Vietnam

Visited: October 1999

Duration of stay: 23 days

Capital city: Hanoi

Population: 78.50 million (1999)

Vietnam travel blog reading time: 3 minutes

• Vietnam’s unexpected treat: French baguette.
• From ancient temples and markets to French-Chinese influences in Hanoi.
• Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City: modern, booming, and noisy.
• Annoying vendors pushing to buy at any opportunity.
• Mai Chau Valley – a harmony between nature, heaven, earth and people
• Learning about the atrocities of Vietnam War in The Museum of American Horrors from the War.
• Avoiding what most backpackers and tourists choose: cheap organized tours.

Vietnam was part of my Asian Big Tour from Australia, through Southeast Asia and China to India. During this 15-months long trip I visited most of the countries in the region and spent over three weeks travelling around Vietnam from north to south.

I didn’t have any particular expectations about Vietnam after months of exploring amazing China. It would be surprising to find something more spectacular, varied or unique. In 1999, Vietnam was offering better infrastructure for foreign tourists. Many locals tried to overcharge foreign visitors whenever they could.

From ancient towns, UNESCO World heritage sites, beautiful beaches, delicious cuisine to the 20- years long war, Vietnam offers a remarkable range of reasons to visit it. Over 2,000 rivers flow through its breathtaking landscapes, the most iconic ones being Mekong River in the south and Red River in the north. These river deltas are vital to Vietnam’s agriculture, supporting communities, shaping transport along the waterways, and influencing local culture and lifestyle.

At the time of my visit in 1999, Vietnam was starting to open up to foreign (non) French visitors in a completely different way than other countries in Southeast Asia. Vietnamese didn’t realize that they could be unpleasant with their aggressive selling, offering of services or souvenirs. Tourism infrastructure for independent travelers has always been limited, while Vietnamese people in remote areas were not used to foreign visitors.

Despite these initial obstacles of opening up to foreign guests, I managed to experience some authentic corners of the country, which will change a lot in the coming years.

With its well-trained, ambitious, and youthful population willing to work hard, Vietnam is well positioned to make up for the time lost during the war. In the coming decades, it will certainly become an economic power in Asia.

The tourism industry will change and grow rapidly, too. A pleasant combination of history, tradition, exciting places to visit, memorable things to do, and unique landmarks will attract even more travelers.

Only time will tell whether that turns out to be good or bad.