The best pho, by far... There may be a few outrageously expensive hotels and helicopter trips in and amongst our favourite 80 things from around the world, but at the same time there are plenty of free, or nearly free - entries. Bar the plane ticket to get there, of course. Next up is a foodstuff that should never set you back more than a dollar, but which is one of the great sensory experiences.
A soupcon of French gastro know-how
It's generally acknowledged that the combination of Indochinese ingredients and flare for food with a pinch of French colonial gastro know-how has created, in Vietnamese food, one of the planet's finest cuisines. In what is (at least nominally) still a communist country you can spend a surprisingly large amount of money in some of the swankier restaurants in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, but one of our all-time favourite foodstuffs is best sampled at a characterful and bustling street stall in any of Vietnam's great cities.
Cheap as chips (and far better for you)
Introducing Vietnamese pho, pronounced 'fuh', a thin but exquisitely flavoursome broth made with an onion (there's the French influence), meat stock and fish sauce base and then piled high with rice noodles, beansprouts, basil, limes, chillies and usually beef, but occasionally chicken. The result is a sublime culinary combination that is filling, cheap as (and far better for you than) chips and depending on the local variety, spicy enough to keep a cold at bay for a decade or two.
All our trips to Vietnam