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Trip Highlights

Situated in the Easternmost part of Indochina peninsula, Vietnam is a country that evokes highly visual memories: rows of street vendors wearing conical hats (nón lá), water buffalos plodding across rice fields and colourful floating markets on the Mekong river.

While the two main cities of Vietnam — Hanoi in the North and Ho Chi Minh City in the South — often steal the limelight, they each have their own unique cultural aspects, including variations of the fantastic Vietnamese cuisine. This variety is the reason why many travellers plan their journey from one end of this long country to the other, often visiting cities like Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An on the way to Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong river.

Although Vietnam’s modern economy revolves around the cities, the country’s lifeblood continues to belong to its fertile countrysides. Although the Mekong river and basin covers just 12% of Vietnam’s surface area, this region provides most of the country’s fish and fruit, as well as half its rice. Such is the generosity of the mighty Mekong, that rice farmers in the river basin can reap seven crops in two years compared to two to four harvests elsewhere.

And Vietnam’s cities modernize rapidly, it’s on the Mekong that travelers can find authentic Vietnamese ways of life everywhere. From floating markets to hilltop monasteries, a Vietnam cruise on the Mekong river gives a fascinating contrast to frenetic urban life and is an ideal way to round-off a trip to Vietnam. Perhaps more important to travelers is that the Mekong is also a gateway that provides the easiest and most convenient access to neighbouring Cambodia.

Ho Chi Minh City

Also popularly known as Saigon and “The Pearl of the Far East”, Ho Chi Minh City contains a splendid array of monuments and landmarks from the French colonial era.

A relatively new city founded in 1698, Ho Chi Minh City came to life during the French colonial era in the late 19th century when builders constructed wide boulevards, old-style Parisian buildings and spectacular cathedrals such as the Notre Dame. The influences also go well beyond architecture; the city now boasts plenty of fine dining options, cafes and boutiques that capture a distinctly European essence.

It is also during this time that Ho Chi Minh City transformed into a major commercial hub, with ships from India, China and Europe calling at the city’s port. The trading activity at Ben Thanh Market, the largest in the city, has never stopped since. After the French left in 1954, Ho Chi Minh City remained as the capital of South Vietnam until reunification in 1975, and continued to thrive till today.

Ho Chi Minh City is also known as the American base for the Vietnam War. Visitors who are curious about this aspect of the city’s history can head to the Cu Chi Tunnels, an extensive underground defense system that’s now listed as a national monument.

Full of historical soul, Ho Chi Minh City is served by an international airport and is also the embarkation point for Mekong river cruises aboard the Aqua Mekong.

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Hanoi

Street vendor transporting goods in baskets in Hanoi

A graceful and atmospheric capital city, Hanoi steadfastly holds onto many precious elements of its colonial past even as it awakens to modernity.

For new visitors to Hanoi, the city often revolves around the Old Quarter. A maze of 36 streets dating back to the 13th century, the Old Quarter is a collection of well-preserved colonial and pre-colonial, Chinese-influenced architecture. Wander among the contemporary Vietnamese art galleries, fashion boutiques and cafes of this colorful neighborhood or hop in a cyclo for a less strenuous tour.

Weaving past the constant stream of mopeds, visitors can unravel even more layers of history and culture. Learn the story about Vietnam’s founding father and Vietnam war at the Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. Other cultural highlights include the Confucian Temple of Literature and St Joseph’s Cathedral, but the city’s thousands of street food vendors would argue that a good bowl of phở (rice noodles) can be as good an introduction to Vietnamese culture as any!

The other focal point of activity in Hanoi is Hoan Kiem Lake. In this unexpected oasis in the city, culture meets entertainment at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. Devised by rice farmers here more than a thousand years ago to entertain their children, the traditional artform of water puppetry lives on here, featuring lively wooden figurines dancing and acting to live traditional Vietnamese music.

Hanoi is served by an international airport.

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The Central Region

Comprising of several cities, the central region of Vietnam is well-worth a visit before or after a Mekong river cruise.

Hue

Travelers driving to the ancient city of Hue in Vietnam will mount the scenic Hai Van Pass, a 1,627 foot (496 meter) climb that stretches 21 kilometers (13 miles) to a crest that frequently reveals a sea of clouds underneath.

This central Vietnam city along the Perfume River served as the base of power during the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 until 1945, when Emperor Bao Dai was forced to abdicate to Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary forces.

 

Da Nang

Although Da Nang became legendary for R&R (rest and relaxation) on China Beach during the Vietnam War, this now booming coastal city halfway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) traces its history much further back to the Hindu Cham Kingdom more than 2,100 years ago.

Da Nang was also notable as the first point of colonial invasion by the French in 1847. Among the many hotels and resorts there today are charming vestiges of colonial days gone by. By the waterfront, the sight of fisherman returning from the East Sea in their traditional woven basket boats is one to behold. Today, Da Nang is a popular golfing destination for luxury travelers.

 

Hoi An

Thirty kilometers south of Da Nang, the UNESCO World Heritage town of Hoi An offers a stroll back in time. The city is a well-preserved 15th to 19th century melting pot, a trading hub where the Dutch, Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese merchants exchanged cinnamon, pepper, paper, ceramics and silk.

Festive temple lanterns, originally brought to Vietnam from China, dapple the facades surrounding Hoi An’s iconic Japanese Covered Bridge. Local legend asserts this shrine once housed a monster so colossal that its head was in India, while the body lay across Vietnam and its tail stretched all the way to Japan.

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General Information
Capital:
Hanoi
Largest City:
Hanoi
Official Language:
Vietnamese
Currency:
(Vietnamese dong) ₫
Calling code:
+84
Drives on the:
Right
Time difference:
Vietnam is 7 hours ahead of GMT.
Date Format:
dd-mm-yyyy
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