The town of Hoi An in Vietnam is known for three things: its beaches, its festivals, and its shopping opportunities. The beaches, to be honest, are very nice but they’re not necessarily as popular as they might be in a full-fledged resort town.

Image credit: jmhullot

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Posted in Vietnam |

Hue, Vietnam was once the capital of Nguyen emperors and was modeled after Beijing’s own Forbidden City. Cut across by the Perfume River, the old within a citadel lies on one side while the more modern habitats and establishments are built on the other. Hue today is more of a university town due to the concentrated number of students lurking in the streets. The city itself is very friendly to tourists, with a lot of historical sites and natural wonders to explore, and many of which are accessible by foot or by motorbike.

Here are some things you can do in Hue:

Climb up the Ho Quyen Tiger Fighting Arena - A relic of old-school animal cruelty, this arena once pitted tigers against elephants for the pleasure of the emperor and his more blood-thirsty subjects. Ho Quyen is built along the southern bank of the Perfume River, and consists of two circular walls, with a flight of stairs heading its way to the top. The arena is remarkably intact; even the tiger cages still have claw marks. The fights themselves, which have since been discontinued in the early 20th century, were fixed: the tigers were drugged and always lost to the elephants. As tigers symbolized rebellion and elephants represented the monarchy, it’s no surprise the emperor wanted a demonstration of his unshakeable supremacy along with fur-flying entertainment.

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Posted in Things to do, Vietnam |

They say that when you are in Rome you should do as the Romans do. This advice really applies just about anywhere you go, including Vietnam. Taking a few hours to learn about the history and culture of a country before you visit will only ensure your trip is as safe and enjoyable as possible.

General Vietnam Do’s and Don’ts

Image credit: Lucas Jans

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Posted in Vietnam |

Saigon is the name some locals and tourists prefer to call Ho Chi Minh City, but whatever you call it, this world-famous city has made an  impact in modern history and culture. Located by the banks of the Saigon River, this former capital of Vietnam is the largest city in the country, as well as its financial center. This makes HCMC the most westernized city, and skyscrapers and modern amenities mix in with Indochinese sensibilities and French Colonial heritage sites to create a very unique experience.

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Posted in Things to do, Vietnam |

Most people associate the word Tet with the military offensive of the communist North Vietnamese against US and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War in the 1960’s. Tet, in fact, is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, and is short for Tet Nguyen Dan, and is held between late January and early February. Also known as the Spring Festival, is the most important of the Vietnamese holidays, which the Vietnamese celebrate like it was Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and New Year all rolled in one event. Indeed, as the time between harvest and sowing, it is one of the few rest periods that many families can enjoy, and so they take every advantage to rejoice with relatives and friends.

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Posted in Events, Vietnam |

A trip through Vietnam promises culture and adventure, but a stop in Da Lat will bring surprises like you never imagined. If you should be lucky enough to venture to Da Lat, make sure you make a reservation in Hang Nga’s Tree House, one of the most unique hotels in the area, if not the world.

The Building of The Crazy House

Hang Nga’s Tree House is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam. Because of her status at the time it was built, the government allowed the owner to build her hotel with very few restrictions. In short, she had free reign in what is a traditionally communist country with strict rules and regulations. The local government essentially turned its back while Hang Nga built her hotel, which turned into more of a novelty tree house than an actual hotel.

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Posted in Vietnam |

For a Christian holiday, Christmas gets surprising attention in a continent dominated by Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. For some countries, it is an after-effect of centuries of Western colonialism and Christian missionary work. For others, the commercial aspects of gift-giving and festivities encourage department stores and markets to dress up for the holidays. Still others see it as a romantic season, a time for couples and lovers to share intimate moments together.

Whatever the reason, Christmas is still celebrated the world over, and nowhere is this fact more proven than in the following major Asian cities.

Tokyo, Japan - less than 1% of Japan’s population are Christians, and December 25 is not a national holiday here. Christmas is seen more as a commercial season, a time for romance between couples and for corporations to deck their offices in lights. December is also a time for oseibo (end-of-the-year gift exchanges between companies) and boukenkai (”forget the year”) parties, and Christmas-themed parties tend to get mixed in with the celebrations.

Seoul, South Korea – South Korea recognizes Christmas as a public holiday, with 30% of the population being Christians. Even non-Christian Koreans engage in gift-giving, card-sending, and plastic tree-decorating at this time of year, and engaging lights beautify the City Hall area for people to enjoy. What’s surprising is the locals treat the season to be a romantic affair, much like Valentine’s Day.

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Posted in Asia, Events, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam |

Nothing comes close to an affordable, exotic, and authentic Asian experience as sampling the region’s street food. Whether they are baked, grilled, fried, or steamed, these commoner’s culinary creations may be remade into expensive and pretentious entrees at elite restaurants, but we all know the best-tasting of these simple dishes come from the humble street hawkers of appreciative Asian cities.

Here are a few samples of Asian street food for you to savor.

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Posted in Asia, China, Food, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |

Thrill-seeking travelers would find no shortage of haunted places to visit around Asia. After all, a whole sub-genre of movies called Asian Horror wouldn’t be so popular if cultures across the continent didn’t have their own ghostly legends.

Here are nine places in Asia that are said to be haunted.

Old Changi Hospital – once a military hospital in Singapore before being closed down some years ago, this hospital is the most haunted spot in Asia’s most ghost-ridden city. The morgue is a particular hot spot for ghost sightings of the headless and feetless kind. Recently, plans have been drawn out to convert the area into a spa resort. Will it still maintain its most haunted status by then?

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Posted in Asia, Attractions, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam |

Truth be told, by the time you read about Asia’s best beaches in this blog, a lot of people have already found out about it and are undesirably clogging up the resorts. The trick to finding a relatively pristine spot of coastline is to cozy up to one of the locals and ask them where the best beaches are in their locale. And more often than not, these beach experts can be found hanging out in these more popular places, taking a break from all that perfect seclusion.

Here are more of the best beaches in Asia.

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Posted in Asia, Beaches, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam |