Love letter to Viet Nam

Vietnam. One of my favourite places on earth. There was everything I needed - a stool, a small table, scorching hot bowl of goodness all in the middle of the street as life was going by. Anthony Bourdain really said it best that there will be some who hate it there and then you have him, myself and lots of others whose hearts, souls and stomachs were forever captivated by this old country.

I didn't know all the ingredients of food I was eating and I was fine with that. Between the wonderful assortment of herbs and spices, fresh fruits, fried, boiled, steamed magic, infamous Pho soup and the infusion of French cooking - Vietnam didn't leave me unimpressed.

On this trip Josh and I visited Hoi An, themed park Sun World, Nanoi and Halong Bay. Hanoi without a doubt stole the show for me. We stayed at Hanoian Hotel. Its guests were raving on booking.com how they were blown away by the hospitality. Let me tell you, they were right and some! When Josh and I came down with a virus, they checked on us, leaving us notes and little gifts, they booked us all the tours and even packed us breakfast for our 4am flight. I could go on raving about Vietnam but to keep it short here is my top 10 things I loved.

1. Shopping for a Vietnamese dress - ao dai

2. Eating a Bahn mi sandwich at the restaurant that Anthony Bourdain once went to

3. Looking around and people watching - so many colors, textures and fun characters

4. Slurping on a hot bowl of Pho

5. Kayaking at Halong Bay

6. Going on a food tour in Hanoi

7. Surprising flavor of Ca Phe Trung Coffee with beaten egg

8. Soaking in a pool facing rice fields in Hoi An

9. Getting my own conical hat

10. Hearing about Vietnamese superstitions and how similar they are to the Russian ones

As always, I now leave you with my photos and let them do the talking. And Viet Nam, my darling, until very soon.