Showing posts with label Viet Nam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Viet Nam. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Ho Chi Minh City - Viet Nam

Ho Chi Minh City (Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh; About this sound listen), formerly named Saigon (Sài Gòn; About this sound listen) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.

Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam from 1955–75. South Vietnam, as an anti-communist republic, fought against the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, with aid from the United States of America and countries including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Saigon fell when it was captured by the communists on 30 April 1975, bringing an end to the War with its enemy's victory. Vietnam was then turned into a communist state with the South overtaken. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh (although the name Sài Gòn is still commonly used.)

The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The metropolitan area, which consists of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area, Thủ Dầu Một, Dĩ An, Biên Hòa and surrounding towns, is populated by more than 9,000,000 people, making it the most populous metropolitan area in Vietnam and the countries of the former French Indochina. The Greater Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area, a metropolitan area covering most parts of Đông Nam Bộ plus Tiền Giang and Long An provinces under planning will have an area of 30,000 square kilometers with a population of 20 million inhabitants by 2020. According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Economist Intelligence Unit and ECA International, Ho Chi Minh City is ranked 132 on the list of world's most expensive cities for expatriate employees.














Sunday, June 3, 2012

Viet Nam

While living in Vietnam I found there frequently wasn't much information or decent photos of places to visit off the beaten track available on the internet - it may be easy to find information on towns on the Sinh Cafe routes but beyond that places were often something of a mystery.

It also seemed that many of the guides I came across didn't express the sheer beauty of the country, with dry descriptions and little information beyond where to sleep. I want to try and correct that with this blog and travel guide - although it is still early days - and plan to cover plenty of the hidden locations that make Vietnam so special.

Still, I'm not a fountain of all knowlege by any means, and I would welcome anyone who is so inclined to send in their own stories, tips and advice to the website to help it grow into an authoritative guide on travel in Vietnam. Similarly if you have questions about your upcoming visit please make contact and I'll do my best to offer any tips I can think of.

In the meantime, start reading about the wonderful destinations we do cover!









Thursday, May 24, 2012

Hanoi - Vietnam

Hanoi (Hà Nội; About this sound listen), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts,[1] 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction.[2] From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.

The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at 1,760 km (1,090 mi) north of Ho Chi Minh City.

October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city.














Friday, May 11, 2012

Vung Tau - Vietnam

Welcome to the Vung Tau online presentation. On the following pages I will show you what this resort town 80 miles (125 km) from Saigon has to offer.

Although I do not consider this town of much interest to foreign visitors, there are some sites you may visit. Especially famous are its temples and pagodas.

Vung Tau used to be the beach destination for the rich and famous in Saigon. Its beautiful beaches and its proximity to the South capital of Vietnam sure helped. Nowadays you can reach Vung Tau from Saigon in an hour with a fast ferry. You can also get here by taxi and/or bus. The ride will take two and a half hours by road.

If you are going to stay in Saigon for a long time and want to escape of this hectic city for a couple of days, Vung Tau is a good destination. If you want to relax on the beach for more than a weekend, I recommend going somewhere else in Vietnam (Phu Quoc, Muine, Nha Trang, ...). Let's see what Vung Tau has to offer.
The main reason to visit Vung Tau are its beaches. There are four of them.

Front Beach (or Bai Truoc), West of the city center is not recommended for swimming.

Rear Beach (or Bai Sau), is where you have to go to find a place to stay. Hint: if you come here with the hydrofoil or with a bus from Saigon, tell the taxi driver to take you to "Rear Beach" -- not to the town Center, as I did and later regretted. Unless you are coming on a weekend you will easily find accommodation. Close to the beach you will find some places to eat, but for a better offer take a taxi and go to the town center.

Pineapple Beach (or Bai Dua) in the southeast coast is the smallest in Vung Tau, but probably the beach with the cleanest waters. From here you can also see spectacular sunsets.

Foreigners' Beach (or Bai Dau) lies northwest of the town. This rocky beach is popular among tourists because of its calm waters.
If you come to Vung Tau to do some tourism, here is a list of places to visit:

The Statue of Jesus, this huge hollow statue sits on top of Nui Nho mountain. From here you see a nice view of the ocean.

Thich Ca Phat Dai Pagoda. 12 miles (20 km) from the town center, it attracts pilgrims from all the country.

Niet Ban Tinh Xa Temple of Nirvana. the most beautiful pagoda in Vung Tau. It lies 2 miles (3 Km) from the city center, and was completed in 1974.

Beaches in Vung Tau used to be dirty, but many beach and water areas are clean now. Only Loc An, some miles to the northeast from the central Vung Tau beacheshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif, is dirty nowadays. If you do not fancy beaches, i recommend the public swimming pools on Rear Beach.

Well, this is the end of this virtual tour of Vung Tau. I hope you found the information useful.

If you are interested in visiting other destinations in Vietnam: Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Northeast, Hue, Hoi An, Muine, Nha Trang, Ninh Binh, Pagodas, Saigon, Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc.

I welcome you to write to me about your impressions of this tour. To contact me, visit my page.

by
virtourist.com










Vung Tau - Vietnam

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