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Hanoi_girl
I am a Hanoi_girl who loves to travel. I work for a Japanese construction company in Hanoi. Over the past few years, I have traveled to 18 countries in Asia and Africa, all the 63 provinces in Vietnam, including 23 trips to Huế city. Egypt, Mongolia and Nepal are my love, and other favorite countries are Japan, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China (6 trips, 15 cities), Cambodia (2 trips), Brunei Darussalam, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Laos (2 trips), Malaysia (3 trips), Singapore and Thailand (9 trips). I have visited all the countries in South East Asia except Timor-Leste. theRedRiver
I am happy as I've been to some wonders of the world: the Pyramids and the Pharos in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall in China, the Borobudur temple in Indonesia, the Angkor temples in Cambodia, the 3,000 temples in Bagan - Myanmar, the Plain of Jars in Laos, the Stone Forest in south west China etc. Some modern cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Dubai, Hongkong, Shanghai and Singapore also attracted me. I like this saying: "Go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you'll see farther."
183 blogs below are my travel stories in Vietnam and other countries, most of the time as a solo traveler. I hope I can share my feelings and experiences by writing about the trips and also about Vietnam. If you wish to contact me to ask about travel information, you can send me a private message on the right column of this page or through my email account vietnamtravelblog@yahoo.com (My current location: Ho Chi Minh City)
Cuộc đời là những chuyến đi. Mỗi đất nước tôi đã từng đến thăm, mỗi nơi tôi từng đặt chân tới, ở đó không chỉ có phong cảnh thiên nhiên kỳ vĩ hay những công trình tuyệt tác của nghệ thuật và văn hoá, mà chính những con người tôi đã gặp trong mỗi chặng hành trình và sự thân thiện của họ đã để lại trong tôi những ấn tượng sâu đậm không bao giờ quên được.
"In every Country I have visited and in all the places I have been to, there have been not only beautiful natural landscapes and magical works of history and culture, but above all, it has been the people I have met and their friendliness that have made unforgettable impressions on me."
Travel Blog Posts
Two months in southern Vietnam
Published: April 8th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City
April 8th 2013
8 April 2013 - It is two months since I stepped my foot at Tân Sơn Nhất airport and started a new life in southern Vietnam. Two months are not a long time, but for me it was the longest time I was out of Hanoi. During the past two months, I made one trip to Phnom Penh and three trips to 10 provinces of southern Vietnam. I have fulfilled my dream of seeing all the 63 provinces of Vietnam. I also published 17 blogs when I was traveling on the road. My parents cried when I said I had no plan to go back to Hanoi anytime soon. They only wanted me to be around them. So far, I have enjoyed traveling and living in southern Vietnam. The weather here is pleasant and good for ... read more
Water puppet shows in Sài Gòn
Published: April 7th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City
April 7th 2013
30 & 31 March 2013 - A friend and I went to see a water puppet show in Sài Gòn. I've seen water puppet shows more than 10 times in Hanoi, but this was my first ever experience with a water puppet show in Sài Gòn and I wanted to see how different it was in the two cities. A travel agent on Bùi Viện street offered to sell us a ticket at VND 150,000 (US$7). We decided to go directly to Rồng Vàng Water Puppet Theater, as we couldn't decide which time was good for us to see the show. When we got to the theater at 7pm, we expected to see the last show at 7:45pm. Unfortunately, all the tickets were sold out for the day and also next day. We took photos of ... read more
April 6th 2013
I left my motorbike in Hanoi and went south with my backpack and a heavy bag two months ago. As I don’t have my own motorbike in Sài Gòn, I have to take a bus and sometimes I use a motorbike taxi. Sài Gòn is a very large city with many districts and the city continues to be expanded. For the people living in Sài Gòn, it doesn’t matter for them to travel 10-20km to their working places every day by motorbikes. After a few days in Sài Gòn, I got used to the city bus system. From my sister’s place, I got bus No. 44 and went to Bến Thành market which is considered as the center of the city. This bus station is quite large and you can get a bus from this point ... read more
April 3rd 2013
I have been traveling all over Vietnam and also went cruising rivers in different cities and towns at night. I must admit that Sài Gòn seems to be the best place for a great city view. As the airport is close to the city, you can get a great city view when your air plane is going to land. There are many high buildings in the city and you also can get another view from a boat when cruising Sài Gòn river, The photos in my blog were taken in different places of the city, such as Bến Thành market (symbol of the city), Bùi Viện street (western backpackers area), Sài Gòn river cruise, and the City Garden in Bình Thạnh district where my sister lives. I spend this time discovering the city by bus and ... read more
April 2nd 2013
28 March 2013 – I booked a one day tour to Cần Giờ mangrove forest (or Rừng Sác) which is located 70km away from Sài Gòn. It took 3 hours to travel on this route, as tourists have to cross Nhà Bè river by ferry. Cần Giờ is the only sea district of Hồ Chí Minh City. It is like an island which is surrounded by rivers and sea. This is also a Biosphere Reserve which was recognized by UNESCO. The visit to Cần Giờ mangrove forest depends on level of the waterway. First, I planned to travel on my own by bus, but later I decided to book a tour and this was a right decision. It is quite expensive to rent a canoe (about US$30) which can carry 7-8 tourists, while I travel alone. ... read more
Vũng Tàu city - Long Hải beach - Bình Châu hot spring
Published: March 25th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ba Ria - Vung Tau
March 25th 2013
16 to 21 March 2013 – This is the final part of my 25 day solo trip to 6 provinces in southern Vietnam by local bus and motorbike (over 1,700km). In March 1993, I visited Vũng Tàu city with my father for the first time. It is exactly 20 years since my last trip, so I wanted to see how the city has changed. Vũng Tàu city is located 125km south east of Sài Gòn. It’s famous for great beaches and the oil exploitation industry. There are many offshore oil rigs and the locals I met told me that 90% of the Vietnamese working in the oil industry in Vũng Tàu are northerners. You can see helicopters flying over Bãi Sau beach to the oil rigs. I took a bus from Đà Lạt city to Vũng ... read more
Đà Lạt city & the Valley of Love
Published: March 18th 2013Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Lam Dong » Da Lat
March 19th 2013
13 to 16 March 2013 – I didn’t plan to visit Đà Lạt city. I was happy in Nha Trang beach city for a week, but then I lost my money at a market because of my carelessness. This made me sad, so I decided to do something that could make me feel better. I booked a bus ticket and moved on to Đà Lạt city. It is 15 years since my last (and also the first) visit to this city, so I wanted to see how the city has changed. Within two weeks, I traveled from the Central Highlands to the South Central Coast, then I came back to the Central Highlands again! Anyway, I had no fixed plan, so I could do whatever I wanted. Also, it's good to try different routes and get ... read more
Nha Trang beach city & Yang Bay waterfall
Published: March 15th 2013Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Khanh Hoa » Nha Trang
March 15th 2013
6 to 12 March 2013 – I was back to Nha Trang beach city on the third visit. I didn’t feel well when I took a bus from Phan Thiết to Nha Trang (250km). I got sore throat, headache and feeling dizzy after running around to many places during the past 10 days. Fortunately, I found a cheap and clean guesthouse which is located in the center of the city, only a few minutes walking to the beach. I decided to stay in Nha Trang for a week or 10 days. I wanted to relax and discover the city by motorbike. I got a 50cc Honda motorbike from my cousin living in Nha Trang and I could use it as long as I stayed in the city. Nha Trang is a famous beach city in the ... read more
March 5th 2013
When I was traveling on Lý Sơn island last July, I met a French tourist. He asked me “Have you ever been to Phú Quý island?”. I had no idea where this island was. After I was back home, I searched information through Google and found that this island is located in Bình Thuận province. I decided that I would visit this island when possible. At last I made it and this was the 16th island of Vietnam that I have been to. The visit to this island depends much on the weather (wind) and water flow. Sometimes people were stuck on the island for weeks because there was no boat going back to the mainland. I must say that this was a hard trip because it takes a long time to travel by ship and ... read more
March 4th 2013
The Vietnamese traditional dress, "Áo Dài", is one of the most elegant and beautiful dresses for women. It’s very simple, consisting of a close-fitting blouse, with long panels in the front and back, that is worn over loose white trousers. As a Vietnamese girl who loves to travel abroad, sometimes I bring an Áo Dài to travel with me. Whenever I wear it, my Áo Dài always attracts friendly looks from both locals and travelers. I once got a message from an Irish poster in the Thorn Tree travel forum. He wrote to me "You must get a wonderful reaction from the local people when you wear your Áo Dài. I think you would stop the traffic, if you were to wear it walking down a street in Ireland." An Áo Dài can be worn with ... read more
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