Vietnam
Our Top Picks For Vietnam
-
1 Sapa
Swoon at the valley views from this rugged mountain retreat, a home to a wealth of minority peoples and a base for exploring the Tonkinese Alps.
-
2 Halong Bay
Experience nature at its outrageous best, where hundreds of limestone peaks tower above the shimmering seas, a karst system with a difference
-
3 Hanoi
Steeped in history, pulsating with life, bubbling with commerce, buzzing with motorbikes and rich in exotic scents, this is a captivating capital
-
4 Mai Chau
Go native with an overnight stay in a traditional Thai stilt house, amid the lush valleys
-
5 Ninh Binh
Encounter rural life from this country town, surrounded by ancient temples, limestone crags, nature reserves and endless paddies
Fast Facts about Vietnam
- Infant mortality
30 per 1000 births
- Number of motorbikes
10 million and counting
- GDP
US$53.1 billion
- Adult literacy rate
94%
- Members of Communist Party
2 million
- Population
84 million
- Litres of
Litres of nuoc mam (fish sauce) produced per year: 200 million
- Annual rice production
32.3 million tonnes
- Life expectancy
68 for men, 73 for women
- Tonnage of bombs dropped on Vietnam
15 million
Our favourite Vietnam Blogs (beta)
-
Renewing a Passport Overseas
Blog: Ottsworld - 8 July 2009
I decided to start the process of getting my passport renewed as many countries won’t let you enter if you don’t have more than 6 months left on your passport validity. I certainly didn’t want to be turned away at the border of Mongolia! Plus, I’ve learned that working through the American consulate while you [...]
-
Hué to Ho Chi Minh City
Blog: Kieron Clark - 7 July 2009
In Hoi An we ate ‘white roses’ – tiny shrimp fried in thin rice paper parcels. In Saigon we had spring rolls, greasy and spicy and still-hot from the pan. In Hué a speciality was bahn xio – shrimp, beansprouts and shredded pork wrapped in a crispy, crèpe-like pancake, while in Hanoi, we ate pho [...]
-
Durian - The King of Fruits
Blog: Ottsworld - 5 July 2009
There are many hard things about living by yourself overseas…I may write a book about it someday if I can ever force myself to slow down long enough. However, this July 4th weekend highlights one of those many challenges; missing family. It’s my mother’s birthday, and my parent’s pending 50th Wedding anniversary, and my family [...]
Note: Javascript is disabled in your browser.
You need to enable Javascript if you want to see images and video.
Introducing Vietnam
Welcome to another world, a world where the colours are more vivid, the culture is richer, and the history more compelling. This is the world of Vietnam, the latest Asian dragon to awake from its slumber. Nature has blessed Vietnam with a bountiful harvest. With soaring peaks like Hoang Lien mountains and a killer coastline, with beaches like Quy Nhon and Nha Trang, Vietnam is simply stunning. Blanketed from head to toe with a patchwork of emerald-green rice paddies, timelessly tended by peasant women in conical hats, this time the brochures don't lie.
The rumble of a million motorbikes, the cries of hawkers and the buzz of business transactions are as ever-present as the tinkle of the past in the pagodas, and the swish of the scythe. Modern Asia meets medieval Asia and, in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, the two become one. For culinary adventurers, Vietnam is a treasure trove of more than 500 different dishes. It's a wonderful world of pungent herbs and secret spices. Dip delicate spring rolls in nuoc mam, a fish sauce that is as compulsory as ketchup for the Vietnamese. Or play 'down-in-one' with xeo (rice wine), the whisky of the mountains.
Advertisement
Latest headlines for Vietnam
-
Former US defence secretary dies
6 July 2009 3:47PM
Former US defence chief Robert McNamara, an architect of the Vietnam war who later regretted the US role, dies at 93.
-
Obituary: Robert McNamara
6 July 2009 2:00PM
The former US Defence Secretary, Robert S McNamara, served under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and was at the centre of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
-
Deadly floods in China, Vietnam
6 July 2009 3:46AM
Heavy rains in south-central China and northern Vietnam kill at least 31 people, state media say.
