Vietnam’s landscape is sublime: the Red River Delta in the north, the Mekong Delta in the south, and a seemingly endless patchwork of brilliant green rice paddies in between. Long sandy beaches grace the coast, while inland there are soaring mountains and lush forests. A country of traditional charm and rare beauty, Vietnam is rapidly opening up to the outside world . Despite he pressures of rapid development, this dignified country has preserved its rich civilization and highly cultured society.

Anytime! The dry season is December to April in the south, and may to Octo ber on the central coast

Riding a motorcycle through North Vietnam’s stunning high country and staying at remote hill-tribe villages Climbing to the top of little-visited Dao Titop (Titop lsland) for sweeping views of magnificent Halong Bay Selecting an outfit from the latest fashion catalogues and having it tailor-made in the delightful of Hoi An Floating your boat along the Mekong Grabbing a bicycle and taking the ride of your life through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City

Read The Sorrow of War by Vietnamese writer Bao Ninh. Flogged on every street corner of Honoi and Ho Chi Minh City, this cynical take on the Vietnam War won a literature prize in Vietnam in 993

Listen to US-bazsed Khanh Ly, a contemporary pop music icon

Watch The American, based on Graham Greene’s 1954 novel and starring Michael Caine. lt’s set during the last day of French colonial rule and filmed throughout Vietnam.

Eat the staple pho (noodle soup) or banh cuon, delicious steamed rice rolls with minced pork and Vietnam’s famous nouc mam (fish sauce)

Drink the cheap and widely available bia hoi (draught beer). Ca phe (coffee) served with condensed milk is deliciously sweet.

Dep qua, phai khong! (beautiful, isn’t it!)

Postcard sellers; scooter gridlocks; drivers constantly honking their horns; silk shops; tailors; conical hats; rice paddies; limestone cliffs and BOBs (boys on buffalos)

North Vietnam gets very cold in December and January! The latest fashious have replaced the elegant ao dai (traditional dress).

You’ll encounter the wonderful and the strange, the sacred and the profane. You’ll fine spices that sing in your mouth, smells that trigger emotions, dishes that amaze by their cleverness and beguile by their sensuousness, drink that surprise you, fruits that will shock and creatures that will make you shriek. Above all, you’ll find the people that make up Vietnam’s culture charm, frustrate and intrigue you.