i diari della lambretta: 7 things about our road trip to Vietnam we keep telling people

"how was Vietnam?"
"tell me all about your trip!"

as soon as we came home from Vietnam, and started answering our friends and relatives questions, these have been the main topics we go on chatting about:

1. vietnamese coffee, or cà phê

after the third one, you'll be addicted to it.

one of the many coffee breaks during our sidecar road trip from Hanoi to Hoi An

we came home with two phin filter inside our backpacks (present from our great road companions), so if we're gonna feel too nostalgic, we can brew ourselves a couple of cups at home. this is a little draw on how to make cà phê, Vietnam style.

how to brew Vietnamese coffee

2. lanterns in Hoi An

seriously one of the most charming things I've ever seen. and so romantic, not to mention photogenic (especially on sunset).

lanterns at Hoi An night market

Hoi An street at dusk, on a rainy day

golden hour in Hoi An

lanterns in Hoi An

3. citadel of Hué

we spent a whole morning inside the imperial citadel of Hué, an immersion into bright colours, ancient Vietnamese roots and traditions, you can hardly meet throughout the rest of the country.

the citadel of Hué

4. attitude towards the war

for many Westerns, "Vietnam" is more a war than a country. the Vietnam war has been a sad, dark chapter of the Vietnamese people history. a chapter. it seems I'm stating the obvious, but I somehow had the impression that we are way more obsessed by the Vietnam war than the Vietnamese people we had the chance to talk to.
and no, they do not hate Americans.

war memento at Khe Sanh former Combat Base

former soldiers visiting Khe Sanh Combat Base museum

5. limestones, caves, jungle

to see impressive landscapes, that's one of the main reasons we chose Vietnam as a destination. and we were generously satisfied with them. Ha Long bay, the Phong Nha cave and the road in the jungle of Ke Bang national park are not something we're going to forget.

cloudy day in Halong Bay

boat trip inside Phong Nha cave

the jungle!

6. tailor made clothes

Hoi An is the clothes lovers paradise. you can find a tailor shop at every corner, providing custom made suits and dresses in less than 36 hours, with good material, at more than reasonable prices.

choosing fabrics and shapes at A Dong Silk personal tailoring in Hoi An

7. markets and fresh food

from what we saw, Vietnam soils seem fertile and generous, and the result is a local cuisine that is fresh, various and rich with seasonal fruit and vegetables, that we loved seeing displayed at the markets, in the bigger cities as well as in the smallest village. every meal has been a delicate, new experience.