by Justine Southwick

Created on: June 21, 2009

Temptation is great, when you're reliving a fantastic holiday, to take yourself off in that same direction for more. But what happens when you go back? Will it be better the second time around, or will you fail to recapture the magic of that first time and be left wishing you'd left the memories alone?

I fell deeply in love with Vietnam on my first visit 18 months ago. I landed in Saigon on a Saturday night and walked off the plane to be greeted by the smell of urine and a very laid back immigration officer. I don't know why, but I felt instantly at home.

Then I got outside to find Saigon was a sharp contrast to the relative tranquility of the airport. Vietnam's biggest city is humid, stinky, noisy, chaotic and maddening, and yet so amazingly wonderful. Mere words will never be enough to describe it. You can't walk two steps without being pestered to buy something or take a ride somewhere, but this constant pressure is one of the things I love most about Saigon and I'm not usually one for crowds.

I also dislike cockroaches and cramped guest house rooms with no hot water, so I wasn't sure how I'd handle Vietnam. But I felt as though I turned into a different person the second I landed. The more noisy and crowded it was the more I liked it. I stayed in places I wouldn't dream of setting foot in at home. I wore the same grimy clothes for days on end, and the thought of putting wearing make-up or shoes never crossed my mind.

I spent three weeks exploring the length of the country; just enough time to dip my toe in the water. From the Mekong Delta to Hanoi and the highlands of Sapa near the Chinese border I went, a smile plastered constantly on my face because everything was exactly how I'd imagined it during the months of pre-trip planning.

But Vietnam is a ccountry of contrasts. I loved it one minute and hated it the next. Then I'd wake up the next day and love it again. I wanted to leave and never come back, but at the same time I wanted to stay forever. It's that kind of place.

I flew home at the end of the three weeks knowing a part of me now belonged to Vietnam. I promised myself I'd be back for more, and 12 months to the day I was. And I was delighted to find it even better the second time around.

I've tried to relive holidays in the past and found they weren't the same without the people, the music, the season and so on that made them fantastic, but not this time. I've now been back a third time it's truly under my skin and I can't stay away and with every trip Vietnam shows me something different. It has such personality and always welcomes me with open arms, seeming to love me as much as I love it.

Roll on the fourth trip!

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