Maybe you are familiar with Ha Long bay and its limestone islands that rise dramatically from the jade green sea. Most visitors only experience this from the deck of a boat, but the true magic begins when you explore these islands with a kayak. Some of islands are hollow and have secret lagoons inside that are only accessible from narrow tunnels and caves that are filled water at high tide. Through the entrance tunnel the lagoons will open up with jungle vegetation clinging to the steep walls and a silence hard to imagine (especially in Vietnam). With a good guide and a tide table it's possible to explore this hidden side of Ha Long bay, which is even more magnificent from the inside.

This is the tunnels that the Viet Cong used to fight the South Vietnam alliance (including the Americans) under the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese call the America War). There are two areas, Ben Duoc and Ben Dinh, which can be visit. All the tunnels that are open have been expanded to fit western size people, but you still need to crawl on your hands and knees to get through them. Over ground has turned into a tourist circus with shops and shooting range (with AK47s), but the propaganda video and the tunnels gives a pretty good insight to the horror of the war.

The city of Vinh does not have very much to offer in sense of mind blowing sights, but one thing can the city brag about: The biggest Ho Chi Minh statue in Vietnam, which presumable also must be the largest in the world. The square in front of the statue is laid out exactly like the Ba Dinh square in Hanoi in front of the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. If you are a true Ho Chi Minh buff, you must also visit the birthplace of the great leader in the village of Kim Lien, a 14 km drive from Vinh.

Bending into China, Ha Giang is as north as you get in Vietnam. It's rich in ethnic minorities that live on the mountain slopes, but what makes this place stand out from its more popular neighbours is the landscape. As you travel across the province the mountain scenery changes from soft hills with muddy soil, over steep slopes covered in rice terraces to rough stone forests, where the colourful tribe people have to farm between the tall pointy rock pillars. Vietnam is beautiful and this is one of the most jaw dropping places in Vietnam.

The mountains of northern Vietnam are populated with minorities. Every smallish township has their own market once a week and attracts different kinds of colourful tribe people that comes in for shopping, browsing, finding a wife, or just stocking up on this week's rice wine. Some of the best markets "near" Lao Cai Town is Bac Ha (Sunday) which is one of the biggest and most touristy, not saying that many come, Can Cau (Saturday) beautiful set on the mountain side, Coc Ly (Tuesday) small but interesting, Muong Hum (Sunday) located in a lush valley, and Muong Khuong (Sunday) a great trading fair with a real outpost felling, since it's very close to China. Keep in mind that it takes many hours from Lao Cai town on winding mountain roads to get to these far out markets, but it's sure worth it.

The highest mountain in Indochina (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) might seem as a easy trekking peak due to the not so impressive height of only 3143m, but don't be fooled. The are several routes to the top, but every track is difficult and involves a overnight stay unless you do commando raid (record is around 10 hours up and down from Heavens Gate at 1949m). A lot of scrambling on slippery rocks and zigzagging through dense bamboo forest is the norm, and expect bitterly cold and wet nights. To get the full experience, it's highly recommended to descend on the southeast side into the Sapa valley over multiples days. Coming down from the top covered in dense forest and trekking into the farmed valley with rice terraces and villages is a rewarding finish.

Ho Chi Minh was not just the founder and leader of the Vietnamese communist party, he is considered the liberator and father of the modern nation of Vietnam. He created the independence movement Viet Minh who victorious fought both the Japanese, then the French, and in the end the South Vietnamese coalition, which included the Americans. Ho Chi Minh past away in 1969 during the Vietnam War, so he never lived to see his nation reunified and independent. Against his wish he got embalmed like the communist fashion dictated at the time, so today the pickled remains of Ho Chi Minh can be enjoyed at his fine mausoleum. Dress nicely, stand in line and behave for it is a serious affair to visit Uncle Ho.

Traffic in Vietnam is in general mind blowing, but rush hour in Saigon is down right scary. Like a human ant nest scores of scooters, and a few cars and cyclos, fill the streets in a random manner of slow zigzagging and dodging. They come from every direction, some even on the sidewalk or against the traffic, and signs and traffic lights are rarely obeyed (red is just another shade of green). The strange thing is though, traffic jams hardly occur. There exists a strange system of courtesy which means any one can cross the street without getting hit. Just keep walking in the same slow pace and the traffic will flow around you.