If you want to embark on an adventure, do it by touring the magical Vietnam, a country located in Southeast Asia that is surrounded by the sea of southern China; where you can live a different experience in an environment full of cultural, historical and spiritual vestiges, with an exuberant nature and a special magic that you will surely not find anywhere else in the world.
This country that has gone through times of suffering due to the wars that have brought death and misery to its inhabitants, has left behind this tragic experience to become a booming tourist destination, since more and more tourists from many parts of the world are interested in visiting it, who find a series of options and alternatives, ranging from formal plans made through tourist agencies that offer visits only to Vietnam, packages that include tours through Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos-Thailand, or simply venture to prepare your trip freely.
This country, surrounded by a dynamic but at the same time nostalgic environment because of its history and deep experiences, has in its capital, Hanoi, a combination of French style in its buildings, museums that tell the tragic history of the world-famous “Vietnam War” “, as well as the Cuchi tunnels, which were used by the soldiers of the so-called Viet Cong, with a set of modern buildings, which lay the foundations of a convulsive, modern and dynamic life, between religious rites and great monuments.
That style of Hanoi make it stand out as a city with incessant activity and a constant bustle that permeates the atmosphere of magic, where its inhabitants look proud of its dynamism and its variety of buildings that are an example of its level of urbanism through which the Vietnamese have managed to preserve many historical and cultural heritages.
If we go through the old part of Hanoi, which is known as the neighbourhood of thirty-six streets, we find a set of alleys, historical buildings, shops of different types, and temples like the temple of Literature, which is located south of the imperial citadel of Thang Long, where in turn is the first Vietnamese university, which was built in 1070 and has remained as a symbol of Confucianism.
Another of the emblematic places is the “Museum of Women”, which was built in 1995 in order to pay tribute to women who have made fundamental contributions over time in favour of the cultural and historical heritage of this beautiful country.
There is also a small wooden Buddhist temple of the sixth century in the form of a lotus flower with a single stone pillar, which is called “The Pagoda of a Pillar” and is located in Ba Dinh Square, where thousands of parishioners and tourists come because of its curious shape that has made it an emblematic place in the city of Hanoi, which has varied tourist attractions and a dynamic modern environment typical of any cosmopolitan city.
Hanoi also offers tourists places with a striking and charming nature, such as the Lake Hoam Kiem, where you can spend days sharing sitting in front of its calm waters that evoke the spiritual peace of its ancient inhabitants, providing the place with a very special magical atmosphere, which many people value and describe as an experience full of spirituality.
On the other hand, this Asian city is characterized by its beautiful theatres of puppets over the water, whose art has been acknowledged as one of the most preferred artistic expressions by tourists who know about Asian cultural manifestations and traditions.
Walking through the large number of small streets that are woven like a cobweb, you can find many shops with typical objects that tell stories and legends, which are usually taken by tourists as souvenirs of the trip and / or for gifts for their families and friends from different countries of the world.
One of the most interesting places in the Asian continent, which you can find by touring the magical Vietnam is the imposing and famous marble mausoleum of the communist leader “Ho Chi Minh”, who made possible the passage of Vietnam to the modern era with its large projects and infrastructure works turned into highly attractive centres from the tourist and cultural point of view.
On the other hand, the city of Saigon, which is now known as Ho Chi Minh and was called “The diamond of the Far East” in ancient times, is particularly characterized by its iconic buildings of colonial and French styles and its museums about the history of the Vietnam War. But Vietnam is not only museums and crowded streets, it is also well known for its large and abundant rivers, its beautiful beaches, the famous Buddhist temples and a set of cities with a very dynamic life.
In this way, the ancient Saigon, current Ho Chi Minh, is one of the most convulsive cities of the Asian continent, resulting in a clear fascinating combination between the French style, the obvious Chinese influence and modernity, without diminishing the importance of the Vietnamese style, which make it one of the most interesting places not only in Vietnam, but also in Southeast Asia.
You can also visit one of the emblematic places preferred by many tourists, as the Palace of Reunification is, founded in 1966 and whose historical value is undeniable, since the capitulation of South Vietnam took place there, besides the Central Post Office which is located in full Southeast Asia and was built by the architect Alfred Foulhoux, who knew how to combine very well the necessary elements to achieve a fascinating structure between the French style, the modernist techniques and the iron architecture of the 19th century.
Ho Chi Minh is a large city with fourteen million inhabitants, and can be said to have all the characteristics of a large metropolis that is formed by infinity of streets and boulevards with abundant markets, restaurants, cafeterias, candy shops and very varied stores, where the tourists can find anything and are located not only in the most modern zones, but also in the centre of the city and in the historical and conventional areas.
One of the markets that is mostly visited by foreign tourists is the one called “Ben That”, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the French and where from nuts and flowers, to clothing and shoes of all kinds can be purchased, which is why it is very visited by local, national and international tourists, who enjoy observing the variety of products that are offered there.
Another interesting activity that can be experienced in this great city is the visit to the most famous Cuchi tunnels in the northwest of the city, an area that can be reached after a journey of about forty minutes from the centre, where you can see a whole panorama full of magic and combination of architectural styles, customs, culture, history, gastronomy and above all, the cordiality of its people.
These humid and narrow tunnels were built by the Vietnamese during the war against the Americans, who, having no knowledge of their existence, were surprised by the brave Vietnamese, procedure by which the American army suffered many casualties.
Another magical and beautiful place that you cannot miss in this Asian country is the province of Ninh Binh, which is well known for having charming landscapes such as the karstic mountain massif called “Trang An”, which is structured by huge vertical cliffs that serve as the perfect framework for a series of spectacular valleys that are semi-flooded because the well-known cultivation of rice is done there, typical of some countries of the Asian continent.
There it is also the Trang An area, an area of islands, caves, temples and limestone formations with unique shapes; in a natural environment in its purest state, which made UNESCO declare this landscape complex as World Heritage.
On the other hand, the best way to discover the beauty of Ninh Binh is to take a tour of the river aboard the traditional boat of Southeast Asia, which is called by the Vietnamese with the term “sampan”, which allows tourists to enjoy and be ecstatic with magical landscapes and full of colour of a thick and mysterious jungle that moves us to other times, and that at the same time has that touch of divinity that surprises everyone who makes this journey.
Another alternative that many tourists prefer is to make trips by bicycle, which allows to interact and communicate directly with the inhabitants of the area, who dedicate themselves almost exclusively to rice crops.
In addition, many tourists choose to visit Halong Bay, through a journey full of landscapes framed in huge rice fields, in a purely rural environment that has been an example of the traditional life of the Vietnamese and that because of its immense and exuberant beauty has also been catalogued as a Natural Patrimony of the Humanity.
If we go on touring the magical Vietnam, we will find the city of Hue, which was the imperial capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty from 1802 to 1945 and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1993. In this city it is Dai Noi, an imperial citadel from where the emperors ruled their immense territories and which was built in the nineteenth century in an area of 520 hectares completely surrounded by a moat and a perimeter wall, and that retains that architectural style considered one of the most complete and beautiful in the world.
ALFA