• Central provinces
• Far north
• Ha Long Bay and the northern seaboard
• Hanoi
• Ho Chi Minh City
• Mekong Delta
• South-central coast
• Southern and central highlands
Central
provinces
Vietnam's narrow waist comprises a string of provinces
squeezed between the long, sandy coastline and the formidable barrier of
the Truong Son Mountains, which mark the border between Vietnam and
Laos. For foreigners, there are just two overland crossings into Laos
here: the straightforward and accessible Lao Bao, along Highway 9 from
Dong Ha , and the more remote Cau Treo, on Highway 8 from Vinh . Lao
visas can be obtained in the city of Da Nang , a useful transport hub
but not much more. However, there's plenty to occupy you before heading
off to Laos, not least the much visited riverside town of Hoi An ,
renowned for its traditional Chinese merchants' houses and temples, and
its crafts, and as a base for exploring the fine ruins of the Cham
temple complex at nearby My Son . The former Vietnamese capital of Hué
is equally impressive, and its nineteenth-century palaces, temples and
royal mausoleums constitute one of Vietnam's highlights. In 1954 Vietnam
was divided at the Seventeenth Parallel, only 100km north of Hué, where
the Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ ) marked the border between North and South
Vietnam until reunification in 1975. The desolate battlefields of the
DMZ and the extraordinary complex of residential tunnels nearby are a
poignant memorial to those, on both sides, who fought here and to the
civilians who lost their lives in the bitter conflict.
Far north
Vietnam fans out above Hanoi like the head of a giant pin,
the majority of it a mountainous buffer zone wrapped around the Red
River Delta. Two arteries carry road and rail links north from the
capital towards the Chinese border crossings of Lao Cai and Dong Dang (Lang
Son), and the rest of the region is mostly wild and inaccessible,
sparsely populated by a fascinating mosaic of ethnic minorities , whose
presence is the chief tourist attraction around here. The former hill
station of Sa Pa has become famous for its weekend market when minority
villagers trek in to buy, sell and gossip, and is also the main
departure point for treks to their settlements. Mai Chau and Bac Ha are
less touristy centres for walks to minority villages. Note that changing
travellers' cheques north of Hanoi is problematic and cash exchanges
garner poor rates, so make sure you have all the cash you need before
you leave the capital.
Ha Long Bay and the northern seaboard
The mystical scenery of Ha Long Bay , peppered with thousands
of evocatively craggy limestone outcrops, is what draws people to the
northeast coast of Vietnam, and there are plenty of tourist boats and
accommodation in nearby Ha Long City to facilitate your visit. Cat Ba
Island , accessible from the port city of Haiphong , makes a less
touristy base for bay trips. If you still haven't tired of karst scenery,
head inland, south of Hanoi, for the city of Ninh Binh and make a day-trip
to Tam Coc . Vietnam borders China 150km up the coast from Ha Long Bay,
and foreigners in possession of the right visa can enter China at Mong
Cai.
Hanoi
The Vietnamese nation was born among the lagoons and marshes
of the Red River Delta around 4000 years ago and for most of its
independent existence has been ruled from HANOI , Vietnam's small,
elegant capital lying in the heart of the northern delta. Given the
political and historical importance of Hanoi and its burgeoning
population of one million, it's a surprisingly low-key city, with the
character of a provincial town - quite unlike brash, young Ho Chi Minh
City. It still retains buildings from the eleventh-century court of its
founding father King Ly Thai To, most notably the Temple of Literature ,
and some of the streets in the Old Quarter still trade in the same
speciality goods they dealt in 500 years ago. In 1887, the French turned
Hanoi into the centre of government for the entire Union of Indochina,
replacing ancient monuments with grand colonial residences, many of
which survive today. Hanoi finally became the capital of independent
Vietnam in 1954, with Ho Chi Minh its first president: Ho Chi Minh's
Mausoleum is now the city's biggest crowd-puller. The city sustained
serious damage in the American War, particularly the infamous Christmas
Bombing campaign of 1972, much of it lucidly chronicled in the Army
Museum . Until recently, political isolation together with lack of
resources preserved what was essentially the city of the 1950s. However,
since the advent of tourism in 1993, the city has seen an explosion in
traveller cafés, mini-hotels and cybercafés. Indeed, Hang Bac, one of
the Old Quarter's main drags which is home to a large number of
traveller hang-outs, is starting to resemble a little piece of Bangkok's
Khao San Road in Hanoi. The big question now is how much of central
Hanoi will survive the onslaught of modernization.
Ho Chi Minh City
Washed ashore above the Mekong Delta, some 40km north of the
South China Sea, HO CHI MINH CITY is a city on the march, a boomtown
where the rule of the dollar is absolute. Fuelled by the sweeping
economic changes wrought by doi moi, this effervescent city, perched on
the west bank of the Saigon River, now boasts fine restaurants,
immaculate hotels, and glitzy bars among its colonial villas, venerable
pagodas and austere, Soviet-style housing-blocks. Sadly, Ho Chi Minh
City is also full to bursting with people for whom progress hasn't yet
translated into food, lodgings and employment, so begging, stealing and
prostitution are all facts of life here.
Ho Chi Minh City started life as a fishing village known as Prei Nokor
and, during the Angkor period (until the fifteenth century), it
flourished as an entrepôt for Cambodian boats pushing down the Mekong
River. By the seventeenth century it boasted a Khmer garrison and a
community of Malay, Indian and Chinese traders. During the eighteenth
century, Hué's Nguyen Dynasty ousted the Khmers, renamed Prei Nokor
Saigon , and established a temporary capital here between 1772 and 1802,
after which the Emperor Gia Long used it as his regional administrative
centre. The French seized Saigon in 1861, and a year later the Treaty of
Saigon declared the city the capital of French Cochinchina. They set
about a huge public works programme, building roads and draining
marshlands, but ruled harshly. After a thirty-year war against the
French, Saigon was finally designated the capital of the Republic of
South Vietnam by President Diem in 1955, soon becoming both the nerve-centre
of the American war effort, and its R&R capital, with a slough of sleazy
bars catering to GIs on leave of duty. The American troops withdrew in
1973, and two years later the Ho Chi Minh Campaign rolled through the
gates of the presidential palace and the communists were in control.
Within a year, Saigon had been renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
Mekong Delta
The orchards, paddy fields and swamplands of the MEKONG DELTA
stretch from Ho Chi Minh's city limits southwest to the Gulf of Thailand,
crisscrossed by nine tributaries of the Mekong River. By the time it
reaches Vietnam, the mighty Mekong has already covered more than 4000km
from its source high up on the Tibetan Plateau, via southern China,
Burma, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia - a journey that ranks it as Asia's
third-longest river, after the Yangtse and Yellow rivers. Here at its
delta not only does it water "Vietnam's rice bowl", but it also serves
as a crucial transportation artery, teeming with rowing boats, sampans,
ferries and floating markets. In fact, the most enjoyable way to
experience delta-life is by boat: most people hire boats in My Tho , but
from here a ferry crosses the uppermost strand of the Tien Giang to laid-back
Ben Tre . You can cross the main body of the Tien Giang on the My Thuan
ferry, or the soon-to-be-opened My Thuan bridge nearby, both convenient
for visiting the flower markets of Sa Dec and bustling Vinh Long , which
are situated on the "island" between Tien Giang and Hau Giang. Can Tho ,
on the west bank of the Hau Giang, holds the delta's most famous
floating markets; access to the city is by ferry or via the Can Tho
bridge. From here, a road runs via Long Xuyen to the Cambodian border
towns of Chau Doc and Ha Tien . At the time of writing, it was not
possible to cross into Cambodia from either point; however future plans
include the border crossing opening to foreigners at Chau Doc and
hydrofoils running from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh. Hydrofoils now operate
between Ho Chi Minh City and My Tho, Can Tho, Vinh Long and Chau Doc.
South-central coast
Extending from the wetlands of the Mekong Delta right the way
up to the central provinces, Vietnam's south-central coast was, from the
seventh to the twelfth century, the domain of the Indianized trading
empire of Champa. A few communities of Cham people still live in the
area, around Phan Thiet and Phan Rang, and there are some fine relics of
their ancestors' temple complexes near Nha Trang , which also happens to
boast an attractive municipal beach and some good snorkelling trips to
nearby islands. The Vung Tau peninsula also offers a couple of fairly
decent beaches, though nothing compared to the high dunes and aquamarine
waters of Mui Ne , a short hop from the fishing town of Phan Thiet . The
scars of war tend not to intrude too much along this stretch of the
country, except at the village of Son My near Quang Ngai, sombre site of
the notorious My Lai massacre .
Southern and central highlands
After a hot and sticky stint labouring across the coastal
plains, the little-visited southern and central highlands , with their
host of ethnic minorities, mist-laden mountains and crashing waterfalls,
can provide an enjoyable contrast. Many of the highlands' 2.5 million
inhabitants are montagnards ("mountain folk") from Bahnar, Ede, Jarai,
Sedang, Koho and Mnong ethnic minorities , but visiting their villages
independently can be difficult and is best done by basing yourself at
the highland towns of Buon Me Thuot and Kon Tum , from where you can
either book a tour or take a Honda om. For most tourists up here, the
main target is Da Lat , a former French mountain retreat that
unfortunately is not as idyllic as it sounds (dreary architecture and
drearier tourist trappings), though it does have its charms, among them
some beguiling colonial buildings, picturesque bike rides and a market
overflowing with fruit and vegetables.
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