There were a lot of high points on the food tour. Memorable eating, fun fellow travelers, our amazing guide Binh, and Luke’s incredible passion for Vietnamese food, culture, and the people who make the country so special.

Sadly, we had to leave Hoi An. (What did I expect? We're on a tour of Vietnam, so pack your bags.) We took a short flight to the ever-vibrant, never-sleeping, wild-and-crazy Ho Chi Minh City…

A day off — but not without its highlight: an exciting chef in Hoi An we couldn't wait to meet. We took a Grab into town to sit down with him at his restaurant on the river…

We were staying at the Vinpearl Resort on Binh Minh beach on the East Sea coast of Vietnam. The beach is pristine, and the resort is 20 minutes by Grab…

Time to hit the road, so we climbed on the bus for the road trip to Hoi An. Hoi An is truly a magical place, a charming town of small shops and restaurants…

Finally, the rumored dress-up night arrived, and we met in a hotel dressing room filled with imperial-style clothing in all sizes, shapes, and colors.

After a brief nap (who can sleep after a couple of salt coffees), a few of us slipped across the street to have lunch at a magnificent hotel, the Azerai La Residence…

We got up for an early breakfast because we were going to the Imperial City, or Imperial Palace, also known as Đại Nội, in the walled city of Huế.

Time to pack our bags and leave the Old Quarter of Hanoi for an adventure on a boat in Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO site known for its thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests.

Breakfast is served in the hotel's basement. That sounds bad, but it was a charming restaurant with smiling waiters and waitresses who immediately fetched coffee. The cool thing about hotel breakfasts in Asia is the variety.

We gathered in the hotel lobby at 6 pm to meet our fellow food tour travelers. This is when you discover who you will be traveling with for the next 10 days.

I was very excited. We were about to embark on a 10-day food tour with celebrity chef Luke Nguyen, zipping from the top of Vietnam in Hanoi to the bottom in Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon).

A few years ago, I went to the Sydney Fish Market in Blackwattle Bay in Pyrmont. I love a good bustling fish market, but this one had seen better days.