The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country with over 100 million people. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as Saigon). Vietnam’s land is mostly hilly and densely forested, with level land covering no more than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of the country’s land area, and tropical forests cover around 42%. The Mekong River Delta in the south covering about 40,000 km2 is crisscrossed by a maze of rivers and canals.
Vietnam’s history goes back thousands of years. From about 1500 Portuguese and French traders and missionaries started to settle on the coast of Vietnam, and in 1883 the territory was integrated into French Indochina. After World War II ended in 1945 the nationalist Viet Minh led by the communist Ho Chi Minh fought with France in the First Indochina War In 1946 to 1954. The Vietnam War began in 1955 between the communist North and the anti-communist South. In 1975, Vietnam reunified as a unitary socialist state under the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1976.
My first visit in Vietnam was in November 2024 in connection with a Vietnam-Cambodia tour. After visiting a market and other sights in Saigon we had a very enjoyable scooter & dinner tour. With about 12-13 million people in the Saigon area and 9 million scooters the traffic with was surprisingly smooth. We also visited one of the ‘killing fields’, the Vietcong tunnels and the war museum. Before heading for Cambodia we had a few very nice days in a ‘homestay’ in the Mekong River Delta with sightseeing trips.
My second visit was in February 2026 with a three weeks tour starting in Hanoi. After a city tour we headed for the Halong Bay – a “tourist trap”. Mai Chau in the interior was a pleasant area with rice fields and mountains. We had a boat trip on the Hoa Binh-lake in rain and wind, but the small village with people from the Muong tribe. In cool cloudy weather we drove south to the city of Vinh, and thereafter continued through Danang to Hoi An. Staying there was one of the highlights of our tour – even if there were tens of thousands of tourists crowding the old city center. We were lucky to experience the celebration of the colorful Vietnamese lunar New Year with fireworks and mass celebrations. Next morning we drove through almost empty streets (for a change) to Danang airport for transfer to Saigon. We drove directly to Cai Be in the Mekong Delta and stayed in a nice resort by the river. The last few days we spent on sightseeing in Saigon – mostly the same places i visited in November 2024.
