Kit Humphrey in Travel
In Thổ Hà Village, Rice Paper Spills Onto the Streets and Wraps Around Daily Life
A few hours after sunrise in the small village of Thổ Hà, Bắc Giang Province, alleyways morph into picturesque tunnels of drying rice paper, while ladies toast crackers over fire in the streets.
Pete Walls in Travel
Watching the Sunset From Lai Châu's Fansipan, the Roof of Indochina
Conquering Mount Fansipan’s 3,147 meters was once a feat reserved for those willing to take on the potential multi-day hike from Sapa to the summit and back.
Family-Friendly Summer Vacations Made Easy at Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc Starbay
The ripening of sweet jackfruit, mangosteen and mangos; hammocks swinging gently in patches of cool shade; and evenings that stretch on with the comfort of knowing there is no alarm clock waiting the next morning: summer arrives as opportunity. When school holidays begin, families scramble to adjust schedules and secure care and activities, creating the potential to carve out some time for a vacation to savor fresh air, explore thrills, and simply bond as a family in a beautiful destination.
Pete Walls in Travel
For the Freshest Fish of the Day, Head to Hội An's Coast Before Sunrise
The alarm goes off at 3am. By 3:30am, scooters laden with empty crates and baskets are already moving through the dark lanes and sandy passages towards Hội An's coast. Long before the old town wakes, the beaches along the shore are coming alive with engines, head torches, waves, and fishermen preparing to return to land. Thankfully, coffee is readily available almost anywhere.
In Saigon's Bửu Long Pagoda, a Meditative Escape and Pan-Southeast Asian Architecture
It all started with a sparkle on the horizon, a beam of solar brilliance bouncing off a garish metallic surface.
A Special 'Doraemon' Episode Taking Place in Vietnam Will Be Released in May
After decades of watching Doraemon and his close friend groups adventure to all sorts of strange lands from the deepest trenches on Earth to fantastical planets, fans of the beloved cat robot in Vietnam will finally see our country in the cartoon series.
ACV Proposes Moving 90% of Saigon's Overseas Flights to Long Thành
The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has proposed plans to transfer flight operations in Hồ Chí Minh City from Tân Sơ...
Insights, Polished History Lessons Await in Hanoi's Massive, Brutalist Military Museum
When I pitched a review of Hanoi’s massive new Vietnam Military History Museum to the Saigoneer editorial staff, I expected to find the museum somewhat boring. After all, although I am a historian, I am not really that interested in military stuff, and I’d been to the original location on Điện Biên Phủ Street several times — how could this new museum improve on the old one? What could this new museum say that the old one didn’t? What could I learn here that I haven’t already learned at Saigon’s War Remnants Museum and Hồ Chí Minh Campaign Museum, at Điện Biên Phủ’s war museum, at Hải Phòng’s naval museum, and at the countless other shrines to Vietnamese martial prowess across the country? Quite a lot, it turns out.
Experience: I Was a Tour Guide in North Korea During the Era of Otto Warmbier
In 2017, I worked as a tour guide and social media manager for the same North Korean tour company that brought Otto Warmbier to visit the nation. The period climaxed, tragically, in his death. Back th...
Michael Tatarski in Travel
[Photos] Tokyo's Historic Tsukiji Fish Market After the Morning Rush
Tsukiji Fish Market has been one of Tokyo's most well-known destinations for centuries, famous for its early-morning tuna auctions and frenetic wholesale seafood stalls. Yesterday, however, its inner ...
Ha Long Bay Will Open New Harbor to Welcome Luxury Cruise Ships This Month
Hon Gai International Harbour will allow the world's largest cruise ships to dock in the UNESCO heritage site.
[Photos] Grandma, Barber, Farmer, Friend: Portraits of Everyday Life in Central Vietnam
After Ninh Binh, a beautiful area crossed by spectacular rivers and crowned by mountains, I followed the Ho Chi Minh Road as far as Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Photo opportunities there were hard...
Vietnam Starts Ranking Tour Guides to Improve Tourism Quality
In hopes of inspiring tour guides to improve their performance, Vietnam's tourism officials will launch a trial program that grades guides on capability, knowledge and skills.
[Video] Breathing Vietnam: A Visual Diary
When it comes to travel videos about Vietnam, at this point it might seem that we’ve seen everything, from breathtaking drone footage to extreme close-ups of the country’s street food bounty.
[Photos] Portraits From the Jagged Borderlands of Northern Vietnam
The night after I bought my motorbike, I dreamt of aspiring mountains and plunging valleys. At dawn, I stuffed everything I had onto the racks above the bike’s rear wheel and started heading north, le...
[Photos] The Young Man and The Sea: Fishing at Dawn by the Cham Islands
There I was again, squeaky wooden floorboards under my feet, dodging coils of soaked, salty ropes and boxes upon boxes of freshly caught fish. I wasn't going to leave Hoi An until I could join a fishi...
Hong Kong Airline Cathay Paciic Misspells Its Own Name on Airplane
Whoopsies!
VNA to Launch Direct Flights From Da Nang to Osaka Next Month
Beginning on October 26, the route will link Vietnam's fourth largest city with the major Japanese metropolis.
[Video] A Medley of Cathartic Vietnam Moments in 'A Taste of Vietnam'
This video starts with the open sea and a lonely boat; then it quickly segues into throngs of motorbikes chasing after one another on local streets. In the background, ominous, almost sinister music d...
Michael Tatarski in Travel
Urbanist Travel Getaways: Vietnam’s Subterranean Wonders
The dense, untouched forests of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh Province hide some of the world’s greatest underground geological formations. Beneath the park’s stunning limestone mounta...
Seoul's Museum Kimchikan Takes Visitors Deep Into the World of Kimchi
In 1988, in the same year Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics, even though it had nothing to do with sports, kimchi shone on the international stage for the first time.
Da Nang Voted Best Airport in Vietnam, Followed by Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat
Da Nang International Airport has been crowned the best airport in Vietnam.
Kit Humphrey in Travel
[Photos] An Urbexer’s Paradise: Inside the Rides of Hanoi’s Abandoned Water Park
Almost everyone has, by now, heard of Hue’s apocalyptic abandoned waterpark – a place so eerie it feels like entering a Jurassic World sequel. Who knew there was another park right here in Hanoi?
How a 16th Century Love Story Inspired Hotel Royal Hoi An’s Design
The sturdy wood homes with Japanese support joists, Chinese tiled roofs, French louvered shutters and bright yellow walls that line Hoi An’s lantern-lit stone streets, canals and bridges are relics fr...
Brian Letwin in Travel
[Photos] Urbanist Travel Getaways: Cat Tien National Park
Three hours northeast of Saigon sits a patch of verdant forest among a landscape of neverending rice paddies. Cat Tien National Park is the closest you can get to hike-able, pristine nature from the m...
44 New Caves Discovered Near Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
On August 6, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park authorities announced the discovery of 44 new caves, bringing the total number of known caves in the area to 405.
[Video] Sauntering Down Hoi An's Color-Doused, Sun-Soaked Hẻms
Hoi An is something of a paradox. Frequently, people seem to decry its changes from a small, halcyon town into a major tourist destination. But bemoaning its current influx of foreign visitors not onl...
Anatomy of a Teen Magnet: Da Nang's Golden Bridge and the Giant Hands
In the midst of the forest high above Ba Na Hills outside of Da Nang, the Golden Bridge has grabbed visitors’ attention thanks to its striking appearance.
