Contrary to popular belief, you can find parties in South East Asia that aren’t packed with sunburned Brits in florescent vests, beaches that aren’t littered with last night’s drunken memories and cities that aren’t stifled in a haze of drugs and sleaze; here’s to hoping Vietnam won’t go the same way as Thailand. (Sorry readers I feel a loathing for Thailand is going to permeate most of my travel articles). While I spent three months in South East Asia, Vietnam stands out to me as the most memorable. Its beautiful green rice fields are unrivalled, the people are unfaultable and the country is seeped in a fascinating history that has shaped its cities, especially Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). There are many other places to explore in Vietnam than I have listed, but in the effort to be succinct I have limited it to the Top 5.
1. Hanoi:
Hanoi is a great city to spend a few days getting to know, and the best way is just to wander the narrow alleyways and streets that radiate out from the lake at its center. I’d give the water puppet show a miss; it is pretty random and rather dull.
2. Sapa:
Sapa is the one place that I must stress to people to visit. It is a tiny village nestled amongst the hilly rice fields right in the north of the country, and while the sleeper bus may provide a bit of a traumatic experience getting there, it is worth the effort. You can rent mopeds pretty easily and explore the surrounding misty mountain villages, check out the wares being flogged in the market stalls and relax with a glass of warm spiced wine in one of the wood cabins. But what really marks Sapa out as different is the brightly woven dresses of the inhabitants, for they really make a stunning sight. A place where these garmets are most on dispay is Bac Ha Market, which can be visited as a day trip from Sapa.
[pagebreak]
3. Halong Bay:
Thailand has the Full Moon Party, Laos (did) have tubing in Vang Vieng, Vietnam has Halong Bay. Halong Bay is situated towards the north, mainly travelled to from Hanoi, and gives you a landscape that could have jumped straight out of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Most people spend a few days touring the network of islands that make up Halong Bay aboard an old fashioned junk ship. It’s the same with all touring destinations… You can opt for the party boat where you can expect to be chugging rum-laced pitchers on deck, to be followed by drunken skinny-dipping and general backpacker debauchery. Or there is always the more mellow choice of one of the more authentic ships, where you can enjoy fine dining and a glass of wine as you watch the sun set.
4. Hoi An:
Hoi An is the most idyllic and unspoiled spot that provides the perfect shopping experience, for the town specializes in tailoring. Whatever garment you want you can have made there for a pittance. For example I got some images from google printed out, a white coat Kate Middleton wore a few years ago and a dress Blake Lively wore in Season 2 of Gossip Girl, and a very sweet Vietnamese lady made them for me in a few days. You get to browse and choose your fabric and then have various fittings to get the perfect shape, it really is heaven!
5. Saigon:
While not as pretty as Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city is still worth your attention for a few days, especially for any history buffs out there. The Chu Chi tunnels and War Museum expose some of the horrors of the Vietnam War that should never be forgotten from public memory.
Top tip: While booze is aplenty in Vietnam, which happens to have the cheapest beer in the world, beware of the rice wine! It’s sold and drunk everywhere and I had a very bad experience drinking it at a snake village (an evening trip which can be undertaken from Hanoi). While it claims it’s just strong alcohol, it can have various symptoms such as disorientation and hallucination.
Photo credits –
http://halongbaycruises365.com/IMG/Vietnam%20Ha%20Long%20bay.jpg