Beautiful Sapa, everything I expected. Chilly, foggy and green mountains as far as the eye could see... most days. I spent one night at a home stay in the village of BlAH, a black homong tribe. Only the mother could speak English, but her four kids and husband were just lovely. It was an early night, as it always is in most villages, after a little rice wine, falling asleep was no problem. There was a lot of walking to Cat Cat village, a little garbage picking an...

Ha Long bay ( descending dragon bay), a UNESCO heritage sight, a must see in Vietnam. Trying to avoid the overpriced touristic boats... good old google gave me a perfect option. I bypassed the overcrowded charter boat town of Ha Long city and went south to Cat Ba island, a popular destination for multi day tour groups. I stayed with two friends in a waterfront view hotel for three nights and booked are tour directly from the island ( smaller groups cheaper and su...

Hanoi, the capital city and street food capital of Vietnam. I was in and out four times before taking my flight to Bangkok, as it was central to all the places I wanted to visit in the North. The town is modern and an absolute traffic disaster. You feel like you are playing -frogger- with your body every time you need to cross the street. I was staying in the beautiful old quarter near two lakes so I did not have to venture too far too often. I spent most of my e...

Hue, the first capitol city, was an unexpected surprise. A great river front promenade, beautiful parks and the main attraction, the Imperial city. The forbidden imperial city was impressive, even if it was basically all rebuilt because it was destroyed during the war. It's enclosed by a moat and ten ornate gates ( cover pic) and so big you could spend the day wandering the old royal palace and houses, learning about the heritage, walking in the massive courtyard...

Hue, the first capitol city, was an unexpected surprise. A great river front promenade, beautiful parks and the main attraction, the Imperial city. The forbidden imperial city was impressive, even if it was basically all rebuilt because it was destroyed during the war. It's enclosed by a moat and ten ornate gates ( cover pic) and so big you could spend the day wandering the old royal palace and houses, learning about the heritage, walking in the massive courtyard...