Sapa-home to a great diversity of ethnic minority people.

 

 

One of the most famous tourist destinations in Vietnam is the mountain town of Sapa, near the base of mount Fanxipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam / South East Asia.

When coming to this area it is best to come in the drier seasons as the wet weather can make the roads a little hairy, The best time to visit is from March to May and from September to early December.

Sapa Shopping 

Sapa is such a wonderful town and is visited everyday by people from the H'mong and Dzao local hill tribes who come into town to trade their goods at the local market making for some interesting shopping. The main market is every Saturday and the place can get a little over crowded, but a quieter market takes places every day during the week.
Sapa Cuisine

As with all over the country, Sapa vietnam holds some truely amazing dish's, local tribes influence this already diverse cuisine and dish's can cater to all tastes. Restaurants and eateries are plentiful through out the area and its never hard to find good food here.
Sapa sights
The area has some beautiful scenery such as the Tram Ton Pass which is about 15km from Sapa. Its highest point is 1900m and it connects Sapa to Lai Chau. For anyone looking for a real challenge, why not try to make it to the top of Fansipan, Vietnam's highest peak at 3143m.

Sapa is a little out of the way but well worth it to see the breath taking scenery. There are many options available if travelling from Hanoi. Trips do generally take several days though, depending on what it is you want to do there.

Hanoi - capital of Vietnam

Hoan Kiem lake at night

Ha Noi is the capital of Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It's located in the Red River Delta, in the center of North Vietnam. Compare to Ho Chi Minh city - the largest city in Vietnam with many attractions, hotels, restaurants, nightlife, ....- Hanoi is just a small capital . But Hanoi have its own feature that Ho hi Minh city cannot defeat -  it was the culture centre of Vietnam.

History

Hà Nội is a sacred land of Việt Nam. In the 3rd century BC, Cổ Loa (actually belonging to Đông Anh District) was chosen as the capital of the Âu Lạc Nation of Thục An Dương Vương (the King Thục).

Hà Nội later became the core of the resistance movements against the Northern invasions.

Located in the middle of the Red River Delta, the town has gradually expanded to become a very populous and rich residential center. At different periods, Hà Nội had been selected as the capital city of Việt Nam under the Northern domination. In the autumn of Canh Tuất lunar years (1010), Lý Thái Tổ, the founder of the Lý Dynasty (1010-1225), decided to transfer the capital from Hoa Lư to Đại La, and so he re-capitalized it Thăng Long (Soaring Dragon). The year 1010 then became a historical date for Hà Nội and for the whole country in general. For about a thousand years, the capital was called Thăng Long, then changing to Đông Đô, Đông Kinh, and finally to Hà Nội, in 1831. This sacred piece of land thereafter continued to be the theater of many fateful events.


Hanoi's Opera house



Tourism

Throughout the thousand years of its eventful history, marked by destruction, wars and natural calamities, Hà Nội still preserves many ancient architectural works including the Old Quarter and over 600 pagodas and temples. Famous sites include the One Pillar Pagoda (built in 1049), the Temple of Literature (built in 1070), Hà Nội Citadel, Hà Nội Opera House, President Hồ Chí Minh's Mausoleum, and so on.

Hà Nội also characteristically contains 18 beautiful lakes such as Hoàn Kiếm Lake, West Lake, and Trúc Bạch Lake, which are the lungs of the city, with their surrounding gardens and trees providing a vital source of energy.

West lake

Many traditional handicrafts are also practiced in Hà Nội including bronze molding, silver carving, lacquer, and embroidery. Hà Nội has many famous traditional professional handicraft villages such as Bát Tràng pottery village, Ngũ Xã bronze casting village, Yên Thái glossy silk village.

Nightlife and culture in Hanoi

Hanoi does not have the high-energy nightlife of Ho Chi Minh City. However, the unique blend of modern and traditional, eastern and European, and the colorful local culture can make for a number of exciting evenings

For example , water puppetry is a unique performance art. Thang Long Theater on Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the best venue for such performances. The puppets are made from wood, and the traditional folk tales are portrayed while a live band performs traditional songs. Though the theater’s seats will force tall people to bend their legs in uncomfortable ways, this is on of the most unique and rewarding experiences in Hanoi.

That's one of the reason why Hanoi is a great place to experience both traditional and modern Vietnamese culture. The unique blend of local and international flavors makes Hanoi an exciting, even magical, place to visit.

One-pillar pagoda

Golden Lotus Pagoda

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An at nigth

Come to Da Nang , you must visit Hoi An . Hoi An is a city on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast of Vietnam . It is located in Quảng Nam province and is home to approximately 120,000 inhabitants. The Old Town of Hoi An is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hoi An travel guide

The local People’s Committee periodically clamps down on touts, and while this doesn’t mean a completely hassle-free visit, a stroll down the street is usually more relaxed here than in Hué or Nha Trang. Hoi An is pedestrian-friendly: the Old Town is closed to cars and the distances from the hotels to the centre are walkable. It’s a great place to hire a bike.

The centre of Hoi An is very small and pedestrianised, so you will be walking around most of the time. Unfortunately, motorbikes have not been banned from the center, so keep an eye out for motorized kamikazes, even in the most narrow alleys. However, the city's government does not allow motorbikes to enter the Old Town on the 14th and 15th of each lunar month. On those evenings, a lot of activities, including traditional games such as bai choi, trong quan, and dap nieu are held in all over the town.

Traffic in Hoi An is minimal, so if you've been avoiding getting on a bike in the big cities, small towns and the surrounding countryside like Hoi An are ideal to get used to the road rules.


History of Hoi An


The charming old town of Hoi An in central Vietnam, with its lovely wooden shop-homes and unique bridge, has been recognised as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO.

Hoi An

Japanese Covered Bridge

Hoi An, historically known as a once prosperous seaport under the various names of Fayfo, Kaifo, Faifoo, Faixfo, Hoai Pho and Hoi An, is the only place in Vietnam to have many of its original streets and building preserved intact, which are typical of an old seaport town in South East Asia. The town was a crossroad of economic-cultural flows in Vietnam and Southeast Asia from the end of the 16 ^th century to the early 19^th century. It was also the gate through which Buddism and Christianity were introduced into Vietnam in the 17^th century. In the process, Hoi An acquired unique cultural characteristics which are manifested in its customs until today.The result was that Hội An remained almost untouched by the changes to Vietnam over the next 200 years 


Today, the town is a major tourist attraction because of its traditional architecture, crafts such as textiles and ceramics preserved and visitors are exploited. Many bars, hotels, and resorts have been constructed both in Hội An and the surrounding area. The port mouth and boats are still used for both fishing and tourism.


Landmarks of Hoi An:
-Japanese Covered Bridge                                    
-Quan Cong Temple
-Museum of Folk Culture
-Traditional Theatre

-Chinese All-Community Meeting Hall

-Hoi An Museum of History and Culture

-Museum of Trade Ceramics

 .............