Footwear for Vietnam?
 

My boyfriend and I will be in Vietnam and Cambodia from late March through early April. In Vietnam, we'll be in Hanoi, Mai Chau, Halong Bay, Hue, and Hoi An.

What shoes/footwear should we take? I want to travel with just carry-on baggage, so would like something light. We'll probably each wear one pair and pack one pair.

In Cambodia, we just have a couple of days in Siem Reap.

Thoughts?

I always wear walking shoes (Rockports) on the plane, pack one pair of thongs (flip flops to some) and one pair of ballet flats for dinner or special occasions. Crushable ones take up virtually no room. This works for me, I usually live in the thongs. If you don't like wearing thongs, a lot of people wear Teva type sandals.

I love these for traveling in Asia. Www.crocs.com/crocs-Cleo . Extremely comfortable, cool, light weight, and you can wash them in the shower. You can only get them online now. There are similar versions in their stores.

lcuy - the link no longer works. :-(

I've about decided to take one pair of lightweight sneakers (Nike running shoes) and a pair of Teva sandals, these:

http://www.zappos.com/teva-tirra

Probably in Decadent Chocolate.

I did almost the same. Mephisto sandals and sneakers. Wore the sandals almost exclusively.

I like the sandal you linked to. A good footbed that is washable is always nice to have due to the dust and or mud. It might also be useful to take a shoe that you can slip on and off easily as you will be taking your shoes on and off a lot. I have never taken a sneaker or closed shoe to any warm climate country unless I plan on doing a lot of trekking. Can't recall if you are planning on trekking.

I think you will find sneakers way too hot for twhere you are going. A pair of good walking sandles( Mephistos or Tevas), a flat for evenings, and flip flops which I wear on rainy days and to the pool. All are light weight and packable.

I say wear whatever is most comfortable for you. With bad feet, I always wear sneakers, although in Asia with having to take them off for entry into temples, they are not optimal. They sure save my knees though.

I bring Merrell hiking shoes (wear them on the plane), pack a pair of Tevas, cheap flip-flops, and, sometimes, a pretty sandal if I have specific plans for a nice meal. I got a dozen pairs of flip-flops at Old Navy when they were $1 each and bring them on all my international trips and just throw them out before I come home. I've showered in some facilities where it's best to not go barefoot plus they're great for going to the pool or beach.

We dealt with a lot of mud when we traveled in Vietnam and Cambodia so shoes that are easy to wipe clean would be best. Others complain about about dust, so same would hold true.

I wash my feet frequently upon return from a days putting.

althom,
Like dgunbug, I have bad feet, so despite many attempts to find comfortable sandals for travel, I wore my Brook sneakers/walking shoes almost exclusively for the day-today touring. For trekking through the temples of Angkor Wat, I preferred having closed shoes for the safety factor. I did notice, however, that many women had the Keen-style closed-toe sandals, which I would've loved, but they didn't work for my feet, although my husband wore this type of sandal almost the entire trip and was very happy with them:

http://www.shoebuy.com/keen-whisper/295051/1245513?cm_mmc=googleproductads_pla-_-none-_-none-_-{keyword}

Because of weight and the decision to wear sneakers for touring, I chose not to take my all-time favorite sandals, a pair of Mobils/Mephisto. Mine are about 8 years old and the current model is much lighter but don't fit my (lousy!) feet. I hoped that these would work for me, but they don't:

http://www.zappos.com/mephisto-prudy-black-bucksoft

What I did take, and wore in the evenings, was a lightweight pair of Naot's:

http://www.zappos.com/naot-footwear-...-matte-leather

I love these sandals for walking through cities, but they are probably not the best for harder touring.

Minor correction here; these are the current Mephisto sandals I referred to:

http://www.zappos.com/mephisto-jissy-bronze-reflet

in black nubuck, of course!

The weather late March and early April in Vietnam and Indochina (including Cambodia and Laos) is mostly cool and a bit hot sometimes. Therefore, it is fine to take with you a soft pair of slippers or sandals.

I have had several pairs of Naot Kayla over the years. I agree they are not good for heavy sightseeing as the bands/ straps tend to stretch out. They give me good support and are comfortable though and great for evening walks or strolling around a town.