In 2011 we traveled for ten weeks, from mid January to end March, through Indochina – Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. We kept a travelogue-style blog, Travel in Indochina, which for the time being is hosted elsewhere. The Vietnam entries can be found under the March archive of this blog, from Chau Doc, Can Tho and My Tho in the Mekong Delta to Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), and then to Dambri, Dalat, Buon Ma Thuot and Kon Tum in the Highlands and Hoi An, Hue, Danang and Nha Trang on the Vietnamese Coast.

Click here to access the Indochina blog

travel in SE Asia

Recently, in January 2018, we returned to Vietnam to complete our journey, and also visit the north, being Hanoi, Halong Bay and the minority areas around Sapa, as part of our South East Asia trip also covering China, Laos and Thailand.

 

A reading list on Indochina is included in the blog, but is reproduced here.

Individual locations can be accessed below.

 

Nha Trang
Well-organised beach town with picturesque fishing harbour.
Danang
Big city on the coast, with small but very cute Cham museum.
Hue
Vietnam's Imperial City, with palaces and mausoleums.
My Son
Small Champa temple complex, rather run-down but with a special atmosphere.
Hoi An
Delightful ancient trading town has found a new life as open air museum cum market.
Central Highlands
The mountainous jungle of the Vietnamese Highlands creates beautiful scenery.
Kon Tum
Centre of rongs, tall community houses typical for this part of the Vietnamese Highlands.
Buan Ma Thuot
Stop-over in the Vietnamese Highlands, surrounded by attractive traditional villages.
Dalat
Hill station in the Vietnamese Highlands, with an attractive market and lots of other surprises.
Ho Chi Min City - Saigon
Vietnam's business capital mixes the colonial past with temples and markets.
My Tho
Nice market town in the Mekong delta, focused on island agriculture.
Can Tho
Large town in the Mekong delta, centre of the floating markets.
Chau Doc
Pleasant border town in the Mekong delta, to observe life on and along the river.
Hanoi
Vietnam's capital, impressions from our 2018 visit
Sapa
North Vietnam's hill station, and minority paradise (2018)
Halong Bay
Vietnam's preeminent tourist destination, even out of season (2018)
Haiphong
Run-down but atmospheric colonial harbour in North Vietnam (2018)
Ninh Binh
The so-called 'dry' Halong Bay, karst mountain landscape - but in the rain! (2018)