Reporter's Notebook: Vietnam's rapid rise and its ambitions

The first couple of times I visited Vietnam at the end of the 1990s, even in the busy commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, often referred to as Saigon, the sight of women cycling while wearing elegantly flowing white silk ao dai was common.

Da Nang has both beach and riverfront, and an excellent network of roads and bridges.

As I returned over the years, those bicycles and cyclists got replaced by motorbikes, while the previous motorbike riders upgraded to cars.

Da Nang has mountains, rivers and beaches, and an unhurried pace.

And the trend has continued relentlessly. Impossible to imagine now that Hanoi was once considered among the region's quietest capital cities. Crossing the road is a perilous mission.

(CGTN)