VIETNAM

Hanoi

Street life Hanoi

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Locals playing badminton in a public park

The beautifully located Temple Of The Jade Mountain

Most popular way of transport in Hanoi & Vietnam in general

The famous Hanoi railway tracks. Trains are narrowly passing in between the houses.

Hanging with local school kids in Hanoi :D

One of many street vendors

Sapa

Ricefields in Sapa Region

Sapa hiking – Vietnam

The beautiful, green and lush rice terraces can be seen everywhere

Rainy day in the (not so pretty) town of Sapa

A bit nicer though when the sun’s out

Cat Ba – Ha Long Bay

View onto Lan Ha Bay

Small beach, big hotel. This looks horrible. At least the view from the rooms will be amazing…

Cat Ba Harbor

Sundown @ Cat Ba Town

Roads of Cat Ba

Favorite spot on the whole island

View over Cat Ba Island

Relaxing…

Vietnam is a large, diverse and very interesting country which could keep you busy for months. Whether you’re a culture aficionado, a nature lover, adventurer or a foodie, Vietnam would be a great destination.

What to see in Vietnam?

It’s hard to beat Vietnam in terms of landscape diversity: tropical paradise island of Phu Quoc and Mekong delta in the south, forest-clad Central Highlands, huge cave systems of Phong Nha in centre-north, spectacular karst rock formations in the sea (Ha Long Bay) and land (Tam Coc/ Trang An) in the north and dramatic mountain landscape with verdant green rice terraces of far north (Sa Pa, Ha Giang) are only some of the choices you would have.

Adding to that cultural influences…

Ha Giang is the mountainous region in the north of Vietnam and also the name of that region’s capital. The stunning karst landscapes, iconic rice terraces and a very ethnically diverse make-up all make it well worth a longer visit. Despite its undeniable beauty, Ha Giang remains relatively unknown among foreign visitors (especially if compared with Sa Pa in the north-west). Apart from the landscapes, the main attraction of the regions are weekly markets – check the dates to be sure you don’t miss one.

Ha Giang versus Sa Pa

We didn’t have enough time to go both to Ha Giang and Sa Pa so we followed the advice of our Vietnamese Couch Surfer hosts who encouraged us to skip Sa Pa in favour of Ha Giang.

Sa Pa is a top-tourist destination in Vietnam. It means, as usual, that you can experience hoards of tourists, the food and…