Nick McCarthy is swept up by the sights and sounds of a fabulous fortnight in Vietnam.

Roused from my slumber, I was greeted by the sound of Wesley Snipes speaking Vietnamese and the smell of fried noodles.

I knew Vietnam would be a culture shock but I didn’t expect my train journey to include wok cooking in the middle of the carriage and martial art films at noon.

We were on a journey through the spectacular mountains of central Vietnam and we thought we would do as the locals do.

We splurged a massive £1.50 each on air conditioning and reclining seats for our three-hour journey through rice paddies, cloud-covered mountains and rugged coastlines.

The experience was unforgettable, but with jet lag, 37 degree heat and 90 per cent humidity, we were still relieved to arrive at one of the most luxurious hotels in Vietnam.

We had split our two-week stay between the picturesque town and beach resort of Hoi An and the chaotic capital, Hanoi, in the north.

The Palm Garden Resort and Spa is set on a pristine and private beach a few miles from the centre of Hoi An.

We stayed in a stunning beachfront bungalow that provided picture-postcard views of the South China Sea and even had its own alfresco bathroom.

Most of the 188 rooms are hidden among the stunning and pedicured tropical gardens tended by an small army of conical-hat wearing staff.

The peace, tranquillity and luxury of Palm Garden is a retreat from the shopping mecca of nearby Hoi An, which is described in the guidebooks as the prettiest town in Vietnam. The hotel has a free courtesy bus to the Unesco-listed port town, which feels a bit like a film set.

The rabbit warren of narrow alleyways are crammed with Chinese style shophouses.

They house talented tailors that can knock you up made-to-measure suits in just two days for around 100 US dollars – roughly £60. The tailors, all 350 of them, will also copy your favourite shirts, jeans, t-shirts and even coats.

If clothes are not your thing, you can simply amble around the food markets, restaurants, bars and silk lantern shops that light the alleyways up at night.

The temperature soared during our stay and the little cafes were a perfect place to sample iced Vietnamese coffee, which is syrupy, ultra-strong and mixed with condensed milk.

Even in this tourist mecca you can get drinks for under £1 and three-course meals with drinks for less than a tenner.

You can sample the local street-food for a few thousand dong (literally a few pence).

We begrudgingly left the luxury of Palm Garden to fly back to the capital from Da Nang, a 30-minute drive away.

We stayed in the ultra-cool Tay Ho District, which is home to Hanoi’s Intercontinental Westlake.

It is opposite the 800-year-old Golden Lotus (Kim Lien) Pagoda and many of the 359 rooms are sat on their very own island pavilions on the lake itself.

Walkways connect the sprawling resort, but don’t be surprised to see local fishermen floating between the hotel foundations or perching precariously off the river bank.

The opulent furniture, huge rain showers, wooden floors, big balconies and even pillow menus are the perfect antidote to the chaos outside.

Tay Ho itself is home to some of the city’s best restaurants and European brasseries are also starting to pop up.