Hanoi

24 hours in Hanoi

Vietnam’s capital buzzes with energy; throngs of crowds, busy street-hawkers, and streets awash with restless scooters. Claire balanced the bustle by meeting up with friendly locals over Vietnam’s famous coffee, strolling through courtyard gardens and taking a tiny pew to slurp her favourite pho on her 24 hours in Hanoi.

In with the old: Exploring Hanoi’s old quarter

Hanoi has been around for an awful long time. It’s been the capital of Vietnam since 1010 (excepting a period of 150 years, from 1802–1945), has been inhabited since at least 3,000 BC (yes, really!), and is probably Vietnam’s greatest repository of traditional art and culture. Of course, it has changed a heck of a […]

Green tea during home dinner

Home comforts in Hanoi

Visiting a local home while travelling is a wonderful experience and I was lucky enough to join the Van family in their Hanoi home. Me and my companions were kindly welcomes into their home and as well as being served delicious Vietnamese cuisine, we were given a valuable opportunity to learn more about local life. […]

Hoi An

Highlights of Vietnam: 5 amazing places

In January I wrote about five lesser-known highlights of Vietnam – including caves, mountain villages, beaches, and jungles. The five destinations I’ll be exploring today, meanwhile, are very much on the beaten track – but for good reason! (They also all begin with H, for no reason at all). I won’t say these are “must-see” […]

High-speed train in Japan

High-speed rail is coming to Vietnam

Hot on the heels of the inauguration of Vietnam’s first five-star train – last Tuesday it was announced that Vietnam will be getting its very own high-speed rail system too! Don’t get too excited, though – this ambitious three-phase project is planned to take a whopping 35 years, so you won’t be zipping up and down […]

Saigon fruit seller

Hanoi vs. Saigon

If you’re planning on visiting Vietnam, the chances are that the northern capital Hanoi and southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City (AKA Saigon) will both be right at the top of your list of places to visit. Separated by a swathe of land over a thousand miles long, these two cities differ on almost […]

Cruising at night on a motorbike

Hanoi motorbike style

Earlier on in the year, we blogged about the impressive motorbike loads that we have seen in Vietnam. Here are some pretty impressive Hanoi motorbike style shots of girls on bikes….and lots of them… Three people to a bike is pretty much standard in Vietnam, but Thanhnien News recently published a few pictures of girls […]

Second starter: fried and fresh spring rolls

A Photo Journey through Vietnam

Our tour leader Tara has done a fair amount of travelling throughout Vietnam, always on one journey or another, yet is never short of fantastic photos to send back to us in the Bristol office. Here are a few pictures taken during the recent Highlights of Vietnam tour…. Here she shares 20 snapshots of day […]