We flew from Danang to Hanoi.

By this time, we were no longer green. We were comfortable negotiating in dong. We knew there was never anything to fear.

If we thought the rest of Vietnam had too many tourists, we hadn't seen anything yet. On almost every block, I overheard someone speaking in swedish. The Brits were also well-represented. We all stuck out of course. You couldn't miss the tourists. But there were so many of us, no individual group garnered attention.

Hanoi is "metropolitan" compared to Saigon. People here were more stylish, and a little more haughty. Which was fine by us. Hey, we were in their territory after all. You've fought and won all these wars. Go ahead, show some pride.

Our travel agency had let us down. We were stuck in another crappy high-rise hotel that was too far from downtown.

We were checked in for about an hour. Just long enough for my wife to get peeved at the location, "amenities," and the staff's poor attitude.

After checking in earlier, we had gone downtown briefly to look around. It was then that my wife had stumbled upon an awesome boutique hotel. After confirming the unbelievably affordable rate, we had asked to see an available room. The room's deck and balcony (!) overlooked the main Hanoi thoroughfare, and the room was magnificent.

We sprang into action.

I called the travel agent (based in San Francisco) to complain. My wife exchanged icy stares with the evil front desk manager and got us a refund. And just like that, we were checked out and on the move.

We hustled back downtown and checked into our new rock star accommodations. We spent the next week footsteps from exploring Hanoi. No taxi or guide necessary.

One day, we boldly strolled through the lobby of the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi and made ourselves comfortable by the pool. Before gorging on the chocolate buffet, we dined and drank like the other fancy pants (fools) paying bonkers dollars to stay in such opulence. While I don't believe in paying thousands of dollars a night to stay in a hotel, the pool certainly was nice.

I loved Vietnam. If my life was going in another direction, I would try to live there for awhile. It will be interesting to see how this nation evolves. A french expat restaurateur we spoke with said it best - "If you want to do business with the Vietnamese, you'll have to do it on their terms."

I hope the folks at the top there can help Vietnam grow and help the little people. I hope the entire country can progress in a positive way. Because people don't go to war. Politicians do. Regular people just want to live, be happy, and take care of their families.

I have no doubt that we'll return here.

By all means, go to Vietnam. My tips: be polite, don't hire a guide unless you need a car, and generously tip the people that help you.