Vietnam 2017 – Halong Bay and the Red River

Our winter season expedition to Halong Bay and the Red River in North Vietnam took us to some fascinating places.

We visited local craftspeople such as bonsai growers, blacksmiths, carpenters and potters.

From the deck of the boat we passed by industrial areas and rural backwaters.

At a bird sanctuary we watched vast numbers of stprks and egrets.

A Buddhist religious festival, a water puppet show, a lion dance and Vietnamese cultural performances – we enjoyed them all.

Never mind the wet and misty weather.

Vietnam 2017 – The Unicorn and Lion Dance

In Bat Trang, North Vietnam we were treated to an awesome display of drumming and dancing.

The athletic skills of these dancers are amazing.

Vietnam 2014 – Motorbike tour of Ho Chi Minh City

Motorbike traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is terrifying at first sight, but the female drivers of XO Tours are experts.

We took their night tour of Saigon with the option of having a video filmed as we travelled.

We went through the city and also far out into the suburbs, stopping for a meal in a typical cafe.

Loved it!

Vietnam 2014 – The Mekong Unexplored – Vietnam

On this, our second Pandaw cruise along the Mekong River, we started in the harbour of HCMC (Saigon) and cruised through the delta of the Mekong River before reaching Cai Be with its floating market and Sa Dec, a pleasant colonial town.

We next cruised to Chau Doc for a visit to a fish farm and finally to the Cambodian border.

Vietnam 2014 – A brief look at Hanoi

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam although it isn’t the largest city. That is Ho Chi Minh City, sometimes still called Saigon, formerly the capital of South Vietnam.

It has well-preserved French colonial buildings as well as ancient pagodas and interesting museums, lakes and parks.

Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum was closed when we were there (on a Friday) and Ba Dinh Square in front of the mausoleum was empty. Normally the square is crowded with local Vietnamese queuing to view the embalmed body.

Vietnam 2014 – A two day trip to Halong Bay

Halong Bay, with its strange karst islands and caves, is North Vietnam’s number one tourist attraction.

Many visitors choose to take a two day, one night tour on a junk-style cruise boat.

Stops include Sung Sot Cave, Ti Top island, Ba Hang fishing village and the chance to kayak among the karst outcrops.

Vietnam 2011 – The Mekong River

Our first visit to the Mekong River in 2011 began at the river port of My Tho.

We cruised to Cai Be floating market, visited a brick factory and rice mill, and spent some time in Sa Dec then headed to Sam Mountain and the Tay An Pagoda.

A typhoon had recently hit Vietnam and the river had broken its banks in many places.

Vietnam 2011 – Saigon

We saw museums, markets, temples, the cathedral and the post office and other famous landmarks.

We also took a cooking class and were amazed, or rather alarmed, at the motorbike traffic.

Vietnam 2014 – The Mekong Unexplored (Vietnam and Cambodia)

(This video is also listed in Cambodia videos)

In 2014 we took a ten day cruise along the Mekong River.

Some parts of this we had seen before but other sections were new.

We started from Saigon harbour and cruised the Mekong Delta, visiting Cai Be, Sa Dec and Chau Doc before crossing the border into Cambodia.

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