I was born in Seville, a place where many people think it is the perfect place to live because of  the climate, the culture, the food and the joy of its people. But as soon as I became an avid reader, I understood that there were many other realities and ways of life and my curiosity began to awaken with a shrewd hunger that to this day has not stopped growing. I have been living in 4 countries and today I think that the country I have chosen at the moment (Switzerland) has all the characteristics to have as a base because it makes it easier to travel. 

For a few years I focused on accelerating my professional career and put travel on the  back burner. But as soon as I had enough money to be able to explore the world I started to travel without waiting for anyone as a solo traveller. I started to enjoy discovering so many possible ways of life and adapting my own way of life with each learning on each trip, that polished me little by little. One of my favourite things about travelling as a solo traveller is the fusion with the locals, which is so much more intense and immersive.

My last significant trip was Vietnam, a very intense country with  many lessons to share. There are many trips that have brutally marked me, but this is the most recent one.  My favourite continent is undoubtedly Africa, to which I need to return recurrently to remind me again and again of what is most important in life, although Vietnam shares a sense of resilience that many nations  could benefit from if they applied it.

Vietnam’s atmosphere is noisy, hectic in the big cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Mihn, but within every home, business and method of transport, people’s ability to be calm and  introspective is palpable. With more focus on being good people in their circle  than on the ‘rat roulette’ of success, they fulfil and follow their purpose in life to be better people and to be able to be happy. As the journey extends into the rural areas, the  atmosphere changes and it becomes one big community network where people know they can count on that community support network. It’s magical how important the wider community is and the impact that has on each individual/family.

Just before my visit there had been a typhoon that destroyed much of the north of the country. And I don’t normally organise trips before visiting the country until I’m at the  point of departure. It’s something I learned, I trust my instinct and wait for the place itself to tell me where and how I should go and what to do. It was no different this time. I had only booked the first night’s hotel, and had more or less studied which places and monuments I would want to visit. Then, every night when I returned to the hotel (I am a diurnal person), I reflected on where I would like to go the next day and how I could get to the destination. 

Sometimes, given the size of the country, it became a 2-4 hour job where I had to look for transport,  places of interest and where to sleep. Although it was exhausting, it was an experience of the trip that I  wouldn’t trade for anything, because it helped me to look forward to each day and focus on learning what I would have to do because I really didn’t know where I would be the next day.

One of the best experiences I have had in all my travels when it comes to local  markets was the Can Tho floating market, where I was able to sample the locals’ breakfast early in the morning on a boat, as if I were just another worker. The work and the rhythm were real, it was not a tourist market. You could feel the importance of the market routine every morning and I ended up  discovering the lifestyle of the traders. Many live on the boats, which end up being their shop, their home  and their means of transport. And the bartering is always friendly, there are no bad intentions, bad words or awkward moments, everything is fair, everything is as it should be.

I rented a motorbike several times in Nihn Bihn and in the Mekong  Delta, where I decided to discover the wilder places and the lifestyle of the locals outside the cities without looking at Google maps. In fact, on one of the trips, the road I had to follow went through a one metre wide street through a very small local market. It was a fun time and I really felt like a local. 

One of the most incredible interactions was when one of the motorbike explorations in the  Mekong Delta coincided with a school dismissal time. The heat and exhaustion forced me to stop at a local  stall for a coffee so that I could continue my journey. It was such a remote area that the locals, especially the  children, had never seen Europeans before, or so it seemed. They kept interacting and asking questions,  observing every detail of my clothing or my features minutely, even joking respectfully and taking pictures. I  would look back at them and smile as soon as I interacted with them in a universal gestural language,  because it would be impossible to communicate with them in English. They were able to give me so many  laughs and good memories that I will never forget. 

Undoubtedly, the Mekong River Delta is a place to visit, which due to its location many visitors do not know about. The atmosphere, the climate, the food, the people and the richness of nature there are breathtaking. I would love to go back, sailing the Mekong River calmly from its source and  finish the route in the delta, I will definitely have to go back.

I was able to access some Cao Dai temples where I was invited to enter and understand their rites. It was a very new experience for me because it is not a common religion and its origin is in the Mekong Delta. It helped me to understand the dogmas of this religion and to see the conciliatory sense of this country where the most important thing is the connection between differences and respect.

Vietnam could be considered one of the best countries to discover new dishes and flavours. I’m not just talking about the local markets where you can find all kinds of delicacies. In every place  I visited, I tried the typical dish. Of course I ate Pho and Banh Mi from Banh Mi 25, but as always and as I  have a good appetite and like all kinds of recipes and food, I tried the must-tries of each city/region like for  example the White Rose Dumplings from Hoy An, even Michelin star restaurants like Tam Vi in Hanoi. I also tried contemporary Vietnamese food and fish dishes typical of the Mekong Delta in Can Tho.

Without a doubt, my favourite drink was the Egg Coffee, a discovery that is 100%  recommendable and helps you start the day with brutal energy!

Within the cities, as with any other trip, the recommended hotels will  always be in the centre. Location, location, location. Then, in the more rural and remote areas, I  would always opt for an Eco Stay such as the Vamxang Rustic Home in Can Tho or the Tam Coc Eco Field Homes in Tam Coc. In a country as disparate as Vietnam, it is advisable to exchange centrally located hotels in the big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or Hoi An for places where you can relax and benefit from the wonderful nature.

The best form of transport between places is by bus or motorbike, apart from  using the local airports. I used 3, Hanoi, Dang Na and Ho Chi Mihn. Flight prices don’t vary much  if you buy them in advance or the night before. And in my case, as I was working on the trip on a  daily basis, I bought them the night before. I would definitely recommend Vietnam Airlines over  VietJet. 

I didn’t find any big tourist traps. Vietnamese are very fair and honest and give you the right change even if it is 1 cent. This is part of their culture and they always try to help. As a woman traveller, I never felt intimidated. It seemed like everyone was minding their own business. 

In such countries where it is better to use local applications, a local phone number is  sometimes necessary instead of using an E-SIM. 

In Vietnam, trade is one of the pillars of the economy. You can buy anything at any time of the day. So don’t worry if you forget something or want to pack light. Often, it’s best to opt for buying local products  that you can use up during your stay, such as personal hygiene products. Repellent, if you are more sensitive to  stings, it is always better to buy it at the destination because it will have more chemical components adapted to  the place. One exception is my camera and lenses. I always carry one for landscapes with a large aperture and one more versatile  for street photography. 

Vietnam is a country with a history that, if you immerse yourself a little, it soon becomes very  clear how challenging it is to get ahead and progress. It is a country that has been punished so much by other  countries, wars and natural disasters that it is trying to have a place in the world and to develop tourism to the maximum. There are very touristy areas where everything becomes very easy and comfortable, but as soon as  you try to go off the beaten track, there is no creativity or resources to come up with a personalised plan. I  found myself in a situation in Bach Ma National Park where there were no human or infrastructural resources where I could materialise a day or night safari to photograph the marbled langurs and other rare animals found  in the park. But both the rangers and the local accommodation managers were honest and understood the limitations and did not try to sell false expectations of the possibilities.

When people talk about Southeast Asia they tend to generalise a  bit. It is true that there are many similarities between some countries but, as in Europe,  the cultural difference is abysmal between all the countries. I have not yet visited them all, but among the ones I know (Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam) there are very big  differences in people’s behaviour, culture and religion. I strongly encourage myself and everyone else to take the time to visit them all to understand each one in order to have a  more detailed view and, as in all travels, to extract the best from each one and apply it in  some way to your life.

This trip reminds me of the importance of community and good practices. The honesty and the great human being values. 

Photographed & Authored by Maria Medina 

Instagram: m_garmed