Each Southeast Asian country has its own distinct culture. Vietnam is no exception. When you visit Vietnam you will get a front row seat what that country has to offer: Its culture, cuisine, history, the vibrance of its people, and scenery. So a visit to Vietnam will expand your understanding of the country and its people. And the same can be said if you visit any other country, in South East Asia. In summary, the purpose of visiting any given country is to learn first-hand more about its culture!
Like most countries, Vietnam has its fair share of natural wonders. But Vietnam is not a small country. The distance from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of Vietnam is 1,650 km as the crow flies! Its width varies considerably. From the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Tonkin to its Western border(with Laos in the North), Vietnam is about 500 km at its widest. But near the center of the country (near Da Nang) Vietnam’s western border with Cambodia is about 50 km from the South China Sea. Vietnam has a coastline of 3,260 km, excluding islands! So in short, there is lots to see. But to sample these wonders may require quite a bit of travel within Vietnam. The following map shows the location of Vietnam relative to its neighboring countries as well as major metropolitan centers both in Vietnam and surrounding countries.
In the North part of the country a visit to the capital of Vietnam (Hanoi) is a must- see above map. With a 1000 year old history, Hanoi has much to offer. There are plenty of cultural sites and museums to see. At the heart of Hanoi is Hoan Kiem Lake, which borders the hectic Old French Quarter, an area endowed with hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars and plenty of motor bikes. Here are a few pics of Hanoi that I took during multiple visits to Hanoi between 2010-2018.
The night market in Hanoi:
A typical residential home for the well-to do.
At the other extreme old homes crowded together with narrow walkways
As one might imagine a major city like Hanoi would have an abundance of museums and historical buildings. And that is true. Here is the outside view of the Hanoi History Museum- a favorite of mine. A great place to spend many hours.
A partial view inside the museum- modern, spacious and elegant- and a spectacular walking journey through Hanoi’s amazing history.
One of the most recognized areas of Hanoi is Hoan Kiem Lake. It is a central place to meet friends and plenty of activities both during the day and night. Here is a night view of a small island in the middle of the lake with a small stone Pagoda that is lit up at night.
Around the lake one can experience all kinds of activities. Here is a musician playing his Vietnamese “fiddle” for the crowds.
There are plenty of restaurants that overlook the lake, or located in nearby side streets. Here is one of my favorites.
The ever presence of motorbikes in Hanoi
It does not matter if it is rainy or sunny drivers and their passengers adapt!
And even pets are invited to ride with their owners on the motor bikes, or pedal bikes as shown below:
Dinner on the street:
and venders on the sidewalks
Visit to Sa Pa: The typical way to visit Sa Pa is to take an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, which is a border town with Vietnam/China, see purple area in map above. From there you can take a bus or taxi to travel the 37 km from Lao Cai to Sapa- about a hour trip. Sa Pa is a charming mountain town surrounded by mountains and rice terraces. Here is a view of the Sa Pa lake from our Hotel Room
Below is view of the central square (Quang Truong Square) where venders show their products for sale. If you look carefully you can see that the Square area is actually below the street level. It is a market place for all kinds of hand made items/clothing usually decorated with colorful embroidery patterns that reflect the cultural customs of local Hmong and Dao, and other ethnic minority groups.
For spectacular panoramic views of Sa Pa, one should visit HamRong (Dragon's Jaw) mountain that overlooks the city. The trek to the mountain top starts in the city via a zig-zag stone stairway the leads first to a orchid garden with scenic views of the city through the ever present mist.
This is the view of the mountain top from the path:
The town of Sa Pa is surrounded by many small villages. A popular village some 4 km from central Sa Pa is Cát Cát. This village is inhabited by the Black Hmông people, and it is an opportunity to see the day-to-day activities of these villagers. You can reach the outskirts of the village by taxi or motorbike. We hired motorbikes. One of the attractions of Cát Cát is to hike (or as locals say trek) down to a waterfall that overlooks a refurbished old French hydroelectric power station that has been turned into a "theater" for ethnic dance performances. Along the way you pass several small Hmông farming communities. The photo below captures the mountainous scenery that surrounds Cát Cát.
A beast of burden seeking nourishment along the side of the path, with a distant “relative” overlooking:
A small village along our route through the rice paddies:
Finally after our trek, we relaxed sipping ice cold mango juice at a roadside cafe that overlooked the valley we trekked through. Note the mountain ranges in the backround.
Another location worth visiting in Vietnam is Halong Bay. Ha Long Bay, also known as the "Bay of Descending Dragon", is located about 160 km south east of Hanoi on the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin. The trip from Hanoi takes about 3.5 hrs by car. A visit to Ha Long Bay is a chance to experience the amazing karst landscape that has resulted in some 2000 islands and islets in the bay. Ha Long Bay is a designated UNESCO world heritage site, and in 2011 was selected as one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
A typical trip to view the incredible sites at Ha long bays starts with outing on a Vietnamese junk boat.
At Halong you will get up close to some amazing “karst” formations. The term ‘karst” describes weathered surface limestone formations that have resulted from a chemical dissolution process involving groundwater. In Ha Long Bay, the limestone deposits, over a kilometer thick, have a long geological history. Some 300-500 million years ago, these deposits were subjected to several orogenic processes that led to tectonic uplift, marine transgression/regression that distorted and buckled the limestone deposits resulting in the karst formations that further developed during the warm, wet tropical climate. Shown below is a typical example of a limestone karst tower.
The pics shown below were taken around 2010 -2013 on several trips to Halong Bay.
This picture shows the tourist problem. Many of the junk boat tours go to the same location and so at certain popular attractions there is often a "traffic jam" as boats offload and pick up passengers.
A view of Ga Choi Island (also known as Fighting Cock Island). This is an example of a pair of islets. Note the undercutting at the base of these islets.
A close-up of a karst tower that exhibits undercutting from wave action leading to a notch cave at sea level
The view from the exit of Hang Sung Sot (Cave of Surprises) on Bo Hon Island-see below. A steady stream of boats leaving Bo Hon island.
On our trip we had the opportunity to visit several limestone caves. Below are some pictures taken on our visit to Hang Sung Sot - the Cave of Surprises!
A glimpse of the exit and complex towers of limestone that span from the floor to the roof of the chamber
Another side trip from Hanoi is to see the amazing sights in Ninh Binh, a province in northern Vietnam's Red River Delta district. To complicate matters the main town in the province is also called Ninh Binh, which lies to the southeast of Hanoi and acts as a base for visitors to explore the surrounding area. The following map gives the reader a perspective of where Ninh Binh is relative to Hanoi:
Ninh Binh province is an area endowed with natural beauty, and is often referred to as "Halong Bay on land". If your are visiting Ninh Binh from Hanoi there are are several travel options one can consider. If your transportation choice is by train, then the trip takes about 2.5 -3 hours. If by car, then the trip is about 1.5 hours. What is somewhat confusingly for visitors is that the state is also known as Ninh Binh, with Ninh Binh town as its the capital city. So often when people refer to this part of Vietnam they are typically talking about the whole Ninh Binh district which comprises several towns, villages and key attractions. In this report we will focus on two popular tourist attractions (i) Trang An and (ii) Bai Dinh Pagoda. The location of these two destinations relative to Ninh Binh City are shown on the map below:
Trang An is known for its scenic water ways where you can hire a boat and float along the Sao Khe River, a small stream running through magnificent limestone mountains and paddy fields located within Ninh Binh Province. Trang An is about 7 kilometers from Ninh Binh City so you can easily visit the area for the day or less, see above map. The leisurely boat trip, which takes about 2 hours, takes you through a sequence of subterranean waterways from which you can take in the scenery, and also visit caves and temples at the same time. This scenic area is renowned for its boat cave tours. Geologically, Trang An is an example of a tower-karst landscape in the final stages of geomorphic evolution. Here are some images from our trip:
A view of fellow tourists boating on Trang An:
Boating through 1000 meter-long Dot Cave:
View (from afar) of the Floating Pagoda with magnificent karst formation in the background. This pic captures the tower-karst landscape of Trang An. What you see in this pic are two forest-mantled limestone rock towers that are approximately 200m high.
LTrinh Temple in Trang An is located at the foot of a mountain. This temple is more than a thousand years old! Over the eons, the Trinh temple has endured the vicissitudes of both weather and history. Through restored and repaired numerous time, it still remains one of the most sacred temples in Trang An.
Bái Đính Temple is a complex of Buddhist temples on Bái Đính Mountain, Ninh Binh Province. Here is an aerial view of the complex taken from the pagoda in the complex
Here is a pic of the pagoda:
An example of what you can see in this temple
There are many more amazing sites one can see in Vietnam, but let me end this post with a trip to the southern tip of Vietnam, in the Gulf of Thailand. In particular to an island that is called Phu Quoc. Here is a map showing its location:
When I visited there in 2015, a typhoon was heading towards it. Needless to say there were not many tourist staying at my hotel! Here are some pics I took.
A view of the deserted beach
A partial view of the swimming pool at the resort area. It was raining!
They prepared some wonderful meals for the few tourists that were willing to brave out the typhoon.
A view of some of the lodges at the resort on the beach area.
So in conclusion, Vietnam has a lot to offer. A visit is well worthwhile. But it is a large country so plan accordingly based on the time you have for your visit. It is not an expensive country for westerners to visit.
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