Vietnam Travel guide

 Few travellers stop in  Bac Lieu, but bird – watchers pass through en route to the remarkable sanctuary near town. There is a few beautiful  but forlorn French colonial buildings which line the waterfront, yet little else of interest. The most famous buildings is the Cong Tu Hotel ( 0781-395 3304; 13 РDien Bien Phu; r 300,000-500,000d; ), which […] Read More

On the swampy shores of the Ganh Hao River,  Ca Mau is the capital and sole city in Ca Mau province, which covers the southern tip of the Mekong Delta. It was not until the late 17th century that this remote and inhospitable area was cultivated. Because of  the boggy terrain,  the province has the lowest population density […] Read More

It’s an interesting destination to discover  Khmer temples in the area, even though you can probably skip these if Cambodia is on your radar. Sights Bat Pagoda BUDDHIST TEMPLE This large and peaceful pagoda compound with a resident colony of fruit bats. Literally hundreds of these creatures hang from the trees: the largest weigh about 1kg, with a […] Read More

Arguably the largest  drawcard of the delta is its colourful floating markets, which hug the banks of wide stretches of river. Most market folk set out early to avoid the sunlight , so let’s visit between 6am and 8am and beat the tourist tide. The real tides, however, are also a factor, as bigger boats must often […] Read More

A  thriving  port on the Gulf of Thailand and something of a southern  growth   town benefiting from a  serious injection of Viet Kieu money, Rach Gia is home to  major   quantities   of both ethnic Chinese and ethnic Khmers. Most  tourists   zip straight through for boats to Phu Quoc Island, but the beautiful […] Read More

Mui NaiThe beaches in this area  of Vietnam face the Gulf of Thailand. The water is  pretty  warm and becalmed;  wonderful  for bathing and diving but impossible to surf . The best of them, Mui Nai (Stag’s Head Peninsula; admission person/car 2500/10,000d), supposedly resembling the head of a stag with its mouth pointing upward, is 8km west of Ha […] Read More

Draped along the banks of the Hau Giang River (Bassac River), Chau Doc sees  plenty of  travellers washing through on the river route between Cambodia and Vietnam. A likeable small  town with  significant Chinese, Cham and Khmer communities, Chau Doc’s cultural diversity – apparent in the mosques, temples, churches and nearby pilgrimage sites –  makes it excellent  […] Read More

Sam MountainA sacred  place  for Buddhists, Sam Mountain (Nui Sam, 284m) and its environs are  crammed with  dozens of pagodas and temples. A strong Chinese influence  makes it  particularly popular with ethnic Chinese, yet  Buddhists of all ethnicities  visit this spot  here. The views from the  summit are wonderful  (weather permitting), ranging deep into Cambodia. There’s a […] Read More

 Beyond  many  minor  sightseeings  and a wonderful  market, the capital of An Giang province  offers little to  detain  visitors . It’s a  pretty   prosperous  place , majoring in  agriculture ( particularly cashew nuts) and fish processing.Until 1956 the Hoa Hao had an army and located  a major military force  at this place. The town’s other claim to fame […] Read More

A newish town carved from the  jungles and swamps of the Mekong Delta region, Cao Lanh is big for business, but draws few tourists.SightsDong Thap Museum MUSEUM(226 Ð Nguyen Thai Hoc;  7-11.30am & 1.30-5pm)  The Dong Thap Museum is  among the Mekong’s best museums, in spite of  having no English captions. The ground floor  exhibits  an anthropological history of Dong […] Read More

Sights & ActivitiesXeo Quyt Forest NATURE RESERVESoutheast of Cao Lanh and  accessible by boat tour is the  beautiful  52-hectare Xeo Quyt Forest (also called Rung Tram) near My Hiep village. One  vast swamp beneath a wonderful  thick canopy of tall trees and vines, it’s one of the final  natural  forests left in the Mekong Delta.During the wet  season a […] Read More