According to The National (UAE), after a two-year hiatus of the Covid-19 pandemic, the South-East Asian nation welcomes vaccinated visitors from mid-March, and there are five compelling reasons for travelers to visit the country.

The long history

For Ronan O’Connell, the staff-writer of The National, the image of an elderly Vietnamese woman in her conical hat riding her bike passing through the gate of the one-thousand-year-old Duong Lam village has impressed him the most during his last trip to the country.

A foreign traveler is learning to make To he folk toy in Duong Lam ancient village. Hanoi Times Photo: Khanh Huy

A foreign traveler is learning to make To he folk toy in Duong Lam ancient village. Hanoi Times Photo: Khanh Huy

According to him, Vietnam’s cities have modernized at the pace of a sprint over the past 20 years. But tourists need not venture too far beyond the urban sprawl to savor traditional communities.

“Only 60 kilometers west of the capital, Hanoi, Duong Lam’s weathered streets are decorated by historic temples, shrines, and assembly halls that have been designated as national cultural assets,” he wrote

“It remains primarily a farming village, encircled by fields of rice, groundnuts, sweet potato and spinach. Duong Lam has no extraordinary sights – no giant pagodas or teeming markets. What it offers is simpler: an insight into Vietnam’s peaceful rural communities, where traditional customs flourish,” he added.

Ronan also suggests travelers watch locals weaving scarecrows from straw, acting out ancient fables during festivals, or steering water buffalo through farmland.

The surf-friendly waters

More than 40 years ago, Apocalypse Now’s surfing scene turned Vietnam into an unlikely new destination for tourists interested in riding waves. One particular strip of sand is still famous thanks to that movie, according to The National.

My Khe beach as it is known locally was the setting for that extraordinary anti-American War scene, where two surfers rode waves while villages were bombed in the background.

This majestic location on Vietnam’s central coast is blissfully peaceful. Waves roll off the East Sea onto the long oceanfront of Danang, the country’s third largest city. The coastline is now embellished by many seaside resorts catering to domestic tourists and foreign surfers keen to ride the area’s consistent waves.

The underground river