New Areas Dance To the Backpacker Beat
The backpacker grapevine, online and word of mouth, lands Vietnam travelers in areas where Westerners congregate such as HCM City’s Pham Ngu Lao area in District 1. One Westerner I spoke to there said he had heard about it by posting a query on the lonelyplanet.com website about where to find the backpacker social life when he arrived in HCM City.
Thien Son-Suoi Nga, the beauty of Tan Vien Mountain
Located in the east of Ba Vi Mountain Range in Son Tay District in Hanoi, Thien Son-Suoi Nga (Thien Mountain-Nga River) is famous for splendid sceneries with silver-carpet-like waterfalls and misty,…
Adventure hike in Cat Tien
Adventure hike in Cat Tien   (Dec 07, 2010)
Only 170 kilometers from HCMC, Cat Tien is an ideal piece of the wild for an adventure trip. At more than 71,000 hectares, Cat Tien National Park has plenty of…
Festivals of Con Son Pagoda honour “Great Man of Culture”
Two festival seasons have been held annually in Con Son Pagoda in the Chi Linh District of the northern province of Hai Duong.
Postcard paradise   (Dec 02, 2010)
Postcard paradise
Bai Tru Beach on Hon Tre Islet in Nha Trang City is one of the nicest beaches in Vietnam – a tropical paradise for tourists to enjoy.
Where the Mekong meets the sea   (Dec 01, 2010)
Where the Mekong meets the sea
Duyen Hai is a coastal district in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, where the Mekong River meets the East Sea.
Church in the land of coconuts   (Nov 30, 2010)
Church in the land of coconuts
Cai Mon Church in Ben Tre Province belongs to Cai Mon Parish – one of the oldest parishes in the Mekong Delta founded by a French Catholic priest named Gernot in 1872.
Wildlife and nature, a short trip from the city
Situated about 50 kilometers from the center of HCMC, Vam Sat Salt-Marsh Forest Ecological Tourist Zone in Can Gio District, is one of the city’s oxygen lungs and a popular venue for day trips.
Festival honours buffalo boys    (Nov 26, 2010)
Festival honours buffalo boys
A unique folk festival celebrating the rural children who look after buffalo has been revived near the central city of Da Nang for the first time in nearly 75 years.
Vung Tau’s temple for the drowned
Dinh Co Temple in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province was built after the body of a 16 year old girl washed up on Long Hai Beach 186 years ago.
Binh Dinh Province – A Land of Classical Opera
Binh Dinh Province in south-central Vietnam is considered as a "cradle" of Tuong (classical drama). This art form has developed brilliantly and been connected with the most eminent Vietnamese Tuong composers, of whom Dao Tan (1845 – 1907) is best known.
Colorful pagodas in Soc Trang   (Nov 20, 2010)
Colorful pagodas in Soc Trang
Even if you are not a Buddhist, Soc Trang Province, the land of pagodas, is a fascinating destination in the Mekong Delta. Because there are a lot of Khmer people living in the province, almost all the pagodas have the same colors and symbolism. Every pagoda is unique, however, so you can visit them all day without getting bored.
Worship and water-birds   (Nov 18, 2010)
Worship and water-birds
Nodol Pagoda, about 40 kilometers south of Tra Vinh Township in the Mekong Delta, is home to thousands of storks.
Soc Trang bustling with Ooc-om-bok Festival and Ngo Boat Race
Every year, on the 15th day of the tenth lunar month (this year is on November 20, 2010), the Khmer in the Mekong Delta celebrate Ooc-om-bok Festival in each family, each phum soc (village). Ooc-om-bok Festival is known as the Moon worshipping ceremony, this is one of the most important traditional festivals of the Khmer people, and apart from the ceremony is the Ngo boat…
The limestone caverns of Ba Be   (Nov 15, 2010)
The limestone caverns of Ba Be
National Park Vietnam is famous for caves like Huong Tich or Phong Nha Ke Bang. For those who admire stalactites, rock curtains and limestone pillars, Hua Ma is another cave to put on the must-see list. The cave was surveyed from 2003-2004 and opened for tourists in 2007. It also attracts tourists by its folklore.
Highlights