Son Tay Ancient Citadel

If you have the opportunity to visit Hanoi the famous historical site in the suburb of Hanoi – Son Tay ancient Citadel.

Located in Son Tay town, more than 40 kilometers from the center of Hanoi, Son Tay citadel is an ancient and unique military architecture in Vietnam, which was built in 1822 under the reign of King Minh Mang.

Nowadays, the most famous and beautiful citadel in the North attracts numerous of tourists both in Vietnam the citadel is surrounded by a lot of old green trees
Most likely, when visiting Son Tay ancient citadel, the first impression of tourists is the image of ancient trees of hundreds of years. The rough roots get stretched and embrace the moss walls of the ruined ancient gate, which creates the ancient beauty of the citadel. Moreover, there is a moat surrounding the citadel as an addition for its tranquil beauty.

The rough roots of ancient trees of hundreds of years old embrace the moss walls of the ruined ancient gate.
Come back to the past, the citadel was solidly built for protecting the western gateway of Thang Long City (Hanoi now). Its walls, about 4.5 m high, were built of laterite – the typical building material of Son Tay. It currently remains three gates in the South, the North, and the West. All are made of old bricks. Especially, the citadel is surrounded by a moat over 25 meters wide, 4 meters deep and 1,792 meters long, connecting to the Tich River.

Another gate of the citadel.

The walls were built of laterite in Son Tay citadel.

A little romantic in the ancient citadel in autumn.
Today, some works inside the citadels are still preserved such as a flag tower of 18 meters high, Kinh Thien palace, and two lotus ponds in front of Kinh Thien Palace.

The works inside the citadel
The peaceful and ancient scenery of Son Tay Citadel has made it an ideal destination for young couples to take nice wedding photos.

The couple is happy in the wedding photo in Son Tay citadel.
Moreover, due to a lot of green and old trees covering the citadel, it is also an interesting place for walking and relaxing after a long day of hard work.
read more: old quarter Hanoi

The citadel is also an ideal place for walking.
Son Tay Citadel has belonged to the National Heritage of Vietnam since 1994. Along with Co Loa ancient citadel, Hanoi citadel, and Hue Imperial palace, Son Tay Citadel is one of the great symbols of Vietnam’s cultural heritage.

Parks in Hanoi

The sweltering heat in Vietnam If you and your family are staying in the capital city, it’s good to know some cool places to let your children out in the sun and play.

Kinder Park

If you stay in Old Quarter in a rainy day and you think your kids still deserver a interesting, playful day, grab a taxi to Kinder Park for $4-5, one-way. This huge indoor play area is attached to Ho Tay water park.

The site offers games such as rock climbing, role playing in which kids pretend to be doctors and firemen. The pricey entrance fee of 120,000 dong per hour is well worth the hours of entertainment.

Address: 614, Lạc Long Quân Street, Hanoi

Little tip: avoid any play area in the weekends at all cost.

Nghia Do Park

The park deserves the title “Best park for kids in Hanoi”. Taking a stroll in the park every dry and sunny days, you unfailingly find dozens of children cheerfully playing and monopolizing the zipline and other playing equipments in the precinct of the playground.

old quarter Hanoi

The site is also the ideal place for joggers want to enjoy the fresh air in early mornings and late afternoon around the calm lake. The entrance free is as low as 2,000 vnd, plus you can bring along cheap eats bought from the outside right at the gate.

Address: The park faces the Museum of Ethnology on Nguyễn Văn Huyên Street, Hanoi.

Reunification Park

Kids have loads of things to do here like train riding around the park, trying carnival ride, swan boats and running on trails. The park covers a huge area with its lake taking one hour to finish a round of walking.

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Address: located at the intersection of three roads: Trần Nhân Tông, Lê Duẩn, Hai Bà Trưng.

Hai Van Pass among the world’s top 10 greatest scenic drives

The very famous UK magazine of The Guardian has listed Vietnam’s Hai Van Pass  in Vietnam (Sea Cloud Pass) in their top 10 greatest scenic drives all around the world.

Having the ninth place in the list, Hai Van Pass is a 13-mile road running alongside Truong Son (or Annameses) mountain range on the edge of South China Sea. Standing 500 meters above sea level, “the Sea Cloud Pass” is not only the longest but also the highest and most beautiful mountain pass road in Vietnam. Since 2008, the pass has become well-known worldwide thanks to its appearance on a very popular BBC’s motoring show of Top Gear. Jeremy Clarkson – the former host of the show supposed that the pass road is somewhat like “a deserted ribbon of perfection”, which makes it among the best coast roads in the world.

mausoleum ho chi minh

According to the suggestions of The Guardian, travelers can hire cars or motorbikes to ride through the “see cloud pass” as a very interesting part of a one-day loop. Then, at the top of about 496 meters, you are rewarded with amazingly stunning views.

Here is the complete list of “Top 10 Great Scenic Drives around the World” complied by The Guardian:

Carretera de Sa Calobra – Mallorca
Irohazaka Roads – Japan
The Old Strynefjell Mountain Road – Norway
Grimsel Pass – Switzerland
Serra do Rio do Rastro Road – Brazil
Rim Rock Drive, Colorado – US
The Loneliest Road, Nevada – US
Skeleton coast – Namibia
Hai Van Pass – Vietnam
Road to the Isles – Scotland

read more : old quarter Hanoi

Salt flat in Vietnam

It’s not too much to say best time to travel to Vietnam has an endless beauty. If you used to admire the scenes of yellow rice fields or deep blue seas, you would be inspired with the specialty of coastal regions in Vietnam. The landscape of Vietnamese salt flats is such a wonder.

From December this year to May next year, most fishing villages in Vietnam are busy of making salt for extra income. Along the coastline from the North to the South, you can see numerous salt flats in many places of Vietnam.

It is Phuong Cuu salt field with incredible beauty in Ninh Thuan.
It is Sa Huynh salt flat in Quang Ngai – the place of many ancient culture traces.

click things to do in ho chi minh read more! 
Each salt flat is an insert of beautiful Vietnamese picture. Maybe only people who used to come to these flats can feel their rustic, artless but attractive beauty completely.
From these pictures, you might feel the tough life of salt farmers in Vietnam. A day of them starts from very early morning.
Many parties of farmer with conical hats and rakes head to the seashore.  When the sun comes down, they go back to the gathering place with heavy burdens of salt on their shoulders.

If you have never witnessed the progress of making sea salt, you could not understand how strenuous it is.
They have to work tirelessly under blazing sun through hottest months of the year.
Looking at them, I can truly feel their intense vitality and rising spirit.
Thanks to Vietnamese salt farmers, the sea salt is created and becomes an indispensable thing of human life. If you have a chance to come to Vietnam, take time to enjoy the beauty of these salt flats.

visitor travel sapa

Ham Rong Mountain

The mountain flanks one side of Sapa town. Spend half of a day and you can fully appreciate Ham Rong mountain exhaustively. Once reaching the top of the mountain, you will catch the view of breath-taking scenery offered by Sapa town looking down from the air.

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Stone Church of Sapa

It is also known as the Holy Rosary church, which is located at the heart of the town. The French colonists built the church in the early 20th century. Nowadays, the church still remains its delicate beauty through time. You can enjoy music performances are weekly held at the stadium near the stone house on Saturday.

Cat Cat Mountain village

Passing Sapa old market and sticking to the route heading Fansipan, you will reach Cat Cat after walking about 2.5km. The village has somehow become tourist-oriented but still it’s worth a visit. One specialty of the village is buckwheat flower field. Visitors can binge on photographing that beautiful, vast flower fields. Another attraction is the iron bridge laying above Muong Hoa stream, from which you can contemplate a fall pouring down water impetuously.  Adjacent to the fall, there are some humble shacks where you can stop by and grab a bite to eat: grilled corn, eggs, barbequed meat and drink docynia wine.

Ta Phin mountain village

Coming to Ta Phin, you can have relaxing bath with herbs. The village is the residential area of Dao Do ethnic group. The road up to the village is suitable for anyone who likes a little adventure on their motorbike.

mausoleum ho chi minh

Ancient monastery

The site was erected in Octorber, 1942 and resided by Christian nuns until 1945. From that year, the monastery was abandoned and soon reclaimed by nature. The French-style structure blending in the green of various trees and bushes attracts a fair share of visitors to Sapa.

Lao Chao – Ta Van mountain village

The village is located 7km far from Sapa. You can find limitless terraced paddy fields spreading over Muong Hoa vally, which possesses the largest granary of the two village. The local delicatessens are five-colored sticky rice served with barbeque meat. They taste heavenly.

Wooden bridge on the way to ancient stonefield

Visitor hiring ethnic costumes and posing for photos
Silver fall
things to do in ho chi minh 

The fall is situated 12km far from Sapa. Other mind-blowing sceneries can be contemplated along the way to the site.

Love Fall

O Quy Ho bypass – Cong Troi (Heaven Gate)

Have you been to Sapa? What is the most fantastic experience you’ve been through in the poetic town? Share it with us in the comments.

when visit sapa all things you know

Sapa is a popular destination in Vietnam. If you are sketching a plan to visit the artful land, maybe this article is of much help.

Schedule3 days 4 nights or 2 days 3 nights. That’s quite enough for you to get to visit major attractions in Sapa.

When to visit
It’s not exaggerating to say that Sapa is beautiful all year round. It portrays itself in different charm throughout annual seasons. However, you may want to visit Sapa in April and September, when rice paddy fields are stepping in their gathering season.

You will marvel at the artless and picturesque beauty of terraced paddy fields and photographers will be overwhelmed with the amount of potential art they can create. In winters, Sapa is likely to be freezing cold and covered in snow, which is a rare thing to find anywhere in Vietnam’s winters. This couple-suiting kind of weather lasts from December to February.

visit Hanoi welcome !

Preparation
Clothes: lightweight and warm travel clothing is prior. Sapa’s summer is quite cool and you should squeeze in your bag a jacket. If you are going to Sapa to see its winter, you need a panoply of warm-keeping wearing items ranging from extreme winter gloves to extra-thick parkas. They allow you to be carefree exploring romantic sapa in winter. Avoid carrying too much stuff since it might take 2-3 days for you to enjoy Sapa thoroughly. There are plenty of clothes and trekking equipment shops in Sapa catering to your various needs.
Shoes: bring sporty footwear. You are going to spend most of the time on your feet walking around.
Personal paper: your ID, driving license is crucial to hire accommodations and to ride you bike legally.
Means of transportFrom Sai Gon: After flying to Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Jetstar, you hire a room there, waiting till the evening to board a sleeper bus/ train heading Sapa.
From Hanoi:
Trains to Sapa depart at Tran Quy Cap Station.

A one-way ticket for hard/soft seat in sitting compartment costs 200-300k vnd.
A one-way ticket in air-conditioned compartment costs 400-600k vnd.
A one-way ticket in sleeping hardwood compartment costs 600-800k vnd.
Once you reach Lao Cai Station, you can contact your pre-booked hotel staff to be picked up or catch a bus for around 50k vnd.

Sleeper buses to Sapa costs 220-250k vnd/one-way ticket/ person

You should travel train in rain season since roads can be very muddy and dangerous.

List of sleeper buses
It takes around 4 hours to drive from Hanoi to Lao Cai on new high way and one hour from Lao Cai to Sapa. Ticket bus prices vary from 300k to 350k vnd. If you are able to get a slot on a package tour bus, you can have discount price and better service.

Accomodations

You will spend most time of a day away from your room so the pressure on finding a comfortable room isn’t too much. We are categorizing accommodation in terms of price.

Mid-range and Budget
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Luxury
Destinations in Sapa

There are numerous spots in Sapa for your desire to visit to revel in. Yet you should not miss these destinations: Ta Van, Lao Chai, Ta Phin, Cat Cat mountain villages; Ham Rong mountain; Bac waterfall. Since they scatter throughout Sapa, it would be economical for you to hire your own motorbike to move around or a car if you are traveling with your family. Motorbike rent is 80k-120k vnd. Ask your hotel for more car rental information.

On the way to Ta Van and Ta Phin, there is marvelous scenery of terraced paddy fields. Ta Van, Ban Ho and Sapa ancient stonefield can be reached within the same route. Trekking-lovers love to visit Ta Van and Cat Cat in the fall and winter-spring period when the weather shifting to being mildly cold.

Little notes

You may want to ask for permission before take pictures of the locals and visit locals’ house.
Do not buy antiques if the sellers are not aware of their properties.
If you would like to give away gifts, please give them to adults, not children.
sapa
see more : dalat Vietnam

Eating in ho chi minh

If you have been to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s fastest-developing rising star, you may think life doesn’t have to be dull, ever.

things to do in ho chi minh

The country has become a spirited, pulsating destination in recent years. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city with the estimated population of 9 million, can be the best example. Saigon, the formerly name of the city, is changing at a speed exceeding that of the city’s most reckless motorcycle taxi drivers.

Urban regeneration projects, visually stunning new bridges, high-end real estate, business towers, office blocks, glitzy shopping malls – you name it, HCMC has it and promisingly get more.

While old-timers sometimes mourn about the fast-paced and major progress, once you are in the thick of it, life is never slow.

Actually, the allure of HCMC comes from its limitless vitality.

Here are some Best of Ho Chi Minh City – Dinning.

mausoleum ho chi minh

Pizza 4P’s
The best authentic Neapolitan pizzas in HCMC is traced back to a Japanese chef.

temple of literature Hanoi

The restaurant’s atmosphere gives a pleasing first impression but the pizzas’ quality is what lingers longest in the memory.

The toppings vary from classic Italian numbers such as Quattro formagio and margarita to Japanese fusion creations like marinated beef and teriyaki. They are judiciously combined and bolstered by the application of creamy freshly made mozzarella. All laid on perfectly textured chewy yet crispy bases.

The restaurant offers a good selection of beers and comprehensive wine list which complete the recipe for an decent evening out.

Address 8/15 Le Thanh Ton Street District1, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Tel +84 120 789 4444
Quan Ut Ut
The country’s most loved dishes are bun cha ( grilled pork meatballs served with vermicelli noodles) and thi kho (caramelized pork). Those porcine-centered creations portray a strong Vietnam’s culinary love affair with the pig that was established forever ago.

Considered a humble barbecue joint by foreigners, Quan Ut Ut is the one of the hottest tables in HCMC, whose name translates as “Restaurant Oink Oink”.

The restaurant daily witnesses one-hour queue patiently wait to fill up on the palatable barbecued pork, which in the words of the owners is “get their ut ut on”, while sipping on imported or local beers. That’s due to Quan Ut Ut’s unique rule of not accepting bookings and the main attraction of Quan Ut Ut — great grilled meat on charcoal brazer.

Address 168 Vo Van Kiet Phuong Cau Ong Lanh, Q.1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Tel +84 839 144 500
Monsoon
Monsoon feels like a high-end venue with its immaculate interior design and airy setting. Yet the restaurant sticks to the ideal of great food at low prices, typical to the Asian street dining.

This is one of rare places where eaters can mix and match a feast boasting Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Burmese and Thai dishes.

The banquet from across Southeast Asian often stars top picks like a gorgeous take on Khmer fish amok and a Burmese-style sweet pork curry.

Address No.1, Cao Ba Nha, Nguyen Cu Trinh ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 84 Vietnam
Tel +84 8 6290 8899
Cuc Gach Quan
Short-term visitors find the location of Cuc Gach Quan, which is on the outer limits of District 1, a deterrent. According to what have been known about the best Vietnamese food served here, in a serene converted house, it shouldn’t be.

You might be a bit overwhelmed when you lay eyes on the restaurant’s weighty-tome menu.

Homemade tofu is pliant and creamy.

Red rice, which is beautifully texture, and soft shell crab among are what keep gourmets coming back.

Among other things, reasonable prices and extensive wine list make it more imperative to fit in the trip.

Address 10 Dang Tat Ward Tan Dinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Tel +84 8 3848 0144
Banh Xeo 46A
The most addictive treats in Vietnamese cuisine title may go to Banh Xeo (Sizzling pancake).

Turmeric powder added to rice flour to create the pancakes’ vivid yellow coloring, water and coconut are blended to make the outer coat. Once the batter are poured onto the pan, it is filled with shrimp, bean sprouts and fatty pork. After some ingenious pan flipping, the crisp result  is served alongside aromatic herbs then dipped in dipping sauce, which is fish sauce drawn out by sugar, lemon and water).

Unlike duck fetus or other Vietnamese creations, Banh xeo is no challenge to eaters but one bite can totally wow your tongue.

Address 46A D Dinh Cong Trang District 3, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Tel  +84 8 3827 1372
The experience of the best evening out is still in your memory? Share with us in the comments.