Vietnam

By Melissa Rimac

Unique, rustic, and ready to lure with its gentle captivations and warm smiles…

Having, throughout recent and distant history, fought hard to maintain its sovereignty and unique identity, Vietnam today remains proudly defiant and seemingly set in its own very charming ways. Whilst much of the rest of Asia surges headlong into the 21^st century, to form a blur of bright lights, skyscrapers and incessant buzz that blitzes the senses, Vietnam, especially in the north and central regions, bewitches with its gentle, slow and subtle captivations. 

To savour Vietnam is to revel in an experience that engages and enlivens your senses and your soul on an altogether deeper level, a soothing sojourn into a land loaded with moments of exquisite, everyday beauty. It’s the enduring, very palpable traditions and enveloping gentleness, the warmth and wide smiles that great you around every corner that make Vietnam particularly special and very worthy of its growing popularity. 

Nowhere is this lull more enchanting than in Hoi Ann, a World Heritage listed haven of a bygone era, nestled into the river delta adjacent to the palm fringed coast that forms Vietnam’s midriff. Hoi An is immediately striking in its quietness – with cars banned from the old town and even motor bikes barred on the night of the full moon. In fact, most of the traffic – such as it is – takes the form of wooden boats steered by women in the emblematic conical hats and ferries loaded with bikes, chooks and high school girls, elegant in their crisp, white ao dai (Vietnamese national dress).

Just about everyone ends up spending longer in Hoi An than originally intended. Start with a morning coffee in one of the town’s delightfully rustic cafes – where the sanctum-like courtyards provide an even more intense sense of quiet and timelessness. After a few shops, art galleries, temples and trips to the tailor – this one of the best places in Asia to get very affordable clothes, shoes and homewares custom-made – you’re bathed in the golden glow of the afternoon, when the invitation to jump aboard a row-boat proves irresistible. Though delightfully compact, such is the propensity of visitors to get caught up in the details of Hoi An, that few get around to seeing the town in its entirety; but no matter – Hoi An teaches you not to care.

Within a few days, you’ll inevitably have a favourite café, a preferred eatery, a treasured tailor, and, given the exuberant but unobtrusive friendliness of the Vietnamese, a circle of local friends with whom you can while away hours just sitting around.

In its heyday between the 17^th -19^th centuries, Hoi An, thanks to the fine, luminous silk produced in surrounding villages, was one of the most important ports in South East Asia, which drew Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish, Indian, French and Chinese ships. And, as you make your way languidly along narrow cobbled streets lined with timber and stucco shop-houses festooned with the gem-coloured lanterns for which the town is now famous, Hoi An’s colourful past bursts into life.

Further north, Hanoi’s ‘old quarter’, which still adheres to the blueprint decreed by the emperors – that each trade and commercial pursuit should occupy a specific section of town, offers streets dedicated to, amongst other covetables: silk, metalwork, woodcrafts, bamboo objects, paper decorations, adornments for shrines, and, in the form of ‘Pho Hang Hanh’ – coffee.

Life here is still lived on the streets – aerobics, pedicures, massages, business deals, dining, haircuts, even courtship – all take place in the open, lending the place a gritty, raw atmosphere that invites you to also shed your inhibitions. 

Start the day by yielding to the beauty of fresh flowers sold from the back of bikes or from baskets balanced on poles, bag a few baguettes, rub shoulders with very sophisticated and well-read locals, whilst you sip very aromatic coffee and become comfortable with the notion that in Vietnam, the less you set out to see, the more you are likely to experience.

It’s the exquisite pleasure of time well spent and the endearing details, that make Vietnam magical. Make it a priority in your travel diary and, whilst you too will most likely end up wondering what you actually did, the lingering feeling of having had a very long emotional massage will leave you in no doubt as to the merits of the journey.

Best Times

In north Vietnam, the most pleasant weather occurs between October – November (at which time you might be lucky to catch the glorious change-of-season colours). December-Feb and July-August is peak season, so booking accommodation is almost essential.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 10:00 am and is filed under Coffee Culture - travel & lifestyle, Online Magazine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.