Vietnam named as wonderful destination for self-love, personal growth, healing

Author Sophie Mendel wrote that six days after her fiancé and her broke up, she flew to Vietnam and backpacked her way through the north of the country as a solo female traveler.

While those days were some of the hardest of her life, traveling to the country was the best thing she could have done for herself. 

She first headed to Hanoi. “Though I had been to Southeast Asia before, this was completely different from anything I had ever experienced. The lingering French colonial influence was evident in the city’s architectural style, but the buildings and sidewalks covered in vines and lush, tropical greenery felt distinctly Vietnamese,” she said.

According to Mendel, one great experience was to walk around Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword Lake), with the waterfront was alive with groups of women taking dance classes, families with children enjoying a late afternoon stroll, and teenagers giggling and snapping pictures on their phones. To her it seemed as if it was the perfect snapshot of everyday life in Hanoi. 

Next up on her jaunt through northern Vietnam was Ninh Binh. In her view, everything there was simply spectacular, including biking through the lush countryside with views of glistening rice paddies and soaring green mountains, as well as taking a traditional boat ride through a peaceful river valley boasting landscapes reminiscent of Jurassic Park, the writer shared. 

The final leg of her journey brought her to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

Over the course of the next few days she cruised to hidden beaches, hiked and biked around Cat Ba Island, kayaked through the bay, and enjoyed parties on a boat with people from all over the world, she noted.

“Vietnam had been good to me, I decided. Each day that passed had something exciting and new in store; I woke up with something to look forward to, which I hadn't felt in some time. It was good to have some perspective and to step away from the stress of my everyday life,” the author shared.