Stepping off the plane, I could not help but feel somewhat apprehensive. After all here I was setting foot on what was once a communist nation heightened all the more by the war stories I read in novels and watched on television.
If there's a place you need to see right now then it has to be Vietnam - and the best way to experience it is by 'backpacking'.
Vietnam is a rapidly developing country - a coming-together of Western capitalism and socialist idealism. And it is charming indeed - this is the stuff of movies made real. Many may lament that this opening of doors of a nation, once suspicious of the bigger world, heralds the doom of its people and culture. I beg to differ.
The streets of its major cities are teeming with people - most of them trying their best to eke out a meagre living where the per capita annual income is under US$12.00. You will find street peddlers on every corner selling everything from baguettes to imitation Louis Vuitton.
Did I say 'baguettes'? Indeed I did! Before the Americans ever set 'boot' in Vietnam the French were already there. Hanoi, in particular, is a city with a strong French influence. Being farther north, it was less susceptible to the encroaching influences of the American-West largely thanks to its earlier occupation by Viet-Cong forces.
Backpacker lodging is plentiful - the majority are clean and Internet-ready. Most of them can be found in the Old Quarter of Hanoi - it's where you want to be anyway. If you haven't already engaged the services of a travel agent then you can wander around the area to see what some of the local travel agents have to offer.
Pre-booking with a travel agent is best. Be prepared to suffer a little inconvenience and annoyance as everyone who can will try to sell you something - it may be annoying but if you step back a little you might just appreciate the experience for what it is - Vietnam in all its honesty!
Hanoi is full of monuments, old theatres and temples. Catch the Water Puppet show at the Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre or pay a visit to Ngoc Soc template in the middle of Hoan Kiem lake right smack in the city centre. Walk around the Old Quarter with it's many street markets or sit with the locals and partake of the local street cuisine.
If you're after something fancier then pay a visit to world-renowned Bobby Chin's (www.bobbychinn.com) or my personal favourite - the Green Tangerine (French-Vietnamese fusion, www.facebook. com/greentangerine) - both also in the Old Quarter.
Heading outwards from Hanoi - stay overnight on a junk in Ha Long Bay or take a few days up and travel northwards by overnight train to Sapa, a lush green mountainous area bordering China, and see what provincial village life is like. Travellers can opt to do a one night homestay with a local villager (pre-arranged of course).
The best thing to do is drop by the Hanoi Tourist Information Center at the edge of Hoan Kiem lake for information and tour services in and out of Hanoi.