Vietnam

Two thousand years of resisting Chinese, French and American rule left Vietnam with a culture that absorbed all three without surrendering to any. Hanoi’s Old Quarter still runs on guild streets laid out in the fifteenth century, Hoi An was a major international port when Melaka was, and Ha Long Bay’s limestone islands rise straight out of the sea in the north. It is the best value in Southeast Asia right now, with prices well below Thailand for comparable hotels and food. The e-visa is quick, and halal options in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have expanded considerably in recent years.