukum, hukum, hukum.
24
Thank you.
25
Then she puts in some cilantro.
26
From here, she puts in pork skin and a bit of pork meat.
27
Something that you would find usually on a gumtang plate.
28
From here, we have a beef patty.
29
This right here is called shumai.
30
It's a meatball with a salted egg inside of it.
31
And then we have some scallion oil going on last.
32
From here, she hits it with some hot chilies.
33
And that is ready to go.
34
I'm not eating it.
35
I'm not eating it.
36
Breakfast is served.
37
A dollar fifty cents total for this right here.
38
It looks glorious.
39
Many of these are ingredients that you would see in a traditional plate of gum tom except for the pork chop.
40
For some reason, they replaced that protein with beef.
41
I'm gonna start with this actually.
42
That's just fried pork skin.
43
This is one of the best things you could eat.
44
I mean, not for your heart,
45
but oh my god, for your soul.
46
That's good.
47
Now I will attempt to close the banh mi.
48
It is a very crispy banh mi.
49
All I taste is beef, sugar, and fish sauce.
50
Incredible.
51
As you go deeper into the banh mi,
52
it's like getting deeper into a relationship.
53
The banh mi is revealing more of itself to me.
54
And no, it's not a lot of childhood trauma.
55
It's pickled daikon and carrot,
56
offering a little bit of sourness.
57
It's super spicy chilies.
58
And it's this pork skin,
59
which has a little bit more crunchy, tough texture.
60
Right here, coming up on the sumai.
61
Oh, what?
62
I thought it was a whole salted egg yolk.
63
Very deceiving visually.
64
Mmm.
65
Mmm.
66
That yolk, it is a little bit chalky,
67
but it does have that nice,
68
unique flavor that you can really only find with a salted egg yolk.
69
Meanwhile, the pork makes up for any dryness because it is so juicy,
70
fatty, and also full of fish sauce flavor.
71
So far we are 7.5% into our total budget for the day.
72
We have a lot more to see and a lot more to do.
73
From here, we're gonna head to a market.
74
Let's move now and see what we find.
75
Welcome to the market.
76
Behind me, Cho Ba Chu.
77
Cho means market.
78
Ba Chu is Grandma Chu.
79
Thank you grandma, sweet market.
80
I always say going to a market is one of the best ways to get to know a new country.
81
You can see the spices,
82
the seasonings, the types of meat,
83
the ingredients of iconic recipes,
84
all of it in its raw form,
85
waiting to be made into something delicious.
86
Let's go take a look and see what we can find.
87
Okay, listen, there was a time in my life where I could have really used this for the back support.
88
Should I shop for my wife here?
89
Talking about Victoria's Secret.
90
This is, uh, Wynn's...
91
Well, it's definitely not a secret.
92
Immediately as you enter, you can see a vast variety of tropical fruits.
93
If you are a fruit lover,
94
Vietnam is a fruit paradise.
95
Also, motorbikes are allowed inside of here.
96
Okay, a couple more things right here.
97
Fresh tamarind still inside the husk.
98
Tamarind is often used for delicious sauces here in Vietnam.
99
Look, a dog.
100
What the?
101
What was that?
102
So many of the dogs in Vietnam are so short.
103
That was such a strange mix of breeds.
104
Right here, we have loads of local Vietnamese snacks.
105
Skip 7-Eleven, skip Family Mart,
106
go to a place like this to get real local snacks.
107
I'm talking so local, there's probably no FDA looking over what they're doing.
108
First of all, when it comes to rice paper,
109
nobody does rice paper better than Vietnam.
110
They have it in bags,
111
cut up portions of rice paper with different seasonings on top.
112
Right here, little rice paper rolls.
113
It looks like some delicious little joints,
114
but in fact, instead of anything mind-altering on the inside,
115
it looks like dry shrimp.
116
Flavorful.
117
Meanwhile, we have different types of rice paper.
118
This is a rice paper that's been dyed orange through the use of shrimp.
119
This is a rice paper that's been dyed yellow through the use of cassava and salted egg yolk.
120
Or maybe just egg, we don't know for sure.
121
Moving on!
122
Xin chào chì.
123
Xin chào chì.
124
Hello!
125
Alright folks, we have stumbled upon some jackfruit right here.
126
This is one of my favorite fruits in Southeast Asia.
127
These delicious pods are extracted from this right here.
128
This is a giant jackfruit,
129
and honestly, it can get up to,
130
I would say, about two times bigger than this You have to be very careful taking the jackfruit out
131
because this thing is also full of disgusting sticky latex
132
So the people who take it out like this lady right here an absolute pro
133
We've come to the ready-to-eat food section of the market here tons of grilled meats we've got pork We've got spring rolls.
134
It looks so delicious and it smells even better The problem is
135
that today I have to be disciplined with my money soon We're gonna be having an amazing affordable lunch,
136
but for now more market tour right here I spotted some interesting ready-to-eat food that I've never seen before in Vietnam.
137
I got my guy here since yo him
138
I Take a look this right here I'm told it sticky rice with green rice flakes
139
and then right here We have sticky rice,
140
but coated with mung bean they're put into these tiny bags
141
And evidently it's kind of a bit of a snack you can walk around
142
and eat it at the same time I was gonna order it except for it doesn't fit within my budget.
143
Are we enjoying this so far?
144
The food show where Sonny looks at the food wishes he could eat it and doesn't eat it.
145
Right here you can see motorbikes pulling up to a food spot grabbing lunch on the go
146
and then heading out to eat it on their own.
147
Right here they're selling two things one banhkat and two banhseo.
148
The banhseo is a sizzling pancake.
149
It's huge and it's absolutely delicious.
150
I ate breakfast just a moment ago and I'm already ready for more but not this.
151
So we have walked our way to the meat section of this market.
152
There's so much energy out here,
153
and there's so much food that you know is absolutely fresh,
154
because all of these animals were most likely alive this morning.
155
First of all, boom, chicken feet.
156
Oh, next to it, a little bit of brains.
157
Probably two pig brains, or a really f***ing smart chicken.
158
Oh my god, she's taking apart a foot right now.
159
These pig feet are used for delicious soups in Vietnam get braised for days until they're soft and delicious.
160
So there's all kinds of different pork cuts here,
161
and then they have all the organs separated and organized into different containers.
162
Then as you go down yonder, these are silkworm pupa.
163
Given enough time, that silkworm pupa would become a silk moth,
164
but instead they are ripped from their cocoon,
165
put there, and cooked into a meal.
166
Is that blood cubes?
167
Those would most likely be cut up into more manageable chunks and put into some kind of a soup,
168
something like a boon boon boon boon.
169
Delicious.
170
My wife hates it.
171
She always gives her blood cubes to me.
172
It's a great, that's why our relationship works.
173
Mainly that.
174
So that is the market.
175
There is a load to see here.
176
I wish I could show you more,
177
but we have to get to our next food destination.
178
Coming up, lunch.
179
All right, so to get a very good but still very affordable lunch,
180
you got to walk through a little bit of construction.
181
Boom, here it is.
182
Mi alphan.
183
So, mi is noodle, but alphan is a clam that's about this big.
184
It's one of the smallest clams that you will find in Vietnam.
185
Aside from being a very delicious and unique lunch, it's also very affordable.
186
Let's go see how it's made and then I'll tell you how much it costs.
187
Right now we're in the kitchen and this place is a hive of activity.
188
It's about 1230 right now.
189
Lunch is in full swing.
190
They have a load of different special ingredients laid out,
191
a lot of them seafood oriented.
192
It all starts over here with a Vietnamese instant noodle.
193
Bomi puts that in hot water to get it nice and soft and then that heads into the bowl.
194
We have Vietnamese coriander and morning glory going in and then a load of those clams.
195
From here, tiny little octopuses.
196
Then right here we have a load of razor clams.
197
Shrimpies going in next.
198
And then from here, we've got a delicious red broth.
199
Finally, a little bit of fried garlic.
200
On the side, a little bit of tamarind sauce.
201
And that is our lunch.
202
Thank you.
203
All right, folks, we have our second meal of the day.
204
I want to start with the shrimp right here,
205
but first let's talk about the price.
206
This entire bowl right here is only $1.85.
207
So far, we've had breakfast and lunch,
208
and we've spent only just a little bit over $3.
209
Incredible.
210
Regarding the shrimp, the shrimp does take a little bit of technique.
211
Let's try it out.
212
Oh, yeah.
213
That's good.
214
Classic bouncy shrimp.
215
It's been warmed up because of this broth.
216
A broth made of chicken stock,
217
margarine, garlic and cashew oil.
218
Let's give that broth a little bit of a taste.
219
Ooh, let's get some clams in there too.
220
It is a very sweet broth, savory.
221
You can taste the garlic,
222
but that cashew oil has a certain delicious sweet savory flavor to it.
223
It's really a flavor unique to Vietnamese seafood.
224
Speaking of seafood, right here we have a razor clam.
225
We're gonna wrap that around with some of these noodles.
226
Mmm.
227
Oh my lord, it's so good.
228
These noodles are indestructible.
229
This bowl has been sitting here for like six, seven minutes.
230
They're not bloated like me on a Saturday morning,
231
and they're just absolutely coated with that delicious flavor That's inside that broth.
232
The razor clams have such a lovely texture.
233
It's amazing that for this price You don't just get some of those tiny clams,
234
but you're getting a variety of seafood like this tiny baby octopus Let's drown him in some tamarind What am I doing?
235
So back Crunchy, chewy at the same time.
236
The tamarind sauce is a wonderful pairing.
237
It's a thick, syrupy sweet sauce a little bit tart Amazing cleanse the palate with a little bit of broth
238
This is what this place is really named after is these tiny little clams
239
Undeniable if you check my wallet so far you can see
240
that we've not spent that much money today But later we're gonna be heading to our laudan.
241
That is the hotel where I'm gonna be sleeping tonight.
242
Right now we're heading in that direction and I'm about to jump on some local transportation.
243
Let's move.
244
You see in the USA we have Uber,
245
but in Vietnam they have Grab.
246
Not only can you rent a car,
247
but here you can also rent a bike.
248
I think this is him right here.
249
My chariot awaits.
250
There's a law in Vietnam that you have to wear a helmet so they always have an extra one.
251
Pop it on, helmet is secure.
252
Nothing to do but grab this stranger around the waist and take off to our next location.
253
Alright, we are off.
254
Now here's the thing.
255
Our next location is about a five minute drive.
256
It's very short and the price is only about 55 cents.
257
It is insanely affordable.
258
And there's no better way to see the streets of Vietnam than on the back of a motorbike in traffic like this.
259
Wild.
260
I love it.
261
Oh wow, there's some congestion here.
262
I feel kind of bad for this guy.
263
I weigh about 215 pounds.
264
I can feel him struggling to navigate a little bit, but he'll survive.
265
Right?
266
Alright.
267
Oh wow, somehow we have to get over to there.
268
Okay?
269
Okay.
270
We have reached our destination.
271
Thank you, sir.
272
Come on up.
273
Bye-bye.
274
Oh, God.
275
I almost took the helmet.
276
There you go.
277
Come on up.
278
Lunch was amazing, but I could use a little bit extra.
279
We're going to stop right now for a snack across the street.
280
Oh, my God.
281
Is that a minion motorbike?
282
It almost took my life.
283
And we're crossing now.
284
Boom.
285
Right here, we have shrimp toast.
286
Xin chào.
287
Xin chào.
288
Come.
289
Xin chào.
290
It starts with a batter.
291
Probably it's some kind of a wheat flour.
292
Inside this batter already, she has a load of shrimp,
293
she adds some water, and she mixes the shrimpies about in that thick batter.
294
From here, we have a load of bread.
295
The bread gets completely submerged within that batter.
296
She pulls it out, and then she gently applies about four- Oh my god,
297
that's a lot of shrimp!
298
She fries it on one side for a couple of minutes,
299
then she gives it a little bit of a flip,
300
and then it's finished.
301
Each one, only about 37 cents.
302
39 cents.
303
Wow, inflation happening in real time.
304
What's peculiar about this food is that the shrimp still have their tail,
305
their body, their exoskeleton, their head.
306
All of that is still on the shrimp.
307
You eat everything.
308
I'm going to buy exactly one because that is what fits our budget and try it out.
309
All right, folks, we're going to try out our little bit of a snack here.
310
It looks like the shrimp have been fossilized.
311
It looks like this was dug up by an archaeologist.
312
Let's give it a shot.
313
Oh, that's lovely.
314
I love it.
315
Very heavy, super greasy.
316
Oh man, but that batter has some seasoning on the inside.
317
It's salty, it's savory, then you get the flavor of that shrimp,
318
a little seafood-y and a little toasty too.
319
Look at this.
320
You just pull off a whole shrimp body,
321
giant head, but it's crispy.
322
I love it. Who knew?
323
So that is a fun little snack after lunch,
324
but from here we are headed to our lodge for the night.
325
I'm gonna be staying at a hotel that costs about $10.
326
What do you get for $10 in Vietnam?
327
Let's go find out.
328
I'm on my way to the hotel right now
329
and behind me I see on the corner a bunch of
330
old Vietnamese guys drinking beer listening to traditional Vietnamese music It looks amazing,
331
but alas we have no budget for such things.
332
I could drink beer and sleep on the street But let's go check out the hotel first
333
This smells like the type of hotel where you can also pay by the hour Yeah,
334
have you ever stayed in a hotel like this?
335
My camera guy is lying.
336
Fun lie.
337
Alright, let's head in.
338
Alright, we are going to the fourth floor.
339
Four floors, alright, we're basically in the penthouse.
340
Here's what this place is.
341
It's basically like a love hotel.
342
But it's also still a very affordable hotel.
343
A normal person who is not doing anything with any other person can still come here to sleep.
344
So, let's take a look.
345
Although you might be hearing some pounding from the other room next to you.
346
Hi, here it is.
347
4-0-1.
348
So we gotta pop this in to turn on the electricity.
349
This is what you get for 10 bucks in Vietnam.
350
Not bad.
351
Room with a view.
352
Whoosh.
353
Oh, even a balcony?
354
Look at that.
355
A place where you can come,
356
think about lights, smoke cigarettes,
357
and ponder the mistake you made with whoever you brought to this room.
358
I love it.
359
All right, let's see what's inside.
360
Let's talk amenities.
361
There's no gym, there's no breakfast, there's no food.
362
There might be some soda and water downstairs that you could buy.
363
Right here.
364
with the toes cut off.
365
Very cool.
366
Right here, the bathroom.
367
It's got a hot shower, got plenty of soap.
368
What else do you need?
369
Inside, we have a wardrobe here.
370
There's actually a refrigerator That's nice and it actually works the bed Not the softest bed.
371
It is just a straight foam mattress,
372
but it will do right here Entertainment a fan air conditioning a little bit of art for inspiration
373
And then you have this a little spot to sit down drink
374
What else would you do here just drink here's what I like about this place it is safe.
375
It's clean It smells good for me good enough,
376
so this is my home for the night I'm gonna stay here get settled in
377
and in a few hours We're gonna head out for the
378
final meal of the day dinner after getting this hotel room We only have a little bit of budget left,
379
so I'm gonna have to use my money wisely
380
All right folks there is one thing left to do today with our remaining money We've got about five dollars
381
and that is gonna buy us a pretty sweet dinner behind me Street food known as panseo.
382
Let's go see how they make it.
383
This is awesome.
384
We have four cast iron skillets right here.
385
This is where they're making the panseo, the sizzling pancake.
386
Right here you can see a big bucket of batter.
387
That bucket is full of rice flour batter.
388
There's a little bit of turmeric in there too to turn everything kind of yellowy.
389
And then she puts in some pork,
390
she puts in some shrimp,
391
and she puts in some bean sprouts.
392
Plus tons and tons of oil.
393
That is what makes it really crunchy.
394
After kind of sizzling and frying in there for about five minutes,
395
she turns it over and takes it out.
396
That is the main thing that we're after today.
397
But they also have a food known as bolalot.
398
The bolalot is beef wrapped in a lalot leaf.
399
Right here you can see the version before it's been cooked.
400
Then they bring it here to the grill.
401
And when it's finally done,
402
it looks like a green cigar.
403
So I'm going to order up my food.
404
And if I have some money left over,
405
I'm going to get a drink too.
406
All right, folks, dinner has been served.
407
This is truly a substantial meal for not that much money.
408
First of all, these pancakes,
409
31 cents each, and I got five.
410
They look crunchy.
411
They look delicious.
412
I cannot wait to dive into them.
413
Next, our bol al ol.
414
Here they give you six pieces for $3.15.
415
A little bit more expensive, but not bad.
416
Then there is the beer, exactly $1.00.
417
And then all this other stuff is free.
418
It's all meant to go with these two things right here.
419
We have herbs and greens.
420
Right here we have rice paper.
421
We have rice vermicelli here.
422
And then here we have some slices of star fruit, cucumber, and banana?
423
A couple sauces as well.
424
Let's get into the food.
425
First of all, these rolls, they are magnificent.
426
To go with that, they have a sauce.
427
It has some pineapple juice,
428
but it also has some Vietnamese fermented fish sauce in there too.
429
It's juicy.
430
It tastes like the meat has been marinated with fish sauce,
431
but then there's also the leaf around it.
432
It's very herbaceous and very fresh.
433
10 out of 10 delicious.
434
Next, let's get into this.
435
This could be considered one of the best tacos in the world,
436
and it's not even technically a taco.
437
Imagine putting some chorizo in there,
438
some cheese, some sour cream and guac.
439
Mmm.
440
It's so good.
441
It's insanely crunchy.
442
Inside, you can see the remnants of half a shrimp.
443
There's some fresh bean sprouts,
444
which also offer a different type of crispy texture.
445
Unbelievable.
446
That's how I eat it when my wife orders it.
447
But here's how you're supposed to eat it.
448
Start with rice paper.
449
Then you take some lettuce.
450
Then you throw on some of the panseo,
451
and then you roll it, you close it.
452
The moisture from the lettuce and from the oil should soften up that rice paper a bit.
453
This is a fish sauce blend.
454
It's gonna be sweet, and that's also gonna help soften up that rice paper.
455
Cheers!
456
I forgot herbs!
457
It's so satisfying.
458
Wash it down.
459
I would say, eating this alone,
460
it's toasty, it's crunchy, it's good,
461
but it doesn't have a ton of flavor.
462
But when you add all these different elements,
463
it makes it really feel like a meal and not just a snack.
464
It's so satisfying.
465
So right now I'm gonna add up everything I spent today
466
and find out if I did indeed survive Ho Chi Minh City on only $20.
467
In this video, I set out to spend under $20 while doing a whole day of traveling here in Ho Chi Minh City.
468
Was I successful, actually?
469
Yes.
470
Yes, I was.
471
For everything today, breakfast, lunch,
472
dinner, snack, transportation, and lodging, it costs only $19.99.
473
I want to do this video to tell folks like you who are thinking about traveling
474
that it's actually a lot more affordable than you think.
475
In countries like Vietnam, your money can go a long way,
476
especially when it comes to food.
477
I want to say a shout out to Monkey Abroad.
478
He did this concept like five years ago and then he stopped.
479
I don't know why he stopped.
480
It's a great idea.
481
And so now I will carry the torch for him without his permission.
482
Thanks.
483
So now I want to know from you,
484
if you like this concept,
485
what city should we go to next?
486
We'll probably start out in Southeast Asia,
487
but I'd be willing to take on some more difficult cities as well.
488
Don't say London.
489
Maybe New York.
490
I could share a tent with someone.
491
Otherwise, that is it for this video guys.
492
Thank you so much for watching.
493
I will see you next time.
494
Peace!
Download App
AI scoring for every sentence you speak
TRENDING
Popular
Context & Background
In this engaging video from Vietnam, the speaker embarks on a culinary adventure in Ho Chi Minh City, known for its vibrant culture and affordable lifestyle. The challenge of surviving on only $20 a day highlights not just the local cuisine but also the essence of daily communication and interactions in this bustling city. As the speaker navigates through meals and local transportation, viewers are introduced to various Vietnamese dishes, making it an excellent context for anyone looking to learn English with YouTube. It emphasizes real-life situational dialogues that are beneficial for English learning.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- “Can I have...” - A polite way to request food or services.
- “How much is this?” - Useful for budgeting and managing expenses.
- “This is delicious!” - A positive expression to share your enjoyment.
- “Thank you!” - Essential for showing gratitude.
- “What do you recommend?” - Asking for suggestions shows engagement and interest.
Step-by-step Shadowing Guide
To master English speaking and enhance your listening skills using this video, follow this shadowing technique. Shadowing involves listening to a speaker and trying to mimic their speech patterns, intonation, and pronunciation in real time. Here’s how to effectively practice:
- Watch and Listen: First, watch the video without attempting to speak. Get familiar with the context and the speaker's delivery.
- Pause and Repeat: Play short segments of the video, pausing after each phrase or sentence. Repeat what you hear, focusing on accuracy in pronunciation and intonation.
- Record Yourself: Use your phone or computer to record your voice as you repeat the phrases. This allows you to compare your speech with the original.
- Practice Daily: Dedicate some time each day to this practice. Consistency is key in improving your English speaking practice.
- Engage in Conversations: Use the phrases you've learned in real-life situations. Try ordering food or asking for directions in English, even if it's just with friends or language partners.
This shadow speak method equips you with practical vocabulary and contextual understanding, making it easier to communicate effectively in English. By integrating these steps into your language practice, you'll not only enhance your speaking skills but also gain confidence in everyday conversations.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
☕ Buy us a coffee
ShadowingEnglish remains 100% free thanks to your support. Server and AI costs are high — your coffee keeps us going! 🙏