Shunning the normal tourist route that visits Nha Trang, an old fishing port that has developed into a purpose built tourist resort on the sea, we head for Dalat in the central highlands. What a contrast this place is to other towns we have visited in Vietnam! First off it is cool. Helped by an […]

Hotter than Hanoi and just as humid, Hoi An is a charming little town about 5 km inland from the sea and around 180 km south of the old demilitarized zone in what was South Vietnam. At the moment, it is unspoilt but that is not going to last much longer as the entire coastline […]

We are off trekking again, this time to the very north of Vietnam to the Tonkinese Alps. An area of outstanding natural beauty that is home to a number of minority people that live in the hills and mountains bordering China. Over the years, the region has been intermittently under the control of the Chinese […]

If an airport is a reflection of the destination city, then Hanoi is going to be a challenge. It is a throwback to the seventies with lino flooring, escalators that don’t work, yellowing walls and cardboard-constructed immigration booths manned by officials dressed in soviet-style uniforms. The capital’s airport had two baggage belts serving both domestic […]