Saigon is in the grips of the Christmas spirit. Everywhere you go, something will be there to remind you that the happiest time of the year is right around the corner. Large streetside decorations, cafes pumping out your seasonal favourite songs, and tin foil snow is everywhere. A Saigon Christmas is a different sort of … read the full post

Despite Christmas not being traditionally celebrated in Vietnam, the Christmas spirit has certainly arrived this year, with decorations proudly lacing many an office and apartment building. I celebrated early on Saturday, as I’ll be in the UK over Christmas this year: Santa hats and decorations were purchased on Hang Ma, Secret Santa (anonymous) gifts were … read the full post

One of the great tragedies of Hanoi’s last few decades has been the demolishing of its many trading houses and shopfronts. It’s a testament to the sad state of affairs that many of the places of architecture walks in Hanoi’s Old Quarter no longer exist. Still, some remain.

I recently took a trip up to northern Vietnam to see Hanoi, and to meet my fellow Hanoi Travelfish.org blogger who writes here. Being a street food junkie I cruised the streets and found several of my Saigon staples, like bun bo hue and hot vit lon, readily available. It made me realise how many … read the full post

In the past, villagers in Vietnam tended to specialise in making particular items to meet their needs, sharing their skills with neighbours and relatives. This led to individual villages becoming known for a particular handicraft. As people moved to the cities they gravitated towards others with the same trade and hence we have areas such … read the full post

With the exception of Tet, which sees Saigon comes to a four-day screeching halt, holidays can make people here go extra crazy. Christmas sees Saigon residents jam the streets to look at the Christmas lights around the city and getting a taxi from the airport is ridiculous: last year on Christmas Day I was quoted … read the full post

With the temperature dropping notably over the last week and my friend calling me this morning to ask where she could buy a heater, I thought it was an appropriate time to comment on the frequently asked question: “How cold does it get in Hanoi?“. We arrived in Hanoi at the end of January 2010 … read the full post

If you’ve ever been to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, chances are the traffic left an indelible mark on your memories of the place. For British photographer Rob Whitworth, a memory wasn’t quite enough and through the use of more than 10,000 RAW images he captured this chaotic beauty in his latest work, Traffic … read the full post

Renting a bicycle has always been a good way to explore Hoi An and its surrounds: it’s cheap, they’re never banned from the streets (other vehicles are forbidden at various times of the day), they provide a lot of freedom and you get to feel like you’re compensating for that last portion of wontons. I spent … read the full post

Saigon must be one of the easiest cities to string cliches together for: the old colliding with the new, the cyclos under neon lights, the hypnotic traffic (we admit we’re quite as guilty of it as the next travel site…) So it’s nice to rise above it all — and we think this single snap … read the full post