The City of Hue in Central Vietnam is the former capital of the country, built within the reign of the Nguyen Dynasty which lasted from 1802 until 1945. Nguyen Phuc Anh was the first to take control of Vietnam and unify it as one country, beginning the Nguyen Dynasty and proclaiming himself Emperor Gia Long. He [...]
Most of Cat Ba Island in Vietnam is designated as national park, with jungle clad limestone karsts that are home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, including the rarest primate species in the world: the Golden Headed Langur (Cat Ba Langur). From Cat Ba Town you can take a lot of different tours [...]
During the Vietnam War, Cat Ba Island was used as a kind of safe haven for the North Vietnamese army. Due to the heavy American bombing, a secret bomb proof hospital and safe house for the VC leaders was built inside a cave, high up on one of the many limestone karsts which dominate the [...]
Halong Bay was one of those places that I knew I wanted to visit in Vietnam, but I wasn't sure that I would like it. It is undoubtedly some of the most stunning scenery in the world, however a lot of people describe the area as "tourism gone bad". For this reason we decided to [...]
I had heard only good things about Hoi An before I travelled to Vietnam, and when I got there I was pleased to find that all of those positive reviews were right. Hoi An's picturesque little old town is just beautifully preserved. The pedestrian and cycling only streets are lovely to walk around during the [...]
The city of Hue is the former capital of the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam which lasted from 1802 to 1945. The Emperors of this dynasty ruled from the Imperial Citadel in Hue, but they believed that life is short and death is forever, so they all wanted elaborate tombs nearby to see them through the [...]
Instead of taking a typical Halong Bay cruise from Hanoi in Vietnam, we decided to head to Cat Ba Island. Geographically, Cat Ba Island is the largest island in Halong Bay, and from here you can take cruises to the more remote parts of Halong Bay and also to the equally beautiful, but far less [...]
The capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi is everything that symbolises a busy Asian city. Wandering through the Old Quarter of the city is an assault on the senses; with busy little streets full of motorbikes, tiny hole in the wall restaurants and food stalls, all surrounded by old crumbling colonial buildings. This is where we [...]
Cat Ba Island is geographically the largest island in Halong Bay,Vietnam, and it was here that we chose to base ourselves to explore this beautiful area. Most of Cat Ba Island is protected as Cat Ba National Park, and it is home to the world's rarest primate - the Golden Headed Langur (or Cat Ba [...]
Hoa Lo Prison was built by the French in 1866 right in the middle of Hanoi, Vietnam, to hold Vietnamese political prisoners, and was also later used by the North Vietnamese to hold American POW's during the Vietnam War. Only a small part of the prison now remains, and it stands as an interesting museum [...]
