Few countries have changed so much over such a short time as Vietnam. Less than forty years since the savagery and slaughter of the American War, this resilient nation is buoyant with hope. It is a country on the move: access is now easier than ever, roads are being upgraded, hotels are springing up and Vietnam's raucous entrepreneurial spirit is once again alive.

The speed with which Vietnam's population has been able to put the bitter of its recent past behind it, and focuses its gaze so steadfastly on the future, often surprises visitors expecting to encounter shell-shocked resentment of the West.

The people of Vietnam regained independence and broke away from China in AD 938 after their victory at the battle of Bach Đang River. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. Fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.