Vietnam – Tastes good and looks beautiful!
Vietnam is a country of contrasts. It has great resources in its vegetation and beautiful beaches, the river and the ocean, but there is a lot of poverty and most of the countries assets are never developed and cultivated. There are 90 million people in Vietnam, and 60 million mopeds, which makes the streets very busy and pretty scary. For an outsider, it looks like there are no rules in traffic. If you need to cross a street, no one will stop for you, so you just have to carefully move out there and hope for the best. It may feel a bit too exciting at times, but then again, it should be considered to be a part of the adventure!
At first impression, Vietnam feels and looks a bit like Thailand, but the more time you spend there and the more you get to learn about the people and their culture, the more different it seems. The Vietnamese people are proud and independent, and they don´t bow and say yes to everyone at all times. Most of them are polite, but in a more quiet and subtle way, and only if they choose to be so. In the markets or on the streets, they will ask you to buy stuff, but the second you decline, they won’t keep on pushing their merchandises on you, which is quite pleasant.
Even though Vietnam is becoming a more popular travel destination, also for the average tourist, the prices here are still quite low. This, of course, depends on where you are. At a five or six star hotel or an international resort, things will still cost a bit, but in the main cities and on the countryside, everything is still pretty cheap.
My favorite things about this country are that it is very beautiful, the food is fantastic and it is still possible to spend time there without too many other tourists around you. It is serene, tranquil and adventures at the same time.