My trip to Vietnam

Vietnam is crazy. The noise, the crowds, the food and the hot humid nights linger in my memory. The streets filled with motorcycles merging in every different direction, endless horns honking and sellers fighting for your business as you walk through the dirty, polluted streets. And then there are the scams and the poverty. At times, the society can be cruel, dodgy and corrupt. It's quite a shock really.

But amidst the seeming chaos, the country's beauty unfolds...the landscape from the remote misty mountain village surrounded by rice terraces in Sapa in the north to the tropical Mekong Delta in the south where friendly people with their smiling faces wave at you as you sail down the narrow canals. And then there is the rich culture and history. The food. The atmosphere. The sensuousness of the place. For me, Vietnam was unlike anywhere I've ever been to... it was not a relaxing holiday but a really great and interesting experience.