Vietnam Travel Blog

There are many interesting museums in Hanoi, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Ethnology Museum, the Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Museum of Vietnamese History, which are all well worth visiting, but in my opinion, the often overlooked Vietnam Women’s Museum at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street is by far the best. Most [...]

‘Pho’ (pronounce “fuh”), Vietnam’s signature dish, is a deeply satisfying bowl of beef, or sometimes chicken, noodle soup that “cures what ails ya” and provides a filling meal at any time of the day. After living in Hanoi for over four years and travelling to a number of places in Vietnam, I have sampled many [...]

Vietnam is an amazing place offering a stunning variety of landscapes, people and cultures to discover. The 1000 year old capital Hanoi, the ancient town of Hoi An, the elegant imperial capital Hue and the modern, bustling metropolis Ho Chi Minh City are, for good reason, popular tourist destinations and they are all well worth [...]

The word for dragon in Vietnamese is ‘Rong’, or ‘Long’, and many places across the country are named after dragons or have dragon legends attached to them. Perhaps the most well known is the thousand year old capital,Hanoi, which was originally called ‘Thang Long’ (Rising Dragon). As the story goes, in 1010 King Ly Thai [...]

Hanoi has the potential to be a cultural tourism paradise. It has a rich 1000 year old history, a myriad of temples and pagodas, interesting architecture, and numerous museums, as well as beautiful parks, stunning trees and Hoan Kiem Lake, in my opinion, the most beautiful city center in the world. Indeed, at one point [...]

Architects have said that Long Bien Bridge deserves to recognised as a living museum and a symbol of the country’s wartime heroism. The Overseas Vietnamese Association held a meeting in Hanoi on Sept 20 to discuss ideas to preserve and upgrade Long Bien Bridge and the surrounding areas. At the gathering, Nguyen Nga, an architect [...]

Foreign visitors to Hanoi are impressed by the capital’s pavements where they can chat, drink tea or coffee, and even have something to eat.   Mayu Takeda, a Vietnamese Japanese student, says she loves Hanoi’s pavements, through which she can learn more about the city’s in-depth stories.  Mayu often goes around the old quarter of [...]

Hanoi is a city with the charm of exotic marketplaces, modern amenities and a buzzing street life. In contrast, Hanoi is also a city with the serene natural beauty of the Red River and Ha Long Bay – tranquil pagodas, and downright tasty cuisine. All mixed in with the complications of foreign colonialism, a recent [...]