Hanoi

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is a fascinating blend of east and west, with Chinese influence from centuries of dominance, and French design from its colonial past. It is largely unspoiled by modern architecture of the 1970s and 80s, and is now going through a modernization that is making it a rising star in Southeast Asia.

Halong

Ha Long Bay is in northern Vietnam, 170 kilometers east of Hanoi. The bay is famous for its scenic rock formations.

"Ha Long" is literally translated as "Bay of Descending Dragons." Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don. Not until the late 19th century did the name of Halong Bay appear on a French Marine Map. The Hai Phong News, a French newspaper of the time, had an article, Dragon appears on Ha Long Bay, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant named Lagredin, captaining the Avalanse reported seeing a huge sea snake on Ha Long Bay. This was also witnessed by many of the crews. Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the name of Ha Long Bay is not known.

Sapa

Located in Vietnam���?�s remote north west mountains, Sapa is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity. Sapa is an incredibly picturesque village that lies on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the Chinese border in NW Vietnam. It is called as "the Tonkinese Alps" You can see many hill tribe people, their villages, rice terraces, lush vegetation, and Fansipan, highest peak in Vietnam.
Many ethnic minorities, such as the Hmong and the Dao, live in and around Sapa. Many older women in particular make ethnic-style clothes, blankets, etc. to sell to tourists. Striking up a conversation with them can be very rewarding.

Hue

Hue (Huế) is located in central Vietnam and is the former imperial capital.

Hue is intimately connected to the imperial Nguy�?�n Dynasty, based in Hue, who ruled from 1804 to 1945, when the Emperor Bao Dai abdicated in favour of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary government. The city went through tough times during the Vietnam War, when it was conquered by the Viet Cong and held for 24 days ���?� the VC slaughtered around 1,000 people suspected of sympathizing with the South, and American bombardment before retaking the city probably killed just as many if not more.

Hoi An

Hoi An (H�?�i An) is a beautiful city in Vietnam, just south of Da Nang. It's an ancient trading port, and its old town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dalat

Dalat, also Da Lat, located in the South Central Highlands of Vietnam, was originally the playground of the French who built villas in the clear mountain air to escape the heat and humidity of the coast and of Saigon, now know as Ho Chi Minh City.

Mekong Delta

As all deltas, it receives the bounty of the siltation from the upper Mekong, and as such is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields. It produces about half of the total of Vietnam's agricultural output, and is the place for timeless sceneries of farmers planting or harvesting rice.

The Mekong splits in Cambodia into two main rivers, the Bassac (Hậu Giang) and the First river (Tiền Giang), then in Vietnam into a more complex system, creating a maze of small canals, rivers and arroyos interspersed with villages and floating markets.

Life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and all the villages are often accessible by river rather than by road.

Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Th�? nh Phá»�?? Há»�?? Ch�?­ Minh), commonly known as Saigon or by the abbreviation HCMC, is the largest city in Vietnam and the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

Saigon was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City on May 1st 1975. However, the old Saigon moniker is still very widely used by both Vietnamese and foreigners - especially when referring to the most central part of the city, to which most tourists flock.

BEACHES

Nha Trang

Traces of human settlement date back to the Cham-Empire, though in times of Vietnamese rule there hasn���?�t been much more than small fishing villages. The French recognized quickly that this beautiful bay on the south central coast with its islands and white sand beaches makes up for perfect bathing and developed. The famous franco-swiss physician Alexandre Yersin spent most of his life here, too.

Today, Nha Trang is a buzzing modern city with high quality tourist facilities and the place to go if you want to do some scuba diving or snorkeling.

Mui Ne

East of Phan Thiet the road passes through Dragon fruit plantations, finally climbing over the slope of a Cham-Tower-topped hill and descending onto the long, sandy crescent of Mui Ne Bay. The formerly scarcely inhabited beach south of the fishing village of Mui Ne proper has seen some serious development in the last 15 years, leading to a 15km long strip of resorts that line up like pearls on the shady street lined with coconut palms. Addresses are frequently specified by giving the distance from Phan Thiet in kilometers.

Phu Quoc

Phu Quoc is famous for producing the best nuoc mam or fermented fish sauce in the world. It also has some of the best unspoilt beaches in South East Asia.

Con Dao

Con Dao served as a prison island for political prisoners during the French colonial era, when it was known as Poulo Condore, and in later years the Saigon regime imprisoned opponents of the regime in the infamous cells known as the "tiger cages". The old prison buildings are still standing and are open to the public as is a small museum tracing the island's history.

Besides having an interesting history, Con Dao is also an island of immense natural beauty with forested hills, deserted sandy beaches and extensive coral reefs making for some excellent diving.