VISIT VIETNAM! Nord, Center, Sud. AMAZING!

Everything starts from a flight to 450 € for Bangkok. We take it without thinking twice. - 3 months on departure and start planning the trip for still not know where.
Destination chosen. Vietnam, a delightful region rich in minority cultures and fantastic landscapes, and where mass tourism has not yet done harm.
Milan - Dubai - Bangkok and then flight to Hanoi.

Arrival in Hanoi, the capital. Total CAOS.

We eat and take a ride in the Vietnamese movida.

Day 2 - Visit to Hanoi and departure for Sapa.

Day devoted to visiting the present capital of Vietnam: the Temple of Literature (built in 1070) devoted to Confucius and the Literature that represented the first royal national university in Vietnam in 1076.
We visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Vietnam's President and Liberator from 1945 to 1969. He led North Vietnam, officially recognized at the Geneva Conference in 1954, during the Vietnam War until 1969, the year of his death.
In the afternoon, visit the Ethnographic Museum and, in the afternoon, walk around Lake Hoan Kiem nicknamed the Returned Sword.
In the evening, we move to Hanoi Station for the night train to Lao Cai. 10 hours trip to 1800mt.

Days 3 and 4

After 10 hours of shaky train we arrive at Lao Cai, it's 5 o'clock in the morning. Transfer to Sapa via a beautiful mountain road lined with paddle paddies on the terrace and pines. In Sapa the temperature changes completely: at 1650 m, Sapa was the holiday resort of the French during the colonial period. Sapa is not only a place to relax due to its moderate climate and beautiful mountain landscapes, but it is an important place to live in the mountainous ethnicities that were built mainly at the foot of Mount Fan Xi Pan (the highest in Indochina: 3143 m). These ethnic minorities: H'Mong, Red Dzao, Giay, Tay, came from southern China between the XVIII and IXX centuries. They still live in autarchy mainly from rice and corn cultures, planting in paddy fields and on the slopes of the mountains, and still dress with their colorful and authentic costumes.
Walking to their villages is the only way to discover the rich tradition and way of life of these people, so we prepare for some trekking and head towards the villages of Lao Chai, Ta Van, Ta Phin and Ma Tra with a group of locals.
Our misfortune is that the rainy season is prolonging more than due and therefore we can not enjoy the show that these places offer.

After 2 days it is time to return to Hanoi, then resume the night train, and away for another 10 hours.

Days 5 and 6

We always get around 5am in the morning and we rely on the hotel to rest for a while.
After generous breakfast, we head for Halong Bay where we will sail for a 2 day tour in the bay.
Halong Bay is a cove located in the Gulf of Tonchino, in Vietnamese territory and includes about 2000 limestone islands with numerous karstic caves. The bay is 164 km east of Hanoi capital, not far from the border with China. In Vietnamese, the term "Hạ Long" means "where the dragon goes down to the sea". Since 1994, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We return to Hanoi mid-afternoon and we prepare to go to Hanoi Airport for the flight to Da Nang, in the center of Vietnam.
Arriving at Da Nang, we immediately head to Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a small country that deserves to be visited, is still one of the few typical Vietnamese.

Day 8

We go down to Da Nang, crossing the famous "Clouds Hill" offering a gorgeous panorama of the entire coastline on top of it and arriving at Hue in the evening.

Day 9

The next morning we stop at the Forbidden Citadel and the mausoleum of Khai Dinh. We will continue to Thuy Bieu village, where we will make a natural and traditional excursion along the river of perfumes on board a Sampan (typical local boat), until reaching the pagoda Thien Mu (pagoda della Celeste Lady). After lunch we are waiting for a bicycle tour in the village, which will allow us to explore the local traditional activities of its inhabitants.

Day 10

Early in the morning we go to the airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), in southern Vietnam. Saigon was the old name before the release of Ho Chi Minh, but today it is still called Saigon by the premises in respect to Ho Chi Minh, as it is a somewhat "dirty" city.
In the afternoon we visit the city: Central Post, Cathedral of Our Lady, War Museum, tour concludes with Ben Thanh market visit. There is not much to see, it is the financial capital of Vietnam so there are all palaces and skyscrapers.

The Museum of War is worth a visit. It comes a bit of goose's skin through the exhibition halls with photos, documents and weapons.
I did not have much desire to take pictures here.

Day 11

Departing for Ben Tre the coconut capital in Vietnam. Arrival at the Hung Vuong pier. A brief local boat transfer leads us to the small canals. During the journey we have the opportunity to admire the lively local activities, fishing along the river, the functionality of the irrigation channels ... We visit a factory for the production of coconut candies.
In the afternoon bike ride to discover the authentic country less crowded with mass tourism. We have tasted fruit never before seen and flavored in Italy that we dream of. The path runs between nice houses and cozy dwellers.

Day 12

Early in the morning, 5:00 am, with the riverboat we visit the floating market of Cai Rang. The scenario that appears before our eyes is authentic and exciting, with hundreds of sampans loaded with rice, fruit, handicrafts that come together to exchange or sell their goods.

We leave Can Tho and return to Sai Gon.

Days 13 - 14 - 15

We leave Vietnam and head to Bangkok for the last 2 days, "relax" before returning to Italy.
We arrive in Bangkok at 14. 40 ° and humidity to 80%.
During these two days we visit the floating market, the Royal Palace and the Giant Buddha, after which we relax and have fun in this weird city.

Day 16

Return to Italy.

What to say, it was a long and continuous journey, but are the trips I prefer, discovering new cultures, places, people who always teach you something. Vietnam is a magnificent country with cordiality and kindness that you find in a few places.
I was sorry I could not even include part of Cambodia but the times were too tight. It will be for the next!