2,000 Kilometres
of Extraordinary.
Vietnam.

Hanoi (population 8 million — the Vietnamese capital, founded in 1010 CE as Thăng Long “Rising Dragon” by Emperor Lý Thái Tổ — one of the oldest continuously inhabited capital cities in Asia) is a city of lakes, tree-lined boulevards, and the 36-street Old Quarter (Phố cổ Hà Nội — the guild streets established from the 13th century, each street historically dedicated to a single trade — Hàng Đồng for brass, Hàng Bạc for silver, Hàng Mã for votive paper goods — still operating, though now selling everything — the most atmospheric urban neighbourhood in Northern Vietnam). The Hoan Kiem Lake (the Restored Sword Lake — the founding myth of Hanoi: Emperor Lê Lợi received a magical sword from the Golden Turtle God from the lake’s waters in 1418 to drive out the Ming Chinese, and returned it in 1428 — the Ngọc Sơn Temple on the lake’s island, connected by the red Huc Bridge, is the most photographed image of Hanoi). The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (the marble structure on Ba Dinh Square where Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body lies in state — open Tuesday–Thursday and Saturday–Sunday mornings — the queue moves quickly; visitors must be modestly dressed and maintain complete silence — the experience is solemn, genuinely impressive in its controlled atmosphere, and a deeply informative encounter with the Vietnamese state’s treatment of its revolutionary history). The Old Quarter street food circuit (bun bo Nam Bo — the Hanoi beef noodle — at Hang Dieu Street; bun cha — the charcoal-grilled pork with cold noodles and herbs that Obama ate with Anthony Bourdain at Bun Cha Huong Lien in 2016 — 24 Le Van Huu, Hai Ba Trung district — still serving the same menu at VND 50,000 per person).

• Old Quarter (Phố Cổ) — 36 guild streets, 13th-century urban fabric
• Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngọc Sơn Temple — the Red Huc Bridge at dawn
• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum — Tue–Thu, Sat–Sun mornings, dress modestly
• Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu) — Vietnam’s first university, founded 1070
• Bun Cha — Obama’s table at 24 Le Van Huu · VND 50,000 per person

Ha Long Bay (Vịnh Hạ Long — 4 hours by road from Hanoi, 170km east — UNESCO World Heritage 1994, 2000) is the landscape that defines Vietnam in the international imagination: 1,969 islands and islets of karst limestone rising vertically from jade-green tidal water, each island a column of rock formed from sea-bed limestone uplifted and then sculpted by 500 million years of wave and rain erosion into the signature vertical-sided, rounded-top towers that no other geological process creates at this scale. The islands contain caves of extraordinary size (Thiên Cung Cave — “Heavenly Palace” — a cavern 130 metres wide and 80 metres high, its stalactites illuminated in programmatic coloured light which is tourist-kitschy but physically impressive; Đầu Gỗ Cave is the more naturally lit and less-visited alternative). The correct way to experience Ha Long Bay is by overnight cruise — the bay at dawn, before the day boats arrive, with mist in the karst valleys and kingfishers working the water surface, is fundamentally different from the midday scene that day-trippers encounter. Lan Ha Bay (the southern extension of Ha Long Bay, administered by Cat Ba Island rather than Quang Ninh province — less regulated, fewer boats, better kayaking access to the floating fishing villages and cave systems) is the more adventurous alternative that most Ha Long Bay operators now offer alongside the main bay.

• Overnight cruise — essential · the bay at dawn before day boats arrive
• Kayaking through karst corridors — best at low tide, guided
• Lan Ha Bay — less visited, Cat Ba Island base, better cave access
• Floating fishing villages — Vung Vieng and Ba Hang still active
• Thiên Cung Cave — 130m wide · Đầu Gỗ Cave — more natural lighting

Hoi An (Hội An — UNESCO World Heritage Ancient Town 1999 — population 120,000 — on the Thu Bon River 30km south of Da Nang) is the most completely preserved historic trading port in Southeast Asia: its merchants’ houses, assembly halls of the Chinese trading communities (the Phúc Kiến, Triều Châu, and Hải Nam assembly halls — each built by a different Fujian or Guangdong provincial merchant community in the 17th–18th centuries — the Phúc Kiến Hall’s courtyard garden is the most beautiful interior space in Hoi An), the Japanese Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu — built in 1593 by the Japanese merchant community, the only remaining Japanese-built bridge in Vietnam — the symbol of Hoi An), and the French colonial architecture along Nguyen Thai Hoc Street are intact because Hoi An silted up in the 19th century and lost its commercial relevance before modern development arrived. The Full Moon Lantern Festival (the 14th night of each lunar month — the entire Old Town turns off electric lighting from 7pm, 300,000 silk lanterns are lit in the streets and on the river, lantern boats are floated from the riverside — the most photographically beautiful recurring event in Vietnam — the tourist density on this one evening is significant, but the spectacle justifies it — book accommodation months in advance if your travel dates align). Hoi An’s tailor culture (400+ tailors in the Old Town and immediate surrounds offering 48–72 hour garment production from client measurements — the quality varies enormously — the recommended approach is to bring a reference garment, visit Yaly Couture or Bebe Tailors, pay mid-range prices rather than the cheapest quote, and allow 2 fittings).

• Full Moon Lantern Festival — 14th of each lunar month · book well ahead
• Japanese Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu) — 1593, only Japanese bridge in Vietnam
• Phúc Kiến Assembly Hall — 17th-century Fujian merchant court garden
• Tailoring — Yaly Couture or Bebe · 48–72hr turnaround · 2 fittings
• Mỳ Quảng & Cao Lầu — the two noodle dishes unique to Hoi An

Hue (Huế — UNESCO World Heritage Complex 1993 — 100km north of Hoi An on the Perfume River — the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, when Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated to Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh and the imperial era ended) is Vietnam’s most architecturally layered city: the Imperial Citadel (the outer Kinh Thành — a 10km-perimeter walled city modelled on Beijing’s Forbidden City — constructed 1804–1833 — the Ngo Mon Meridian Gate, the Thai Hoa Palace, the Forbidden Purple City whose inner palaces were largely destroyed by bombing in the 1968 Tet Offensive and are still being restored). The Nguyen Dynasty Royal Tombs (the seven emperors’ mortuary complexes scattered along the Perfume River south of the city — Tự Đức’s tomb (1864–1867 — the most romantically beautiful — a pine-forested landscape with a lake, pavilions, and a poem-covered stele that the emperor wrote himself lamenting his failure to produce an heir — he spent more time at his tomb complex during his lifetime than any of the emperors), Khải Định’s tomb (1920–1931 — the most architecturally extravagant — a Franco-Vietnamese synthesis that uses broken porcelain mosaic on every surface in the interior, the effect either garish or magnificent depending on your mood — it is definitely memorable)). Hue’s royal cuisine (Huế cuisine — the most refined and the spiciest in Vietnam — the result of the imperial chefs’ competition to produce visually elaborate dishes from small portions — bánh khoái (the Hue sizzling rice pancake), bún bò Huế (the spicy beef noodle soup that Hue residents consider superior to pho — they are correct)).

• Imperial Citadel — Ngo Mon Gate, Thai Hoa Palace, Forbidden Purple City
• Tự Đức’s Royal Tomb — pine forest, lake, emperor’s self-written stele poem
• Khải Định’s Tomb — Franco-Vietnamese mosaic interior, 1920–1931
• Bún Bò Huế — the spicy beef noodle that locals rank above pho
• Dragon Boat on the Perfume River — cruise to Thiên Mụ Pagoda

Sapa (Sa Pa — 1,600 metres above sea level in the Hoàng Liên Son mountain range on the Chinese border — 400km northwest of Hanoi, accessible by overnight train to Lao Cai (8 hours) then minibus (1 hour) or directly by the Sa Pa Express train) is Vietnam’s most celebrated trekking destination — but what makes Sapa remarkable is not primarily the trekking but the ethnic minority communities that have terraced the mountain slopes for centuries: the Black Hmong (Mông Đen — the largest minority group in the Sapa area, identifiable by their indigo-dyed hand-woven clothing — the women’s skirts dyed in natural indigo baths that turn the skin blue — the Saturday market at Bac Ha, 60km from Sapa, is the most authentic and least touristic ethnic minority market in Northern Vietnam), the Red Dao (Dao Đỏ — named for the red tasselled headdresses — their traditional medicinal herb knowledge the most extensive of any Sapa ethnic group — the herbal bath experience at a Red Dao homestay — a large wooden tub of boiled forest herbs — is the most body-temperature-altering thing available to a visitor in the Sapa highlands). The rice terraces (the Muong Hoa Valley terraces — carved into the mountain slopes at 1,000–1,600 metres over centuries by Hmong and Dao communities using hand tools, the terraces flooded and transplanted with rice May–June, green and photogenic July–September, golden for harvest September–October — the golden harvest window is the most sought-after photography season in Vietnam). Fansipan (3,143 metres — the “Roof of Indochina” — the highest peak in Vietnam, accessible by gondola from Sapa town in 20 minutes for VND 750,000 or by a 2–3 day guided trek for the committed).

• Muong Hoa Valley terraces — golden September–October harvest season
• Black Hmong trekking guides — hire directly from the village, not the town
• Bac Ha Saturday market — most authentic ethnic minority market in the north
• Red Dao herbal bath — traditional medicinal forest herbs in wooden tub
• Fansipan — gondola 20 min · or 2–3 day guided summit trek

Ho Chi Minh City (Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh — still called Saigon by virtually all Vietnamese people regardless of political generation — population 9 million in the city proper, the most economically dynamic city in Vietnam and the one most rapidly evolving) is the entry point for most Australian visitors to Vietnam and the city that rewards the traveller who digs below the surface: the Ben Thanh Market (the 1914 French colonial market building at the intersection of Le Loi and Ham Nghi — the tourist market by day, but the surrounding street food vendors and the night market that surrounds the building from 6–11pm are genuinely local). The War Remnants Museum (Bảo tàng Chứng tích Chiến tranh — the most unflinching war museum in Southeast Asia: the photographic documentation of the Vietnam War’s civilian impact — the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs of Nick Ut (Napalm Girl, 1972), Eddie Adams (Saigon Execution, 1968), and AP photographers — the museum’s treatment of the war from the Vietnamese civilian perspective is essential context for understanding the country). The Cu Chi Tunnels (the 250km network of underground tunnels 75km northwest of HCMC used by the Viet Cong during the American War — the tunnels were home to 16,000 people for up to a decade — cooking fires vented through dispersed chimneys to prevent smoke columns being visible from US aircraft — the Ben Dinh section now has a reconstructed 100m tunnel section that tourists can crawl through — widened to twice the original Vietnamese-body-width to accommodate Western visitors). The Reunification Palace (the former South Vietnamese presidential palace whose gates were breached by North Vietnamese tanks on 30 April 1975 — the War’s end — preserved entirely as it appeared on that day, its 1960s modernist interiors, basement war rooms, and rooftop helicopter pad intact).

• War Remnants Museum — most important war museum in Southeast Asia
• Cu Chi Tunnels — 250km network, 16,000 residents, crawl-through section
• Reunification Palace — frozen April 30, 1975 · 1960s modernist time capsule
• Ben Thanh night market — 6–11pm · pho and bánh mì from VND 30,000
• Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica — 1880 French colonial · currently being restored

The Mekong Delta (Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long — the “Nine Dragon River Plain” — the 40,000 km² river delta formed by the Mekong River’s nine distributaries as it approaches the South China Sea, 100km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City) is the most aquatic landscape in Vietnam: a flat, densely canalled river plain at essentially sea level, its communities living on the water as much as beside it, its agriculture producing 50% of Vietnam’s rice and 60% of its exported fruit from a landscape where the distinction between land and water is seasonal rather than permanent. The Cái Bè floating market (the largest floating market in the Mekong Delta — operating from 5–9am when the wholesale trade between river boats is most active — vendors identify their produce by hanging a sample from a tall pole above the boat — the market is less photographically spectacular than the floating markets of Thailand’s Damnoen Saduak but more genuinely commercial and less staged for tourists). The Mekong homestay circuit (staying overnight in a Delta family’s river home — the boat canal access, the evening cooking on the family’s outdoor kitchen, the sound landscape of water birds and frog song at night — the homestay operators at Cồn Thới Sơn island near My Tho are the most consistently recommended in the Delta). The Vinh Long rice village walk (the raised river-bank path through active orchards, rice paddies, and river-side workshops producing coconut candy — the coconut candy factories of the Ben Tre province are the most fragrant and most photogenic cottage industry stop on the Delta circuit).

• Cái Bè floating market — 5–9am wholesale · pole-hanging produce identification
• Mekong Delta homestay — Cồn Thới Sơn island · river kitchen cooking
• Ben Tre coconut candy factories — most fragrant cottage industry stop
• Can Tho — the Delta’s urban hub · Cai Rang floating market at dawn
• Day trip from HCMC (2hrs) or overnight for the Delta’s correct pace