The ultimate trip in Vietnam in photos

I love to travel slow and explore each country at my own pace. For me, this was the first time I travel alone for so long and traveling solo gave me the strength to face the world courageously. On the way I met a lot of people and travel helped me find my best friends. For three months in Vietnam, I have been surfing the beaches, motorbiking on the mountains, eating foods that I have never eaten before, learning the culture and history and enjoying the urban nightlife in the energetic cities.

What follows in this post is a photo trip of my journey.

Daily Life

It seems like everyone in Vietnam have a motorbike. There are so many motorbikes on the streets that it sometimes gets very difficult to walk on the roads.

What goes along with these motorbike? The trendy helmet everyone is wearing. I am not sure how much these helmets help in protecting them during an accident, but they surely are trendy.

Surely everyone loves beer in Vietnam and how would a day be complete without sipping a Bia Hoi (locally brewed fresh beer).

If Bia Hoi is what you need to drink, then Pho is what you need to eat in Vietnam.

The street stalls have toy sized stools and tables to sit and eat on them.

Da Cau is a sport where a shuttle cock has to be kept in air by using only the feet. It’s a sport very popular among Vietnamese men and its the National sport of Vietnam.

Buildings and Architecture

Maybe no country is as much influenced as Vietnam by French and Soviet. And that can been seen in the architecture.

Most of the old colonial buildings have been restored to their previous glory and some of them have been made into luxury hotels and villas. Ha Noi and HCMC are the best cities to explore colonial architecture.

Soviet influence can be seen in the building belonging to government. Prime example is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex in Ha Noi.

If colonial and Soviet influences was not enough, then you can find Chinese influence can be found in city of Hoi An, which is a listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The imperial architecture of Nguyen dynasty can be found in Hue.

Even the Hindus, left a mark in Vietnam, in the form of Cham temples.

Pagodas are religious buildings where people worship. They are in various shapes and sizes. Most of the pagodas are Chinese influenced, but there are many pagodas that are Khmer styled in the Mekong region.

It’s believed that having business and home at one place brings good fortune to them. So, you can see in most of the houses which are thin and tall, that the ground floor is used for business activities and the upper floor are used as house.

In the country side the rural houses are very simple and stilt, usually made from logs and palm leaves used for the roof.

Modern Vietnamese architecture is mostly western and no wonder if you can see buildings that are sky high.

Food

Food in Vietnam is very simple. But the regional dishes and different versions of the same food in different regions makes it quiet complex to understand.

Whatever said, Pho Bo (rice noodle soup with beef) is a dish that cannot be missed.

Hot Pot is very delicious. A stove is kept right on your table served along with the sea food you ordered. Then a plentiful of herbs, leaves, tomatoes, spring onions, chili flakes and few kinds of sauces are given to you for throwing into the hot pot.

Do you see something that is wrapped inside a banana left? Well there are chances it might be Banh Chung, which is sticky rice with pork and bean paste.

More about food in Vietnam.

Other Scenes From Vietnam

Photo Source.