VIETNAM

2,000 limestone karsts rising from emerald water, most of them uninhabited. The view from the bow of a junk boat at sunrise is one of the most photographed scenes in Southeast Asia and remains spectacular regardless of how many times you have seen it reproduced. Book a two-night cruise rather than a day trip — the bay changes completely after the day boats return to port and you have it largely to yourself.

The ancient trading port has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999 and the preservation is genuine rather than theatrical. The old town operates without motorbikes — it is walkable in a way that most Vietnamese cities are not. The Japanese Covered Bridge is the most photographed structure. The tailors on Tran Phu Street will make clothing to measure in 24 hours. The food — cao lầu, white rose dumplings, bánh mì from Phượng — is the best in the country.

The capital is older, more layered, and less immediately legible than Ho Chi Minh City. The Old Quarter's 36 guild streets still largely operate as they always have — silk on this street, paper on that one, tin on another. Hoan Kiem Lake in the center of the city is the gathering point for the city's morning exercise culture — arrive at 6am and you will find it full. The street food around Bun Cha Huong Lien — the restaurant where Barack Obama ate with Anthony Bourdain in 2016 — remains worth the visit.

The river system that drains Southeast Asia breaks into dozens of channels south of Ho Chi Minh City, creating a water world of floating markets, rice paddies, and stilted villages. The Cai Rang floating market operates at its best before 8am. The boat journey between markets passes through narrow canals lined with mangroves. It is the landscape that feels furthest from everywhere else in Vietnam and the one that rewards the slowest pace.