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Overview

Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Vietnam with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables all commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.

The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are beef, pork, chicken, fish, and various kinds of seafood. The Vietnamese also have a strong vegetarian tradition influenced by Buddhist and Chinese values.

Few cities anywhere in Asia can wink seductively at a traveler as can Hanoi, with its worn but experienced French charm and a history that extends back to the rise of an ancient dragon.

Sapa’s history

Sapa came into existence as a hill station during the French occupation.
Previously a Black H’mong village, it was ‘discovered’ early in the twentieth century and developed as a resort for French military officers, civil servants and business people.

Ba Be - Vietnam's largest natural lake

Ba Be is Vietnam’s largest natural lake and is now the centerpiece of an extensive National Park.

The park and the surrounding area is limestone country, so lakes, waterfalls, caves and unusual rock formations abound. The whole area is richly forested and home to many ethnic minority communities.

Dien Bien Phu - The famous battlefield of Anti-French war

Dien Bien Phu is a comparatively new town established in the middle of the 19th century to help to rid the area of incursions by bandits from Siam, Laos and China.

Its remote location in the extreme northwest of Vietnam deterred both visitors and development, apart from becoming a French garrison during the colonial period.

Son La is the fifth largest province, which is located in the northwestern region of Vietnam. Eighty percent of the province’s natural area is covered with mountains.

There are various ethnic groups living in Son La, including the Ma, H’mong, Dao, Muong, Kinh, Khmer, Tay, Thai., etc.

Driving 139 km from Hanoi and 66 km from Hoa Binh province, the isolated Mai Chau is in a valley just over the biggest hump, about 10 km from the Song Da river and only 150 metres above the sea level.

From the top of Cun mountain, one can admire the superb panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and stilt houses. There are many minorities living in Mai Chau, including Thai ethnic group.

Huong pagoda - Most Famous Pagoda in Vietnam

Chua Huong (Perfume Pagoda), one of the most famous pagoda in Vietnam, is located in the Huong Son (Perfume mountain) which takes 70 km from Hanoi to the South.

Perfume pagoda is not one temple but a cluster of temples and shrines in the general vicinity of Perfume mountain.

Cuc Phuong - the first National Park of Vietnam

Cuc Phuong is the first National Park of Vietnam, which was declared in 1962 with 25,000 hectares.

The botanical richness of the forest supports a wide variety of flora species and patches of primeval forest, including ancient trees  with thick clusters of roots, parasitic plants and ligneous creepers.

Located 110km from Hanoi to the South in Ninh Binh province, Tam Coc cave may be one of the most spectacular sights in Vietnam.

Along the Hoang Long river, vast limestone cliffs rise out of the rice paddies make Tam Coc somehow similar to Halong Bay, thus Tam Coc is also called Halong Bay – on-land.