Vietnam is, undoubtedly, the most interesting and beautiful country that we have visited in Southeast Asia. We love everything about Vietnam, from its accommodating people, its astonishingly varied landscape to its amazing food.
Ho Chi Minh City was surprisingly modern and vibrant, reminding me of little Hong Kong while Hanoi remained its beauty of French colonial architecture with chaotic energy that we found exciting. We took a lot of pictures and tried every vendor foods that crowded with local people. One of my favorite parts was chit-chatting with fellow travelers in the roadside bars and restaurants with small plastic furniture.
Spending a romantic night with my husband at the full-moon festival in little town of Hoi An is an experience I will never forget. There were plenty of small boutiques sell very sophisticated silks, hand-made lanterns lining along the river bank. When the night fell, the river was sparkled with floating lotus candle and wooden bridge was lit by glowing lanterns.
Everyone that I met along the way was so nice and helpful, from the guide de Eviva to minority tribe people in Sapa. Kids keened to talk to us with a friendly curiosity. Some can be shy and observed us from the distance, but many came to us to say “hello” and then giggled and ran away in a mild attempt to practice their English. It’s rare to find anyone truly horrible in Vietnam.
Prior to the trip, we have heard stories about scams, pickpockets and bad behavior, but luckily we did not experience any. One week is not enough to discover all the attractions of Vietnam. Vietnam is definitely on top of our ‘must return’ list.
