Hanoi is divided into four main sectors: Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Hai BaTrung, and Dong Da. Metropolitan Hanoi includes a number of outlying areas that were once provinces, but as the population expands in number and large-scale development seeks new…
The whole town is an attraction, its narrow streets comprised of lovely historic buildings buzzing with open-air craft shops, woodworkers, and carvers. Tran Phu and Nguyen Thai Hoc streets are crowded with the shops of the original Chinese merchants and…
A good day stop along Route 1A between Hue and Danang/Hoi An, Lang Co Beach is a sweeping expanse of sand good for dipping your toes and taking a rest. The absence of group tours and touts is the main…
Hue’s Citadel and Imperial City are the main attractions, but a visit here is usually done in conjunction with half-day trips to outlying temples and the many imperial tombs. You might want to bicycle to the Citadel itself, then along…
Hue (pronounced Hway) is culturally and historically significant. It was once Vietnam’s Imperial City and later the country’s capital under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). The Thua Thien Hue region was a political football during hundreds of years of early Vietnamese…
The mountainous Central High-lands are a few hundred very hilly kilometers inland from NhaTrang, a bumpy ride north from Ho Chi Minh City, or over the paved and very scenic Ho Chi Minh Trail south from Hoi An. The area…
The city of Lang Son is connected to Hanoi by a broad, flat highway, and is more or less a sleepover stop after the stunning ride from Cao Bang, before you make your way back to the capital. Dining and…
About a 6 hour ride past the Hanoi airport north on Route 3, and north of Thai Nguyen, you’ll pass through some areas of terraced rice farming that are a harbinger of the stunning mountainous scenery to come. From the…
Son La is a small city set in a narrow valley at the foot of low hills. A short walk up to the town’s famous hilltop prison or to one of the viewpoints in the hills above gives you a…
Mai Chau makes a good overnight after the shakedown cruise from Hanoi (about a 5-hr. ride). The town center is a rather dull strip of small shops and a few pho and com stands (noodle soup or rice), but there…