Vietnam is a country charmer, not only for its natural wealth but also for his people. People smile constantly, whether in the chaos of Hanoi, the purity of the mountains of Sapa, "the dragon" of Halong Bay or the richness of the Mekong Delta. So far, the Vietnamese people are more attentive and more grateful to the tourists that we have seen on our trip.

After spending a couple of days in Hanoi and learn to move on the streets with 1.5 million motorcycles, we assemble in a night train from Hanoi to Sapa in a village near the border with China (Lao Cai). At 6:30 am we woke in the middle of the mountains and we assemble in a bus on a tour of an hour to Sapa... curves, bends and curves ... Upon arriving at Sapa we were able to bathe in the tourist office (but rudimentary bathroom with hot Agualada! A luxury!) And then have breakfast before beginning the walk to the first hill tribe which would pass the night. The walk was through trails by amid the rice terraces and crossing rivers by stones. Upon reaching the tribe, our guide (an Hmong girl of 18 years dressed in his typical attire) we present to you the owner of the house where we were and told us to choose bed. The house (with a kitchen and bathroom away from the house) had a second floor where there were about 15 mattresses on the floor with pillow each. The owner of the house was called Tam and was perhaps the most beloved lady, willing and happy we met in the mountains. Our guide, Tam a lady of the French-speaking Switzerland who arrived after we did a banquet meal. They gave us rice, meat with vegetables, chicken with vegetables, pork with vegetables, cabbage and spinach water. Do not imagine the taste of all that food cooked in bamboo (forests are bamboo and wood that is used). After the meal Tam and the two girls sat with us at the table and Tam has brought us to make rice wine made by her. Do not let anyone take the empty glass! and put us all sing songs of our countries, including her. The following day when we got up we had Pericos eggs with onions and tomatoes, French bread (inheritance that staying in this whole area, including Cambodia of the French presence, it eats all over the world all the time!), Cheese and bananas. After breakfast of champions began our trek for 8 hours to get to the next tribe where we spent the night in a house similar to that of Tam, but bigger. That night we had a banquet also done in wood and the next morning gave us breakfast crepes with bananas and honey! The three days we were walking in the mountains. All these tribes live in a great community, the children appear to be children of all and walk everywhere alone, there is nobody behind them to see if they fall or drown in the river. These kids run barefoot everywhere and they do not pass anything.

The animals also seem to walk everywhere. After long walks in the middle of the green of the rice terraces we left a couple of days to Halong Bay (personally my main reason to visit Vietnam). In Halong Bay, which is three very long hours in Hanoi bus on a road not taken very well, we had three days of paradise. It is very difficult to describe hundreds of islets leaving the middle of the sea, some taller than others, with different shapes and create some gaps which can only enter through caves. For Vietnam, Halong Bay is a Dragon coming out of the sea, and indeed that if seemed that this set of islets were the ribs of a large dragon. Some of the islands are almost hollow inside, and one can enter the caves. On our second day in Halong Bay we assemble in a kayak and we were able to enter several caves and lagoons where we saw a couple of wild monkeys in one of the mountains! The best part is that at lunchtime in the kayaks took us to an island with a small beach where the only thing there was a cooker lena, a table with a tablecloth and napkins folded in the shape of a fan and three cooks our boat! All those who were in the ride we could not believe that we were having lunch on a desert island, it was like being in a movie! When we finished, the cooks gathered around the island and staying there as if it had not nadia this, because everything rode on a boat to take it to the big boat where we spent two nights.

After feeling like a Hollywood movie set, we went to southern Vietnam. We arrived in Saigon at 10:00 in the evening and at the airport was waiting for a taxi driver who had commanded our inn. The inn where we stayed was in the area of backpackers from Saigon, this area is so big and so important that this marked on all maps of Saigon! There are hundreds of inns, one beside the other and restaurants (all cheap of course). In the photos can see the environment. The next day we went to see the famous Mekong Delta. The richness of the lands of the Mekong is indescribable. For a look at where there are crops of rice, banana, coconut, mango, papaya, guava - such as the Valle del Cauca. Something interesting about the farms of rice is that one sees the crop and there are graves in the middle ... the custom is that the owners of the farms are buried in the middle of their crops so that new generations and to always remember that the dead are close to their land...

After seeing that the rice in Vietnam have started to taste a little different ... In the Mekong we assemble in a boat that took us to one of the islands first arm of the river (in the Delta River is divided into two major arms each reaching up to 4 km wide). On the island we go down and visit one of the families whose farm coconut and fruit, very poor but very proud to show your home. Alli tried pineapple, pitaya, banana and a type of mamoncillo very rich. After the feast of fruits we assemble in a little boat of wood by one of the rivers that form within the islands and we appreciate even more the wealth of the island known as the island of coconuts.

Vietnam is definitely a great experience and we were very fortunate to have been able to meet him before the great change that is beginning to happen thanks to its entry into the WTO. Will be very interesting to go back to visit this country in 10 years, I hope that people will not lose his joy.