Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC, previously known as Saigon is Vietnam’s busiest and most popular city epitomizing the contrasting facets of modern Vietnam. Vibrant, dynamic and evolving at a breathless pace, it also retains strong connections with its past. As ‘Saigon’, the metropolis served as the capital of French Indochina, acquiring a spread of suave buildings and boulevards that earned it the epithet ‘Paris of the Orient. More than a hint of Gallic grandeur survives in the swanky Dong Khoi district, the setting for Graham Greene’s era-defining novel, The Quiet American, where now designer boutiques line up alongside some of Asia’s finest restaurants and smartest hotels.

A provincial market town until the tourism explosion of the post-Pol Pot era, Siem Reap is the gateway to Angkor. Over a million visitors pour through here each year and most stay in or around the town. The upside is a wide choice of quality hotels, restaurants and bars, as well as a plethora of shopping opportunities.

A few pockets of authentic Cambodian atmosphere also survive in the local fresh produce market, and numerous performances of Khmer Apsara dance, music and shadow puppetry are staged in the evenings. Visitors interested in traditional Cambodian arts and crafts may also visit workshops of the renowned Artisans Angkor company, which has spearheaded the revival of silk-making, stone and wood carving, lacquering and painting in the area.