I'm a solo female traveler from Europe. Here's why I chose to go to Vietnam

I wanted a spot with large weather, absorbing culture, fantastic nutrient and affable radical — and with plentifulness to spot successful a week.

So I picked Vietnam, traveling from Ho Chi Minh City done the Mekong Delta country and connected to Phu Quoc, an land successful the Gulf of Thailand.

I'd been warned astir congestion successful Ho Chi Minh City, which has a colonisation of astir 9 million. As my airplane flew debased implicit the metropolis successful the evening, I could spot the lights of hundreds of mopeds buzzing on its streets.

But successful the taxi to my hotel, I was enchanted by its chaotic agleam lights and amused by however overmuch radical carried connected their motorcycles — families of four, positive groceries, were piled atop 1 bike. I adjacent saw a antheral balancing a full-length reflector portion navigating the highway.

Tips for traveling successful Vietnam

France began its colonization of Vietnam successful 1858 and a artifact oregon truthful distant from the Rex Hotel our circuit stopped other the precocious 19th-century Saigon Opera House, designed by French designer Eugene Ferret. It's besides a backdrop that proved fashionable for photographs — I saw 2 bridal couples swiftly dodge betwixt moving postulation to airs by its steps.

Reminders of the 1955-1975 Vietnam War — known by galore Vietnamese arsenic the American War — are each astir the city, including an service vessel connected the grounds of the Independence Palace that marked the extremity of the conflict.

North of the palace is the War Remnants Museum, wherever visitors tin spot "The Terror of War," the photograph that became known arsenic "Napalm Girl," an representation of Phan Thi Kim Phuc moving bare down the thoroughfare aft a 1972 onslaught by the South Vietnamese aerial force.

For upscale accommodations, residents I spoke to recommended the five-star Caravelle Hotel, opened successful the 1950s by French entrepreneurs Antonin Emery and Marius Mallein, a favourite of American journalists during the Vietnam War. Its rooftop bar, Saigon Saigon, has unrecorded bands astir nights and guests tin take from 3 restaurants.

I stayed astatine the mid-range Silverland Jolie, which is wrong walking region from Nguyen Hue. It has a tiny plunge excavation and cocktail barroom connected its rooftop, positive attentive service.

Although I lone stayed a abbreviated time, I fell successful emotion with Ho Chi Minh City's expansive architecture, past and wide buzz. The metropolis is undoubtedly hectic, but I recovered the radical ace affable — 1 time, a edifice worker went retired of his mode to assistance maine transverse the road. The postulation whitethorn beryllium eased by the city's caller metro system, acceptable to unfastened aboriginal this year.

Southwest of Ho Chi Minh City lies the Mekong Delta, a portion of atom paddies, rivers and floating markets. There are galore ways to spot the area, from homestays to companies that signifier much luxurious trips there.

I joined a two-night sightseeing autobus and vessel travel with Vietnam Adventure Tours, which was good organized and offers galore excursions and overnight stays successful the area. Our archetypal halt was the municipality of My Tho to spot the Vinh Trang Pagoda built successful 1849. After seeing monks astatine prayer, respective schoolchildren approached me, asking to signifier their English.

Then we took to the stream itself, wherever guides rowed our radical successful tiny woody boats down a constrictive transmission lined with palms, earlier stopping astatine Con Quy land to spot however coconut candy is produced.

Even though they tin beryllium crowded with tourists, the floating markets were a item of the Mekong Delta for me, with cone-hatted merchants selling everything from effect to haircuts from their boats — an acquisition champion seen aboriginal successful the morning.

Our circuit visited Cai Be market, conscionable extracurricular the metropolis of Can Tho, wherever we tasted freshly chopped pineapple with chili brackish (surprisingly good) and beardown Vietnamese java from a seller who moored her vessel adjacent to ours.

Tour operators successful the Mekong Delta are plentiful, but immoderate trips lone tally if there's a minimum fig of participants, which tin beryllium tricky for a solo traveler. Mekong Eyes is simply a well-reviewed relation that runs tiny stream cruises connected accepted atom barges successful confederate Vietnam and connected to Phnom Penh successful Cambodia.

After a hectic fewer days of traveling, I booked myself into Cassia Cottage, a beachside edifice acceptable successful beauteous gardens connected tropical Phu Quoc Island, which is simply a abbreviated formation from Can Tho oregon Ho Chi Minh City. There, I lazed connected beaches lined with thenar trees, wandering into the oversea erstwhile it became excessively blistery oregon relaxing by 1 of 3 pools with a cucumber martini.

The edifice is owned by Mark Barnett, a U.S. expat who spent much than 2 decades arsenic a large exporter of cassia — oregon cinnamon — from Vietnam earlier selling his institution to a Japanese firm. I often saw him speaking to guests astatine mealtimes.

The Spice House, the resort's fantabulous restaurant, serves Italian food, alongside Vietnamese dishes similar seafood outpouring rolls and pho.

Staying connected a tropical land unsocial mightiness not entreaty to everyone, but I loved being capable to take precisely what I wanted to bash and erstwhile — whether it was having a massage astatine Cassia's tiny seaside pavilion oregon heading retired to oversea connected a vessel travel to research much of the island.