Vietnam is a safe tourist destination and is one of the few travel destinations that encompass incredible scenery, deep and heroic history. The beauty of nature is one of the major reasons to visit Vietnam. Other important reasons are opportunities to get to know local people and their unique culture.
Breathtaking landscape
If you have opportunity to discover the hidden charm of Vietnam, you will be surprised by the intense beauties of some top-listed World Heritage Sites, namely Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Hoi An Ancient Town…
The 1500 islands and islets in Ha Long Bay form a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. If you are a photographer or a nature lover, you will rack up piles of satisfying pictures of different subjects.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is of high conservation value as one of the largest areas of intact forest habitat remaining in Vietnam. As part of a continuous forest block with the neighboring Him Namno Biodiversity Conservation Area in Laos it forms one of the largest areas of forest on limestone karst in Indochina. The presence of tall lowland forest, which is regionally threatened as a habitat type, in the National Park increases the area’s conservation value.
Some of the non-heritage sites will astonish you even more. Dalat is picturesque with many French style villas; Sapa is misty and romantic just like a girl waking up in the morning; and Vietnam’s long coastline brings seemingly endless scenic sea views, leisurely and private sunbathing, or a simple stroll along the beach.
Delicious food paradise – Vietnam
The UK’s leading travel website – Rough Guides has recently announced its list of countries with the most attractive cuisine on the planet, and Vietnam is honoured to be ranked 5th for the title of “culinary paradise of the century.”
First, with rice civilization dating back thousands of years, Vietnamese dishes are diversified by this ingredient. From cakes, vermicelli, pho, rice, rice paper, rice rolls with different kinds of vegetarian and savoury fillings. If you love rice or light dishes, Vietnam is just a paradise for you.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese cuisine, on the other hand, has some interesting processing principles. One must talk about a cuisine that attaches great importance to the harmony of yin-yang within each dish. In fact, there are dishes and ingredients to refresh in summer, there are hot dishes to keep warm on cold days. This makes Vietnam cuisine selected among the healthiest in the world. Then, also the use of a variety of vegetables, spices, and various typical sauces brings the unique flavours to diners that cannot be found anywhere else.
Another interesting point is that in Vietnam, there is no specific time to eat, the restaurant is always open, so within walking distance from the hotel, you can enjoy the delicious food. It’s great, isn’t it?
Coffee
Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee worldwide! That’s saying a lot when you consider that most neighboring countries are more consumed by tea than coffee.
Vietnam can offer you classic black coffee, or its more famous specialty iced coffee (coffee with condensed milk; it sounds too good to be true and that’s because it is). Your coffee can also be made with coconut milk, egg yolk or even yoghurt!
Coffee lovers are in seventh heaven in Vietnam, with coffee shops on almost every street, and cafés to suit everyone’s taste. These are great places for meeting locals or travelers. Or just relax and re-energize, giving your feet a break from all the walking.
Vietnamese people are very friendly
One of the first things you’ll notice when you visit Vietnam, is that the Vietnamese people are very friendly. Most will go above and beyond to ensure that they are hospitable and accommodating to tourists. Sure, there are exceptions – bus drivers can be rude and grumpy, and of course bad things do happen sometimes, but for the most part, Vietnam is a friendly country.
Even in the big cities, the sense of humor of Vietnamese people is evident. We loved the number of times locals would joke with us, even if there were language barriers. Watching a Hmong woman playfully swot J on the bottom was a highlight.
Vietnam teaches you about harmony
As a mostly Buddhist country, Vietnam is known as a harmonious culture. When you visit Vietnam, you can take the time to see Buddhist temples and learn more about this religion and the connected practices.
One significant feature of Buddhism, is that encourages a harmonious society. In Vietnam, you will notice that there are rarely any visible or vocal disagreements. In fact, it would be considered inappropriate to demonstrate any kind of angry outburst. As a harmonious society, you will rarely see visible incidences of road rage for example. Even less likely is to see a Vietnamese person in physical or aggressive confrontation.