Vietnam from North to South

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HANOI: tireless. From the early morning people of every age go jogging or meet in the park to do gymnastics. And then the working day begins, the traffic of scooters and bicycles, people on foot with shoulder poles full of goods who, with their strange gait, head to the market to sell it. Important stops to visit: - Old market (food) - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum - Temple of Literature - Hoan Kiem Lake Hanoi is the starting point for various places (do-it-yourself or with organised tours), some of which can be done in a day like "the Perfume Pagoda" (better with a tour), others that require several days such as Sapa and Halong Bay (we preferred the do-it-yourself).

AROUND HANOI - PERFUME PAGODA: just 2 hours by bus and you are immersed in the Vietnamese countryside, where you observe farmers wearing the typical conical hats working the land. In a short time, aboard small canoe-type boats, you reach a point from which a walk ("a long hike") of about an hour begins that leads to the Perfume Pagoda. It is a very suggestive cave, hidden by thick vegetation. The darkness of the walls and of the statues of the ancestors is brightened by the candles lit by the pilgrims. The scent of incense fills the surrounding area.

- SAPA (Queen Hotel): hills dotted with bamboo plants and the green rice fields cultivated in terraces. The local ethnic groups of the H'Mong and the Ngzu and walks through the countryside across their villages. A good lunch at the covered market where you have the chance to interact with the local people, in turn curious about the presence of tourists.

- CAT BA (My Ngoc Hotel): a beautiful island in Halong Bay. The floating villages, the motorbike trip to discover the most suggestive corners, coves, bays, coconut palms, trees with exotic fruits and plants with gigantic leaves. And also the lush vegetation, the flowers and multicoloured butterflies. And there where you least expect it, hidden military hospitals, built during the war period. And to finish in wonder, the incredible dinners of very fresh fish.

HUE (Mai Dao Hotel): an imperial city where the emperor of Vietnam resided. You are struck by the typically oriental style of the elaborate and multicoloured pagodas, golden inscriptions, the predominance of red, the religious symbols. From Hue, the boat trip on the Perfume River departs, where you have the chance to visit the imperial tombs. In our opinion, the name of the trip is much more attractive than what you actually see. We don't recommend it. In fact, we did not find this city very interesting, so much so that the only positive thing about the stay was a fish restaurant on the riverbank with a view of the bridge with its changing illumination, and the Mandarin café where we had some excellent breakfasts surrounded by photos of the Vietnamese countryside taken by the owner.

HOI AN (Hai Bao Hotel): a cheerful village, famous for the liveliness of its little shops and the skill of its tailors. Garments of all kinds are made in less than 24 hours for the visitors who order them. A wide choice of styles and fabrics: wonderful. The same goes for shoes: slippers, sandals and everything is done very easily and quickly. They take the shape of your foot on a white sheet of paper. You choose the style, the leather, any decoration, and in a few hours... everything is ready. Moreover, every 14th day of the lunar month the full moon festival is celebrated; on that occasion shining lanterns are placed in the river. As a last thing, it can be interesting to see how the old houses were once furnished. If you shouldn't go there, you will not have missed anything.

SAIGON/HO CHI MINH CITY: a beautiful modern city, clean, alive. Shops and department stores have nothing to envy of those in our cities. It is fun to visit its various districts and markets. Although praised by everyone, Cholon, the Chinese district famous for its street of herbalists, was a big disappointment for us. It is worth going instead for a massage at the institute for the blind, where the earnings (a truly ridiculous sum if we are talking about 1.50 euros each, obviously serving to support this community). We strongly recommend dedicating time to visiting the museum that tells of the crimes committed during the war. A mainly photographic museum but one that well recounts the terrible years this population had to go through.

From Saigon, various agencies (Sinh Café is among the best) organise tours for the Mekong Delta and, for those who want it, the crossing from Vietnam to Cambodia by river with the ticket included.

MEKONG DELTA (from Saigon to Cambodia): from the boat, the landscape of the Delta flows before your eyes like a film: stilt houses emerging on the riverbanks, trees completely submerged by water, the life of the local populations flowing along the banks of the Mekong, whose water is used to wash dishes, brush teeth, take a shower and wash food. The arrival point is Can Tho, from which the next day you set off to visit the floating markets of CAI RANG. Interesting to see how the boats signal the goods they sell by impaling a stick with the various products, and how the people, with their characteristic way of rowing, come close to it. A series of small canals that curve and then cross recall the very landscapes of Apocalypse Now. Banana palms, now and then a house, children coming home from school on their bikes in their nice uniforms..

Chau Doc is the intermediate stop before reaching Cambodia. Here you have the chance to visit floating villages, the stilt houses where fish are farmed. Flooded countryside and villages dot the surrounding panorama. From here you can go and visit Mount Sam, where there are dozens of pagodas and temples, many of them carved into the caves, but to do so you must wake up at dawn around 4.30 am to respect the time of the new departure that takes you to Cambodia.