“If you build it, they will come.” Wasn’t that supposed to be the lesson, Mr. Costner? But sometimes when you build it, they don’t come… and Hanoi has had to learn that the hard way. We visited the Lideco real estate project on the western outskirts of the city, to see the ruined remains of one of Hanoi’s biggest dreams.
Hanoi has been conquered, occupied, liberated and renamed more times than any other city we've visited. In fact, upheaval seems to be the only constant in Hà Nội... or is…
Built in 1070, the Temple of Literature was Vietnam’s first university, where the country’s brightest scholars aspired to the role of mandarin, or court official. The temple is dedicated to Confucius, and is one of Hanoi’s most historic sights.
We named this iteration of our travel project “Hanoi For 91 Days” more for aesthetics than for accuracy; “Central and Northern Vietnam For 91 Days” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. But the truth is, we didn’t even reach Hanoi until Day #31. After a month on the road, from Hoi An to Ninh Binh, we were ready to settle into the rhythm of a city, and get back to life as normal. It didn’t take long for us to realize, though, that life in Hanoi could never be considered “normal”.
We spent four nights in the Phong Nha National Park, which is home to more than 300 caves including, incredibly, two of the world’s three largest. On our first full day in the park, we embarked on a long hike through the forest to visit two of the regular-sized caves, one of which we’d be swimming through.
Imperial tombs are not the only thing to see in the hilly, forested landscape to the west of Hue. An abandoned water park provides a totally different experience... although I…
Hue’s golden days as Vietnam’s capital are firmly interred in the past. So it’s appropriate that some of the city’s most noteworthy sights are tombs. We’d be visiting four imperial tombs during our stay in the city, starting with two of the most impressive: the royal mausoleums of Minh Mạng and Khải Định.
By Category | Alphabetical | Food Temples The Temple of Literature St. Joseph's Cathedral The Temples of Trấn Quốc & Quán Thánh Bạch Mã: The White Horse Temple Museums The…
