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Thank you to everyone who responded. I particularly appreciate the kind messages regarding our adoption. I did a lot of research on this issue before posting, but just wanted to hear the opinions and suggestions of others. I feel much better now, as the responses confirm what I previously learned and I now feel very confident about eating on the trip. I was just very worried, as I get more and more ill when I'm accidentally "glutened" the longer I've been gluten free. Because this trip is to adopt our son, I didn't want to spend the entire first three weeks with him vomiting, aching, constantly needing a restroom in a third-world country (I'll say no more about that one!), and miserable.  
   
  My original inquiry was whether anyone has any experience eating gluten free in Vietnam (we will be there for three weeks adopting our baby). 
   
  The summary follows: 
   
  Many respondents have never been to Vietnam, but thought that it should be pretty simple to eat there, as many feel that the Vietnamese diet mainly consists of rice, fish, chicken and vegetables. 
   
  One very helpful member (thank you so much for your help) was able to get in contact with her Celiac cousin who is currently traveling all over Vietnam (doing wonderful relief work and teaching English). The cousin stated that it's just important to let the server know that there can be no soy sauce in the meal.  Apparently that's the the main serious issue, and from what I understand, soy sauce is more of an Americanized thing and isn't too common in authentic Vietnamese food. 
   
  Another individual whose family loves authentic Vietnamese food in this country mentioned that she's heard the Vietnamese food card is somewhat confusing/ambiguous. She noted that a native Vietnamese speaker on a local Celiac listserv felt that it would lead a cook or server to believe a person with Celiac cannot consume any sauces at all. (I've also had this concern about the food card. She actually suggested exactly what I discussed with my adoption coordinator the other day, which is to have their representative in Vietnam write a brief explanation in Vietnamese about the restrictions. I'll carry that with me instead, as I can be assured there won't be any confusion if I tell her specifically what I would like the card to say).
   
  Thank you again to everyone for your advice and emails. I appreciate it!
   
  Best,
  Laura 

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