Claire Boobbyer is an award-winning travel writer who first visited Vietnam in 2004. She authored the Footprint guide to Vietnam for a number of years and helped steer and launch DK's first guide to Vietnam. Her favourite places are Hanoi, Hue, Halong Bay, Ho Chi Minh City and the off-the-beaten-track Central Highlands. She's eaten all sorts of things in Vietnam over the years but she'll always hunt down bun cha (grilled pork and noodles) and banh cuon (minced pork, crispy shallots and wood-ear mushrooms rolled in a tiny rice crepe) as a priority! When she's not sipping ca phe sua da (iced coffee with milk) at a café she's searching for the latest craft cocktail at a hidden bar! Claire writes about other communist countries, too, namely Cuba and Laos.