
VIETNAM
Blessed by Nature, Cursed by History - a Foodies Paradise
Photo by Andre Ouellet on Unsplash
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Your holiday - Your way
COUNTRY GUIDE


Photo by Peter Hammer on Unsplash
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BEST TIME TO GO - Vietnam has 3 climate regions.
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The south is tropical and wetter. The drier months are December to April. March to May can be very hot but generally the south is a year round destination.
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August to December is typhoon season in all areas. The central coast cops quite a battering with rain and wind days on end. Hoi An often floods and sometimes a couple of times. February to August is the driest time for the central area.
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Up north March to November is dry but it gets hot in summer - May to August and very cold in Winter - December to February. March and April is a good time for the whole country.
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POPULATION - 96,462,106
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CURRENCY - Vietnamese dong VND $1 = 23,621 VND
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CAPITAL - Hanoi (Rivers Inner - as it is in between the Red and Nhue Rivers)
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RELIGION - Officially Atheist + Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism
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ETHNICITY - Viet 86%, Tay 2%, Thai 2%, Muong 1.5
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MINIMUM WAGE ANNUAL IN $US - $1512
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LANGUAGE - Vietnamese
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NATIONAL DRINK - Bia Hoi (fresh draught beer)
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NATIONAL DISH - Pho (beef noodle soup)
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GOVERNMENT - Communist
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AGE - 2220
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BIG MAC IN $US - $2.85
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LITERACY - 97.3 %
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LIFE EXPECTANCY - 75.3
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TOURISTS PER YEAR - 15.5 million
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NO.1 TOURIST SITE - Ha Long Bay
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CHEERS - Mot hi ba yo — 1, 2, 3, cheers

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HIGHLIGHTS - SCENERY, CULTURE & SCENERY
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Hanoi 3N to Hanoi 1N - via Overnight bus 1N - Dien Dien Phu 2N - Lai Chau 1N - Sa Pa 3N - Ha Giang 1N + 1N - Yen Minh 1N - Dong Van 1N - Bao Lam 1N - Cao Bang 2N - Halong Bay 3N - Ninh Binh 2N - Overnight Train 1N - Phong Nha 2N - Dong Hoi 1N - Dong Ha 2N
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Hanoi Old Quarter
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Hanoi Hilton
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Coffee with Egg
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Bun Cha & Bia Hoi
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Uncle Ho
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Sapa Trek
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SCENERY
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FOOD
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Nguom Ngao Cave
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Ha Long Bay Cruise
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UNESCO Geoparks
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Tribal food specialties
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Lung Cu Flag Tower
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Get off the tourist trail
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Ethnic Minority Homestay
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UNESCO listed Halong Bay
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The biggest cave in the world
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Mind Blowing Motorbike Loop
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UNESCO listed Trang An grottoes
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Dien Bien Phu - France's last stand
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The world’s most Spectacular Caves
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Ban Gioc Waterfall the world's 4th largest
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Khe Sanh - metaphor of the American War
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UNESCO listed Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park
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Fly in and out of the nations capital Hanoi. Many peoples idea of Hanoi is of a severe soviet style communist city. this couldn't be further from the truth. It's a leafy, shady city with French-colonial architecture, a lot of lakes, parks and historic places. Even though Nixon and Kissinger decided to drop bombs on it around the clock as a Christmas present. A lot of modernization has gone on in recent years but the best place to stay is still the Old Quarter.
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Located next to the Lake of the Restored Sword the 36 old streets were named after the trades and crafts that were plied on them. Such as Vermicelli street or Silver street. They are almost 1,000 years old. It is a vibrant and atmospheric place to hang out with plenty of opportunities for eating and drinking. Plenty of shopping outside your door as well as markets and weekend street markets with very cheap electrical goods.
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Many attractions are within walking distance. Just learn the secret on how to cross the road and you're on your way. Don't miss the Water Puppets and there are numerous specialties to try. Street food is great and their is plenty of varied nightlife in the Old Quarter. First port of call is the busy Bia Hoi Corner for the delicious and cheap "Fresh Beer". Hope you like children's tea party furniture, it kind of adds to the experience. If you're a little weighty just double up on the plastic stools or chairs. Good advice wherever you travel.
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Some activities you could try are a cyclo (trishaw) tour around the old town, bicycle tour along the river, cooking class, visit the Hanoi Hilton, the Opera, stroll around the lake, see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum or visit the various museums, temples, pagodas or other historical sites. And that's all without venturing very far at all. There are some great golf courses around Hanoi and though they me be reasonable by western standards they are certainly not cheap.
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All in all Hanoi should be a pleasant surprise. So don't waste any meals and make sure you get around to all of the places that specialize in certain dishes. You could either get up very early for the 6 am bus or take the overnight one to the battlefield that saw the end of French influence in Vietnam, Dien Bien Phu. If you don't know much about Vietnamese history in the 20th century you should know a lot more by the end of this trip.
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Put simply the French thought they had an impenetrable fortress here but it turned into a prison as the Vietnamese held them siege. They underestimated the locals not believing they could get their big guns up into the hills that surrounded them. It was a superhuman effort by the Vietnamese and a fatal miscalculation by the French. You can check out the battlefields, a museum bunkers, tunnels and other war sites. There are also ethnic minority villages around in the beautiful mountain scenery.
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The next leg will see you travelling through some of the most stunning scenery in Vietnam. To break the trip up you'll spend the night in the seemingly out of place town of Lai Chau. With it's wide boulevards, lakes and ponds it's not what you expect to find up here surrounded by mountains. Have a look around, a good feed (purple sticky rice and smoked pork) and sleep and get ready for the shorter leg to Sa Pa.
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Sa Pa is the trekking capital of Northern Vietnam. It began life as a French Hill Station so it is ideally located for amazing views across the mountains and valleys. These days the town is very busy and developing at a rapid rate. There are numerous minorities based in the area who can be pushy at times trying to sell their wares. The main reason to come here is get out in the countryside and do one of the large number of treks available. There are as many options on who to go with and what you get for your money as well. A two day trek with an ethnic minority village homestay may well be one of your many highlights on this trip. There are some wonderful places to eat in this town, many natural attractions and you can even learn some handicrafts from the minorities.
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The Ha Giang Loop is one of the most scenic rides in SE Asia. If you can't ride you could get a car and driver. You will really get off the beaten track and see some amazing places. It will be a three night four day ride to give you plenty of time to explore and stay in some interesting little towns.
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You will see many Ethnic Minorities, the UNESCO listed geopark Dong Van kart Plateau, the Fairy Breast Mountains, Ma Pi Leng Pass, the Lung Cu Flag Tower up by the Chinese border, colourful local markets, tribal food specialties, rivers and rice paddies, local handicrafts, caves, cultural villages and some of the best motorbike roads you've ridden on.
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Your next destination Cao Bang was destroyed by the Chinese when they invaded in 1979. The reason you're here is to see the famous Ban Gioc Waterfall and one of the most amazing cave systems in Vietnam the Nguom Ngao Cave. Locals sheltered here to stay safe back in 1979. There are other attractions in the area including a pagoda, a palace and the cave Ho Chi Minh lived in 1941 and became the cradle of the Revolution movement.
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After all of this incredible scenery you would be forgiven for thinking it couldn't get any better. But it could. You will be out cruising the emerald waters of breathtaking Halong Bay another UNESCO listed site. Thousands of limestone outcrops and islands topped with rainforest fill this amazing wonder of nature. Spend the night on the boat and enjoy eating some fresh barbequed seafood.
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The area around Ninh Binh is a sort of Halong Bay on land. Stay in a wonderful rice paddy resort with a pool. It's a great area to explore by bicycle as most sights are nearby and the ground is flat. There are various boat tours including the UNESCO listed Trang An Grottoes. Climb the 500 steps to Hang Mua Peak and take in the stunning scenery. Visit Chicken Village then have a meal and a drink later at Chookies. Enjoy a little down time by the pool.
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Take the overnight train down to the rebuilt city of Dong Hoi. It was razed to the ground by US bombers in 1965. These days it is nicely off of the tourist radar. For now! It has a great beach loaded with seafood restaurants and beachside hotels. It is close to UNESCO listed Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park where you will spend the first night in this area in a resort by the lake. Hire some wheels and head off for a bicycle adventure through the Bong Lai Valley. Check out the world's best caves, maybe some war history in a Soviet era side car or the wild zipline at the Dark cave, then relax poolside lakeside. Back to Dong Hoi for some beach time.
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Down to Dong Ha to take a tour through the DMZ. on the way visit the amazing Vinh Moc tunnel complex. One of the highlights out in the DMZ will be seeing the Khe Sanh Combat Base. Khe Sanh is a very famous Cold Chisel song in Australia but few people would know anything about it apart from it had something to do with the Vietnam War. It was a diversion from the Tet offensive which was a turning point in the war. At one time the US considered dropping a nuclear bomb on it. The battle lasted 77 days. The best way is to do a tour with a local who was actually involved in the war.
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You have a few options on how to get back to Hanoi. You could catch the day train, see the scenery and have a last night in Hanoi. You could take the overnight sleeper train option. Or you could go back up to Dong Hoi and fly back. This would mean you could have an extra day looking around the DMZ if you're a bit off a history buff.
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If you have extra time and went to the trouble of getting a 3 month visa you could stretch this trip out a little with some extra days in your favourite places and then do #150 Cochinchina Southern Vietnam to see the whole country. Or you could cross into Laos from Dong Ha.
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Take car and drivers if buses too long and early starts
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DIEN BIEN PHU
Next stop Dien Bien Phu is the nearest main town to the Tay Trang border crossing into Laos and also has some historical interest: it is the site of the Vietnamese victory over the French in 1954. As well as a reasonable selection of hotels and eating options, it is also home to a range of wartime attractions along with a fascinating food market. If you're weary of travelling by bus, it's possible to hire motorbikes in town and drive out to the surrounding villages — but don't expect a map or guidance.
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LAI CHAU
Lai Chau is very easy to navigate, but it is huge (around 5km top to tail) and little is within walking distance. If you don’t have your own transport and are not too bothered about exploring, we’d suggest picking a hotel near the bus station and leaving it at that.
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SAPA
two day trek with ethnic minority homestay
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HA GIANG
Getting Your Ha Giang Permit
Getting your permit for Ha Giang is very easy. When you arrive in Ha Giang city, head to the immigration office at 415a, Tran Phu Street, give them your passport, pay 210,000 VND and within a few minutes, you will have your permit. If you’re traveling by motorbike, you need to give them your registration number too.
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CAO BANG
Ride a bike to the waterfall, go to the cave nearby and go to the Phat Tich Truc Lam Ban Gioc Pagoda for great views nearby
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HALONG BAY
Try to visit Cat Ba Island
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NINH BINH
Stay out at Tam Coc Rice Fields Resort
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DONG HOI
The much faster way: a taxi from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha takes 35-45 minutes, should be 400,000 to 500,000 dong. Ensure you agree upon the price before you set out. You can save money with a shared transfer. Many travellers are on their way to or from the caves; just ask around.
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Grab a quirky hand-drawn map from either the Phong Nha Farmstay (phong-nha-cave.com) or the Easy Tiger hostel (easytigerhostel.com), and spend a day exploring the Bong Lai Valley. Meandering tracks and back roads made for mountain bikes weave through local villages and along sleepy rivers, passing by an ever-expanding array of laidback attractions. Lunch on grilled chicken with peanut sauce at the Pub with Cold Beer, or spend a relaxing afternoon in a rustic riverside shelter at the Wild Boar Eco-Farm.
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DONG HA
get a car or tour from dong hoi and do the vinh moc tunnel complex on the way
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Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay





HIGHLIGHTS - BEACHES, MOUNTAINS & RIVERS
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Ho Chi Minh City 4N to Ho Chi Minh City - via - (Vung Tau 2N) - Dalat 3N - Nha Trang 3N - Overnight Bus 1N - Kon Tum 4N - Hoi An 4N (BaNa Hills 1N) - Hue 3N and Phu Quoc 4N
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Cu Chi Tunnels
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Mekong Delta
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Cao Dai Temple
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China Beach
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My Son Ruins
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My Lai Massacre
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The Crazy House
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The Valley of Love
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French Village
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Golden Bridge
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Bao Dai's Villa
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Huda Brewery Tour
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Marble Mountain
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Very Good Pepper
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Weasel Poo Coffee
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Reunification Palace
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Montagnard Villages
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War Remnants Museum
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UNESCO listed Hoi An
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Bao Dai’s Summer Palace
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Nha Trang Booze Cruise
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Purple Forbidden City
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Two Japanese Covered Bridges
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Phu Bai Airport is a museum
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The best Fish sauce in the World
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Phu Quoc Ridgebacks - very rare & expensive
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Fly in and out of Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. You've probably seen this airport in the movies a few times. Think Good Morning Vietnam for starters. Stay in the backpacker area that caters to your every whim. Take trips to the Cu Chi tunnels, the Mekong Delta and the Cao Dai Temple (learn about this rather strange religion). See some of the war museums, pagodas, the Palace and the Ben Thanh Market. Take a cyclo tour around the iconic sights in this city and mingle with the traffic like never before. Learn how to cross the road in Vietnam with your eyes shut. Eat your way through some amazing food or learn how to make it. Street food is a real highlight here. Vietnam is my favourite country to eat in. Drink fantastic coffee and check out the energetic nightlife. You'll find you get very good value for your money in this country.
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Escape the city for a couple of days with a mid week escape to the beach. Depart the sky scrapers aboard the underrated high speed hydrofoil trip to Vung Tau the popular weekend resort for Saigoners and ex-pats. As you are here midweek you will escape the crowds and get a great deal on your hotel. It's a very commercial type of resort so just join in the fun and enjoy yourself. Although it has been around for a long time it was transformed by US and Australian soldiers taking their R & R here during the war. Vung Tau's setting is very impressive and it boasts four beaches and a golf course. There are other attractions such as the "Big Jesus", big mountain and small mountain, fresh seafood markets and restaurants, the fascinating Robert Taylor Museum of Worldwide Arms and great sunsets and nightlife.
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You've been in the city and down to the beach, now you're off to the hills. Dalat was established by the French in 1907 as a Hill Station to escape the heat. It is said to be perpetually spring here. When you take in the views you might think you're somewhere in Europe or perhaps a Hill Station in India somewhere. It is the wedding and honeymoon capital of Vietnam. It is not unusual to see cowboys roaming around and people wearing jumpers / pullovers and jackets which is odd in this part of the world.
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Dalat acts as a market garden for many areas of the country. You will find fruit and vegetables that normally grow in cooler climes such as strawberries, cauliflower, cabbage and others grown here. Dalat is very laid back and even though there's plenty to do take it easy and enjoy the cool weather. Paddle a Swan boat around the lake, ride the Cable car, see some of the numerous waterfalls, visit a 150 year old Coffee farm, take a vintage train ride from the old Art-deco train station, go to the Crazy House or the Valley of Love. It's all very romantic and it's all here. There is also an action adventure side to this town if you're into White water rafting, hiking, canyoning, and mountain biking. Made more pleasant by the mild climate. As are the BBQ's and Hotpots which are very popular.
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When I first went to Nha Trang in 1992 you could stay in the best hotel in town for $5 a night. In fact apart from the two major cities most towns were like that. Times have changed a lot but it still remains a great beach resort. During the war both sides came here for their R & R so it was generally left alone. The beach and the pounding waves however are dangerous so be very careful when swimming here. The Lac Canh BBQ Restaurant was the place to eat back in 92 and it's still going strong so they must be doing something right. Put it on your list. Another survivor from those days is the infamous Booze Cruise. Good value and lots of fun.
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The best place to be though is on the glorious 6 km beach. Find a sun lounge with a shade and lay back and watch the show. Vendors come by selling cold drinks and they will cook up seafood for you. If you find them annoying you can go to Louisiane Brewhouse or the Sailing Club and security will keep them away. These are good places to come and have a drink at later on too. Unfortunately unlike John Wayne in the Green Berets you won't be able to enjoy a sunset because Vietnam faces east!!
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An overnight sleeper bus will take you to tourist free Kon Tum at the centre of 700 Montagnard villages. The Montagnards were successfully recruited to help the US during the war and this has led to difficulties since with the government. it is a laid back and interesting base to see the local hill tribes. Do a motorbike loop that will take you out past bucolic countryside and lakes to areas that still show visible damage from Agent Orange. You'll also travel along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Trekking is available as well as a war history tour. Some major offensives were fought in this area and it suffered heavy bombing from US B-52's. Kon Tum's wooden cathedral is certainly worth a visit as is the Kon Tum Museum which has exhibits about the areas minorities. In total Vietnam has 53 minorities with different cultures, languages and lifestyles. The majority "Viets" make it 54 altogether. If you like you can have a homestay in a Cultural Village.
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Hoi An is my and many others favourite place in Vietnam. For some people it is their favourite town in the whole world. It's a food lovers paradise. It is a shoppers paradise. It has an amazing ambiance especially at night time. There's a ton of things to do here. The nightlife's alright and there are no cars. It is believed to be around 2000 years old. It used to be an ancient trading port called Faifo where trade from Thailand, India, China, Japan, USA and Europe was conducted. Fortunately it was left alone during the war.
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Get a hotel on the river in the old town. Hoi An is famous for it's tailors so if you need a suit, some shirts, a dress or whatever they can whip them up very quickly. And cheaply. Make that one of your first jobs so you'll have plenty of time to sort it out. There are some special dishes that can only be made with locally sourced ingredients. Hoi An has several beaches. There are day trips to the My Son ruins and the My Lai massacre museum. There are some very good golf courses nearby. Also worth visiting are Marble Mountain, China Beach, Da Nang and Ba Na Hills. In fact you will ride the cable car up to the replica French mountain village and spend a night up there.
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To get to your next destination you have to go through the Hai Van Pass. This area was of strategic importance during the war. You can choose to travel by train or by bus. Either way it's spectacular. The bus stops at the top for you to have a look around but the vendors there are so insistent you just want to get out of there. Hue is a pleasant city situated on either side of the exotically named Perfume River. It was the capital for the Nguyen Dynasty and the last emperor Bao Dai ruled as a puppet to the French and the Japanese until 1945. Visit the Imperial Palace to learn about the extraordinary lifestyle he maintained. Hue was the city they had to destroy to save it. Unfortunately they destroyed the priceless Purple Forbidden City. Watch the movie Full Metal Jacket to get some insight.
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There is great food everywhere you go in Vietnam but as Hue was the Royal capital it is home to Hue Royal Cuisine considered the most refined, sophisticated and simply the best. A six course Imperial Banquet with cultural dancing sounds like a good way to get things started. They make a pretty good beer here too and you can visit the Huda Brewery where they make it. There are many iconic buildings, citadels, temples, tombs, hot springs, galleries and museums. It's a great place to discover by bicycle as it's flat and doesn't have too much traffic.
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You've done the hard yards now it's time to head for a tropical paradise to unwind at the end of your holiday. Fly down to Phu Quoc which was once Vietnam's best kept secret now has an International Airport and is a rapidly developing island destination in the area. It has a surprising number of interesting places to visit.
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Hit the beach, hit the pool or hit the road and get exploring. Phu Quoc has more than it's fair share of stunning beaches. It has the Coconut Tree Prison where the French held Vietnamese prisoners and then the Americans did the same. It is now a museum. It has a pearl farm. It is famous for it's pepper and you can visit a pepper farm. The world's best pepper seems to come from this neck of the woods with nearby Kampot in Cambodia and Chanthaburi in Thailand. It is famous throughout Vietnam for it's Nuoc Mam or Fish Sauce. Definitely worth taking a bag of pepper and a bottle of Fish sace home with you. Just make sure the bottle doesn't leak.
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There is the Vinpearl Golf Course, a great Night market, beach massages, sunsets with cocktails, waterfalls, island trips, cable car to Hon Thom Island, lot's of seafood and Phu Quoc Ridgebacks one of the world's rarest and most expensive dogs. There are only 800 registered in the world and you can go out to a farm and visit them and see them put through their paces. The best way to get around the island is by motorbike.
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Fly back to Ho Chi Minh with your Pepper and Fish sauce and head home. If you wanted to see the North #47 you could get a three month visa and do Phu Quoc at the start of this trip. Flights between here and Ho Chi Minh are quite cheap. That would mean when you left Hue you would continue to Dong Ha for the DMZ and just do the trip in reverse. Or you could go up to Dong Hoi then fly or train to Hanoi and do the trip in the correct order. It's a beautiful country you're going to love it.
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VUNG TAU
Buy a return ferry ticket in Saigon to avoid scam
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KON TUM
Stay at the Indochine Hotel
Also homestay at the Homestay is available at Cultural Village kon K'Tu - it's an opportunity for the visitors to join and enjoy the cultural activities. You will be offered to taste their delicious foods and drinks and watch folklore performances. Another activity that worth doing is boating on Dakbla river on a dugout boat.
This is no doubt due to the presence of a great operator, Highland Eco Tours, lead by Mr Huynh. It’s easy to see why Mr Huynh is both a stellar guide and a most welcome guest in the villages, be it a Jarai village, Bahnar or Sedang. Humorous, charismatic and poetic, it also helps that he can speak several of the minority languages in addition to English and French. He also has a staff of excellent guides and if you want an overnight trek to remote villages, you’ll be paired with one who can speak the ethnic group’s language.
Alcohol is an essential part of many minority cultures. In the region it’s homemade in clay jars from ingredients such as rice or millet, and drunk through long straws. The ritual of drinking wine from the jar is highly symbolic and being offered a sip from a fresh jar is an enormous gesture of hospitality by the host — taking turns taking a sip is a sure way to cement a friendship.
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Highland Eco Tours
15 Ho Tung Mau Street
T: (090) 5325 679; (090) 5122 037
huynh.kontum@gmail.com
http://vietnamhighlands.net/
Artist Mr An of Evacafe also offers one-day or multi-day tours to minority villages. Contact him at T: (060) 3863 944 evacoffee@ymail.com or visit Evacafe at 05 Phan Chu Trinh Street.
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HUE
Ancient Hue Restaurant occupies a spacious two-storey wooden house dating back to the 1800s. It’s a popular dining venue in Hue to enjoy authentic royal cuisine in a traditional setting. The restaurant is surrounded by an impressive landscaped garden and lake. Its indoor dining sections are fitted with decorative items to resemble royal quarters of the Nguyen Dynasty, such as silk cushions and ceramic vases.
There’s also an art gallery within the restaurant, which exhibits abstract paintings, traditional crafts, and ceramic works by local artists. Food-wise, regional dishes such as banana blossom salad and banh beo (steamed rice flour cakes) are served in vegetables carved into shapes like the phoenix and koi. We highly recommend the Royal Court Dinner, a six-course dining experience accompanied with traditional music and dance performances.

Photo by Valeriy Ryasnyanskiy on Unsplash


Photo by Paul Szewczyk on Unsplash
