“Have high hopes and low expectations”. Sage words of advice when embarking upon the joy that is the London dating scene, but it recently became my approach to an upcoming trip to Vietnam.

You see, I’ve never had any interest in visiting Vietnam; for 9 years it sat firmly on a list of countries to avoid, (along with New Zealand and Canada, in case you’re interested). And whilst I’ve travelled every country in the vicinity of Vietnam (Cambodia, Laos, China, The Philippines), I’ve always steadfastly avoided Vietnam itself.

But, it seemed the end was nigh for my “I just don’t want to go there” ramblings, and when a promotional Cheap flights to Ho Chi Minh City email landed in my inbox three weeks before I had over 2 weeks booked off work… I found myself splashing out on a £5.99 top from Zara and flinging it in a bag along with 7kg of other stuff (an all time record, even for me) and getting on a flight to Vietnam. Yeah, I really was that excited. So happy to be visiting a country I’ve never wanted to go to in fact, that I forgot my socks. And I forgot to bring a hairbrush, and face wash and hair products and a towel… that’s really how excited I was.

Well I’ll be dammed. Having high hopes and low expectations really does pay off (unlike dating in London, FYI). My three reasons to not visit this wonderful country are completely unfounded in my first 3 days:

1.You get so much hassle there

Umm… No you don’t. I’ve never been hassled less. Some Vietnamese bloke telling me I’m beautiful and handing me two live crabs on the beach today has been about the height of it.

2. It’s too hectic

It’s not. Try Bangkok. Or Delhi. Hi Chi Minh City is no worse than either of those. Also I live in London. Granted you don’t have to endure motorbikes using pavements as roads during rush hour in London, but still.

3. I don’t really like Vietnamese food

Why did I ever say that? Perhaps cos I’ve only ever been subjected to that god awful “Vietnamese” franchise Pho in London. Whatever the reason, the food is actually amazing (banana and chocolate spring rolls, anyone?!)

So there you go. Think twice about somewhere you’ve never wanted to go; you may just be surprised, especially if your expectations are as low as mine were.