Ha Tinh province
Wedged between Quang Binh province to the south and Nghe An province to the north, Ha Tinh's best known feature is a road leading out of the province -- to Laos. It's through this province that snaking Route 8 leads to the Nam Phao / Cau Treo border crossing between Vietnam and Laos. On the Lao side, the road links up with Lak Xao, continuing on eventually to the Mekong River, while on the Vietnamese side, Route 8 strikes west till it intersects with Highway 1 near Hong Linh and not all that far from Vinh -- the capital of Nghe An province to the north.
That most people don't even realise they're passing through Ha Tinh province says a lot about what the province has to offer -- we spent a couple of days hanging out here, and to be honest, aside from a sticky honey and sugar treacle concoction known as Cu Do, we didn't find an awful lot to see or do.
The provincial capital, also named Ha Tinh, is like any city off the tourist trail in that it's worth a visit just to see the real Vietnam. There's some decent hotels and guesthouses and no shortage of places for a meal, but that's about it.
Of course, that's not to say Ha Tinh isn't going to be the next bright shining light on Vietnam's tourist map, but rather that we found we didn't need to put our sunglasses on.
