Vietnam Places and Sights
Hoi An
Hoi An is situated on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast region, in the Quảng Nam Province. Hoi An means "peaceful meeting place". In the past the town was known as Faifo in English and other European languages. This word is resultant from Vietnamese Hoi An pho (the town of Hoi An), which was edited to "Hoi-pho", and then to "Faifo". Hoi An is distinguished as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Hoi An Ancient Town is an remarkably well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port that dates from the 15th to the 19th century. The influences can be reflected in the buildings and the street planned here. Both original and foreign have been blended perfectly to create this distinctive heritage site. Hoi An is home to many pagodas, temples and also the ancient homes that has unique mark.
Ho Chi Minh
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City is situated in the southeastern province of Vietnam at an average altitude of 19 meters (62 ft) above sea level. It is the largest city in Vietnam and also used to be the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later on the independent republic of South Vietnam (1955–75). In the past, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province on 2 July 1976 and was renamed formally Ho Chi Minh City although the name Sài Gòn is still informally used extensively. Ho Chi Minh City also is the seat of Cao Dai, a markedly Vietnamese religion mixing factors of Roman Catholicism, Taoism and Buddhism. Its main cathedral is located in the city’s periphery. This is the most energetic city and if you are visiting the city for the first time, you will come across the blend of extreme traffic, markets that are full of life, continuous pagodas and lots of smiling faces of the locals.
Halong Bay
Halong Bay is situated in the Gulf of Tonkin and Quang Ninh province. The island covers an area of 1553km2 and 120km coastline; covering over 3000 islands with water body. HaLong means "descending dragon bay" but this name is not found written in any of the old books of the country prior to the nineteenth century did the name of Ha Long Bay appear on a French Marine Map and in the old historical books, it was often referred by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don. The legend claims the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon from the mountains. Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who practice the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Many of the islands have obtained their names as a consequence of justification of their atypical shapes.
Mekong Delta
Phu Quoc Island lies in the Gulf of 45km west of Ha Tien and 15km south of the coast of Cambodia. The most popular way to reach the island through Vietnam or Cambodia is by boat. Phu Quoc is claimed by Cambodia who call it Koh Tral and this clarifies why the Vietnamese have built an extensive military base cover much of the northern end of the island. It was only granted to Vietnam by the French in 1949, as part of the formal invasion of the Mekong Delta. Phu Quoc Island is shaped like a water drop and is Vietnam’s largest island and it is around the same size as Singapore. The greater part of Phu Quoc Island is dedicated to National Park and protected marine environment, offering a memorable experience, with abundance of activities and places to visit that occupies the visitors. The beach has soft sand, thriving tropical forest and mountain zones. There are many activities that you can indulge in this place like: swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, sunbathing or just relax and s you can also just travel around villages to observe the local life and many famous fish sauce factories located around this island. Phu Quoc is well-known for Black pepper and fish sauce which they produced profusely and are exported all over the world. But by tradition, the islanders here have earned their living mainly from the sea by producing first class fish sauce and also seafood. Another thing that the island is recognized for its hunting dogs, which have ridgebacks, curly tails and blue tongues. The islanders here are amazingly pleasant and welcoming. Even though this beach has been recently turned into new attraction, it has become very popular attracting many people. The island is perfect destination for travelers and also people from Ho Chi Minh City come over in this beach for weekends. The best time to visit Phu Quoc would be from November to March which is also a peak season. Phu Quoc Island certainly has the charms that make it a true gem of Southeast Asia and worth the visit.
Hanoi
Hanoi is situated in the Red River Delta, in the center of North Vietnam. Hanoi means "the hinterland between the rivers" where Ha means river and Noi means interior). Hanoi was known as Thang Long previously and has been considered a sacred and typical part of Vietnam. Hanoi comprises of three fundamental types of topography: the delta area, the midland area and mountainous zone. In general, the topography is progressively lower from the north to the south and from the west to the east, with the standard altitude varying from 5 to 20 meters above the sea level. The hills and mountainous zones are situated in the northern and western part of the city. The highest peak is at Ba Vi with 1281 m, located in the western part of the region. In 1010 AD, Hanoi, the “City within the River’s Bend,” was founded by Emperor Ly Thai To, near Co Loa, the primeval capital of the first Viet state that dates back to the 3rd century BC. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and also the country's second largest city.
Mui Ne
Mui Ne is situated at the southern end of Vietnam’s eastern coastline. Mui Ne is a coastal resort town close to the city of Phan Thiet. When many visited Mui Ne to view the solar eclipse of October 24, 1995, tourism has changed the place into a resort destination. It is a beautiful destination for those looking for a beach holiday and also the people from Saigon visit here to take break in a weekend as without any doubt, Mui Ne is the angel on the shoulder of Saigon. The name ‘Mui Ne’ has many derivations. The first meaning comes from the fishing people in who in the past usually faced sea storms, so they used to hide in a cape called ‘Mui’ in Vietnamese, and ‘hide’ meant ‘Ne’. So the name translates to “Shelter Cape,”. Another one originated as the name of the youngest daughter of Cham King who was known as the owner of this land.
Phan Thiet
Phan Thiet is situated in Southeastern Vietnam and it is the capital and also the largest town of Bình Thuan province. It was founded in 1898 as Phan Thiet town, by Thanh Thai. There have been many theories about the origin of the name Phan Thiet and most of which have the same opinion that, "Phan Thiet" is not a pure Vietnamese name: In the 17th century, Before the Vietnamese invasion of the area, the Cham people called this land "Hamu Lithit" where "Hamu" means hamlet in the field, "Lithit" means near the sea. A new name in Vietnamese was gradually developed with the arrival of the Vietnamese settlers. Since the Vietnamese had changed the Cham city of Panduraga already into Phan Rang and another settlement into Phan Ri, they attached the prefix "Phan" into the shortening of "Lithit" to make the name Phan Thiet.
Sapa
Sapa is situated in Lào Cai Province, north-west Vietnam, and 380 km north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China at the attitude of about 1,600m. Because of its altitude the type of weather in Sapa is temperate and with abundant fog. Winters are freezing and even snow. In 1922 it was established as a hill station by the French. It is one of the chief market towns in the area and also ideal inhabitation for numerous racial minority groups such as Hmong, Dao (Yao), Giay, Pho Lu, and Tay exist. This place is eminent for its magnificent landscapes and just an ideal place for the lovers of hiking, climbing, cycling, trekking and nature and can enjoy Sapa totally. Although the hilly area of Sapa or Pa Sa in Vietnamese, is an isolated region, it is renowned for its rice terraces, awe-inspiring mountain scenery, its natural diversity, Iguazu Thac Bac (Thác Bạc or silver waterfall), The Bridge May (cầu May)- historic bridge, Heavenly gate (Cổng Chuyện), Lake City, The Hoang Lien National Park etc and every Saturday there's also a main market when the place is crowded but there's a lower key one every other day during the week.
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is situated on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is a seaside town and also the capital city of Khánh Hoa Province. According to some researchers, the name Nha Trang is originated from a false Vietnamese spelling of a geographical name in the Cham language of the site Ya Trang which exactly means Reed River, the name of the a River as referred to by the Cham people. From the name of this river, the name was adopted to call what is now Nha Trang, which in 1653 was formally made Vietnam's territory. Historically, the city was also known as Kauthara under the Champa. The city is still home to the famous Po Nagar Tower built by the Champa. Until the French migration, Nha Trang used to be merely small fishing villages.
Con Dao Island
Con Dao Island is situated off the southern coast of Vietnam. Con Dao islands are a group of sixteen islands and the largest island is known as Con Son. Con Dao is also a part of a maritime and national park. The islands are composed of magmatic rocks of various ages. Hon Bay Canh, Hon Cau, Hon Bong Lang composed of Cretaceous microgranit rocks. The Northern part of Con Dao Island composed of quartz diorite and granite - granodiorit of late Mesozoic- early Cenozoic age, and is partially covered by Quaternary marine sediments. The Southern part of this island and Hon Ba Island are composed of the riolit and invasive formations of unidentified age.