Vietnam is a beautiful, safe, colourful country that made me realise I need to plan a decent adventure around South East Asia.

Here are just five quick reasons why I really recommend you should go and see Vietnam for yourself.

1. Bikes, Motorbikes and Mayhem. I loved walking the streets of Ho Chi Minh late at night. The bright lights, the puddles reflecting all the neon after a brief tropical downpour, the delicious smells from street cafes. And the constant beeping rush of motorbikes and bicycles zooming all around. So much energy, so much excitement.
   

   

   

2. Children. Like many countries you meet so many curious, inquistive, smiling kids in Vietnam. Their energy and enthusiasm is wonderful.
   
3. River Life. Make sure to take a boat trip down one of Vietnam’s many rivers. They are the busy arteries of life in the country and there are so many fascinating things to see as you drift gently downstream.
   
4. War Tourism. Some of the relics from the Vietnam War left me feeling a bit uncomfortable: paying to blast off machine guns, posing for photos on tanks and so forth. But the war is a massive part of what Vietnam is, and therefore very important. The museum in Ho Chi Minh was superb. Harrowing, but superb. And it is a pleasure to step out of it into the busy sunshine of a happy, rejuvenated country.
   

   

5. Food. The wafting aromas of street cafes, grills, steaming bowls of rice noodles (pho) and a delicious variety of fruits make Vietnam one of the tastiest countries I have ever been to.
   

   

   

I wrote this post originally for Cheapoair.com