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General travel index

8 matches out of 423

	Description
	Photo album: Sapa, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album Sapa is cooler than most other parts of North and Mid Vietnam. Many tourists are unprepared for the cold weather in Sapa as they usually think of Vietnam as a very hot place. In Sapa, there are 5 minority tribes, local tours will take you to 3 or more of them and explain about their everyday life. Occassionally, you will be bugged by the locals trying to sell you things like handicraft or embroidery. The trek through the villages is interesting, but beware of the very muddy and slippery paths. From Irene: The landscape in this hill village is very nice, the traditional dresses of the different tribes are interesting. You can find the details in the Ethnology Museum in Hanoi.
	Photo album: MySon, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album World HeritageMy Son (pronouced "Me Song") is also a "World Heritage" site. The stone temples - Champa style (Cham, once a great empire that had supposedly rule the region) were built from 4th century to 12th century (mostly 10-12th century), similar to those in Angkor Wat of Cambodia. A very strong sense of Hindu style. Nearly all the sites are ruined, you will find mostly collapsed temples. Nonetheless, these ruins play a very important role in Vietnam's history. The easiest way to get to "My Son" is to join a tour from Hoi An.
	Photo album: Hue, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album World HeritageHue is another old city of Vietnam that is recognised as a "World Hertiage", host to an Imperial Palace and many tombs of great emprerors such as Tu Duc Tomb, Minh Mang Tomb and Khai Dinh Tomb, they are all Chinese style. Take a Dragon Boat trip is the easiest way to visit these tombs, for some of the tombs, you need to take a connecting motorbike during the stops of the Dragon Boat trip, you can try your negotiation skill! We got to Hue by flying from Hanoi to save time. From Irene: It's a small city that you can walk around the major areas on foot in half day. The Imperial Palace is surrouded by an artifical river, similar to other Palaces.
	Photo album: HoiAn, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album World HeritageHoi An Old Town is one of Vietnam's world hertiage. We like this city very much, walking along the streets you will find plenty of shops for clothes, food, handicraft and art galleries. Many tourists have their dress tailor-made here for US$15-25. This is the city where many Chinese and Japanese traded with the ancient Vietnam, there is a bridge called "Japanese Bridge" and there are plenty of Chinese establishments such as restaurants and temples. You should try a special local dish called "Cao Lau". There are some nearby attractions such as Mable Mountain and China Beach. And on our way from Hue to Hoi An, we passed "Hai Van Pass". From Irene: This is the best part of our trip, the weather is warm and sunny which makes a huge difference already. You can also see this town on foot in half day. One of the best thing in this city is that not much horn sound bombarded me, because the road is narrower with less traffic. It'd be a good idea to stay in a resort hotel near Hoi An and hang out in the city. 3D2D can be refreshing!
	Photo album: Hanoi, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album It's nice to have 3 lakes in the city, you will find it relaxing to walk along the lake side. However, when you look at the traffic, you may feel very stressful. You may find it hard to cross the road with so many motorbikes coming from different directions. I find the horn-pressing practice very annoying because every driver presses the horn when they want to get pass a car that is in front of it, so you end up being bombarded by the horn sound every few seconds. I like the Ethnology Museum and would suggest to spend a few hours there. Hanoi is the 2nd largest city in Vietnam, we used Hanoi as our hub for our visit and make short trips to Ha Long Bay, Sapa and Hue etc. We had some good food at a few places such as the Sofitel Metropole Hotel (where we stayed for the 1st 2 days), "Little Hanoi" and "Empreror". We wanted to try "Koto" (Know one teach one), but it was closed on Christmas day (the day we went there). Historically, Hanoi is an important city especially in Vietnam's modern history, home to "Uncle Ho", Ho Chi Minh's president palace. Places of interest: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Vietnam Ethnology Museum, Van Mieu (Temple of literature, the first University in Vietnam), Perfume Pagoda etc. While you are in Hanoi, you should watch the "Water Puppert" show. It is very entertaining and an unique traditional art of Vietnam.
	Photo album: HaLongBay, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album World HeritageHa Long Bay is one of the World Heritage in Vietnam. It has many beautiful small islands with plenty of trees. The rock formation, vegetation and carves are very similar to those in Gui Lin of China, except those in Gui Lin is much much bigger and more impressive! From Irene: Halong Bay and Cat Ba is a 3D2N tour. If you don't usually hike, Cat Ba may be physcially demanding for you. Moreover, the scenery is not special, so 1 day boat day to Halong Bay should be good enough. Please don't try to compare the National Parks in Vietnam with those in North America.
	Photo album: CatBa, Vietnam, Asia, Dec 2002 (Itinerary) Click photo to view photo album Cat Ba National Park, Vietnam, Asia, World We did a 4 hr trekking in the forest. The path though well defined is very uneven and rocky. Plenty of steep slopes running up and down. If you are short of time during your stay in Vietnam, this is probably not an essential place to visit. From Irene: Halong Bay and Cat Ba is a 3D2N tour. If you don't usually hike, Cat Ba may be physcially demanding for you. Moreover, the scenery is not special, so 1 day boat day to Halong Bay should be good enough. Please don't try to compare the National Parks in Vietnam with those in North America.
	Photo album: HoChiMinh, Vietnam, Asia, Oct 1997 Click photo to view photo album

8 matches out of 423