April 2009
8 posts
Vung Tau city beach
While Vung Tau may not be my favourite place in Vietnam, it makes for a very quick escape from the city. With a ticket on the hydrofoil from Ho Chi Minh City costing just over $10 and taking just over an hour you can escape the big smoke and be on the beach long before you go stir crazy.
Despite a slightly seedy reputation (famous for being the place where they caught Gary Glitter) its not a bad...
Eating in Hue city
Trying delicious local specialties like bun bo Hue should be a big part of your Vietnam travel
The cuisine of Hue draws from throughout Vietnam, but the city is known in particular for its vegetarianism. Several all-vegetarian restaurants are scattered in various corners of the city to serve the locals who, as part of their Buddhist beliefs, have a strong tradition of eating vegetarian twice a...
Places you should visit in Ha Noi
As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is the cultural center of Vietnam. Despite the battles that have raged around it, Hanoi retains much of its historic charm. Hanoi boasts more cultural sites than any city in Vietnam, including over 600 pagodas and temples and some delightful French colonial buildings.
The Old Quarter, near Hoan Kiem Lake, is a thriving, chaotic tangle...
Ninh BInh province
Ninh Binh has the pace of a large country town – a welcome respite if you’ve just escaped the bustle of Hanoi. Apart from the scrum of guesthouse owners greeting the trains, and the charming chorus of ‘Hello, how are you’ from the local children, you’ll largely be left alone as you wander the quiet streets. The surrounding countryside is gorgeous, confirming all the postcard fantasies of what...
Da Lat _ a different charming
Dalat is quite different from anywhere else you’ll visit in Vietnam. It’s cool but not like Sapa’s coolness, it’s serene but not like Ha Noi. You would almost be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled into the French Alps in springtime. This was certainly how the former colonists treated it – escaping to their chalets to enjoy the cooler climate.
The French feel is compounded by a...
Visiting Ba Be lake
Ba Be Lake is a place with some of the most wonderful sceneries in Vietnam . The lake is in Ba Be National Park, which is about 250km north of Hanoi. It is near Bo Lu and Pac Ngoi villages, the home of Tay ethnic people. It is a famous North Vietnam destination.
Ba Be itself is actually three smaller lakes joined together - Pe Lam, Pe Lu and Pe Leng. The climate is cool with an average...
The old street Hoi An
The ancient town of Hoi An, 30 km south of Danang, lies on the banks of the Thu Bon River. Occupied by early western traders, Hoi An was one of the major trading centers of Southeast Asia in the 16th century. Hoi An has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low, tile-roofed houses and narrow streets; the original structure of some of these streets still remains almost intact. All...
Mekong delta _ the things you should know
Earth and Water
In Vietnamese, you refer to the land of Vietnam as “Đất Nước Việt Nam”, litterally “Vietnam’s Land and Water”, which does evoke the major role that the river and its delta play in everyday life.
Fantastic Mékong
The Delta shows varied landscapes: from ricefields to shaded coconut tree woods, to mangrove, to orchards, interspersed with timeless villages...
March 2009
2 posts
Conquering Fansipan
Fansipan or Fan Si Pan (Phan Xi Păng in Vietnamese) is a mountain in Vietnam, the highest in Indochina, at 3 143 m. It is located in the Lào Cai province in Nothwest Vietnam, 9 km southwest of Sapa Township in the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Fansipan is dubbed “the Roof of Indochina”; it is to be approved as one of the very few ecotourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2,024 floral...
Halong Bay welcome you
Hong Gai church
Address: Bach Dang Ward, Halong City, Quangninh Province.
Hong Gai Church was built at the beginning of 20th century. Located on a high hill, it overlooks the whole of Halong City. In 1972, it was destroyed by war, but in 1998 it was spaciously re-built, and it is now the largest church in Quangninh Province. When visiting the church, tourists can view not only its original...