Page 6 of theRedRiver Travel Blog Posts


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theRedRiver
April 25th 2012

15 & 16/4/2012 – Day 2 & Day 3 of the 5 day trip to Hà Giang (the northernmost province of Vietnam). We arrived at Đồng Văn town at 5pm. Next to our hotel there were 3 big motorbikes which we saw when our mini bus had problem on the pass. It turned out that these motorbikes were owned by 3 Thai travelers. Anyone would dream of having such a comfortable motorbike to travel in this wonderful mountain region. The Thai men were passing by us very fast, so we only guessed based on the Lao and Thai flags on their bikes. The first thing I did after arrival in Đồng Văn town was to walk along the main street. When we had dinner at a restaurant opposite to our hotel, I saw 3 Thai men ... read more



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theRedRiver
April 23rd 2012

Afternoon 15 April 2012 – Day 2 of the 5 day trip to Hà Giang (the northern most province of Vietnam). After lunch in Yên Minh, we traveled 14km to Phố Cáo. Both Phố Cáo and Sủng Là communes, which we were going to visit, have preserved typical architecture and traditional culture of the white H’mong in Hà Giang. The population of Hà Giang province is 800,000 people, of which 21.3% are H’mong ethnic minority people. They are called “white H’mong” because H’mong women wear white skirts. If you have traveled to the North West of Vietnam, you may have seen different branches of H’mong group, for example, black H’mong in Sapa, flowery H’mong in Bắc Hà, blue H’mong in Sơn La, and red H’mong in Suối Giàng. Now you will see another branch of H’mong ... read more



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theRedRiver
April 22nd 2012

I’ve just come back home from Hà Giang province after traveling over 1,000km overland on a 5-day tour (14/4 to 18/4/2012). Hà Giang is the northernmost province of Vietnam which has 274km border line with China. The province is home to 22 ethnic groups (mainly ethnic minority people) and it’s famous for the best mountain scenery in Vietnam. This is my second trip to the province. Eight years ago I traveled to Hà Giang on a business trip. My impression on the trip was the red color of dust over houses and trees along Highway No. 2, as the road was under construction. After meeting with the leaders of the province, I traveled with a Japanese manager to the Vietnam – China border gate (22km from Hà Giang city) and we visited a market on the ... read more



Thung Nai valley

Published: April 4th 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Hoa Binh
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theRedRiver
April 4th 2012

Friday, 30 March 2012 - My company organized a one day trip, so I traveled with my colleagues to Thung Nai which is located 100km northwest of Hanoi. Thung Nai means "valley of deer" as deer were coming to this valley in the old days. When Hòa Bình hydropower plant was built in the 1980s, the valley became a reservoir. The mountains were partly submerged in the water and they became islands, as a result the landscape is similar to Hạ Long bay. We left Hanoi at 7am and back to the city at 7:30pm. When we arrived at Thung Nai commune, we rented a boat (about US$60) and cruised on the reservoir. We visited a couple of temples and I saw some interesting things there. Along the way to the temples, the Mường and Dzao ... read more



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theRedRiver
February 1st 2012

Tết 2012 (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) - the Year of the Dragon - I decided that it was time to go back to Nha Trang. It has been 12 years since my first trip to Nha Trang, so things have changed. Another reason for going back was that I wanted to see the sun and beaches. On my first trip to Nha Trang, I visited the major sites in the city and three islands, then traveled by bus to Đà Lạt highlands. This time I would like to see the Tết atmosphere in Nha Trang. Then I would go up north along the coastline to Tuy Hoà city as I would fly back home from there. This is my second visit to both Nha Trang and Tuy Hoà cities. Nha Trang is one of the most ... read more



Tuy Hòa city

Published: March 10th 2009Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Phu Yen » Tuy Hoa
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theRedRiver
January 24th 2012

In two years 2010 and 2012, I made two trips to Tuy Hòa city. It was interesting that on my first trip to the city I traveled by bus from Quy Nhơn (96km, from north) and on the second trip I traveled by motorbike from Nha Trang (120km, from south). On both trips I flew back home in Hanoi from Tuy Hòa airport. I was lucky to have the chance to see the landscape along the coastline. It was so beautiful, not only the beaches, but also the mountain scenery, rice fields and small towns along the way. Tuy Hòa is the capital city of Phú Yên province. It is one of the provinces in the south central region of Vietnam which is often affected by typhoons, rain and flood during the rainy season, especially from ... read more



Vietnam - Guide for trip planners

Published: January 18th 2010Asia » Vietnam
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theRedRiver
January 18th 2012

In 2005, when I was a regular member in the Thorn Tree travel forum of the Lonely Planet website, I created the FAQ thread for Vietnam (FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions). This sticky thread on the top of SE Asia Mainland Branch has reached over 500,000 views up to date. The problem is that whenever I wanted to edit or update information in this thread, I had to send a message to the Moderator. It was inconvenient for me and it also took time before the information could be updated. Now I would like to publish this blog as a guide for those who plan a trip to Vietnam. Please note that I have never worked in the tourist industry. I travel for fun, not for earning money. What I am writing here is based on ... read more



Thổ Hà old village

Published: January 6th 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northeast » Bac Giang
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theRedRiver
January 6th 2012

Sunday 1 January 2012 - I rented a car with driver and traveled 70km to Thổ Hà village in Bắc Giang province. This is one of the poor provinces in northern Vietnam. Thổ Hà village used to be famous for the ceramic products, along with Bát Tràng and Phù Lãng ceramic villages. The ceramic works in Thổ Hà village lasted 8 centuries, from the 12th to 20th centuries. Since 1980 to date, the traditional work no longer existed and the locals changed to make rice papers and noodles, as well as raising pigs and making rice wine. The village is an interesting place for tourists and photographers owing to a number of the old houses and its location by the Cầu river. There is no rice field in the village and it's like an isolated island ... read more



Hanoi Flower Festival 2012

Published: January 3rd 2012Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi
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theRedRiver
January 3rd 2012

Happy New Year 2012! Last weekend I had a 3-day holiday, so I decided to go to Hanoi's center for taking photos of the Hanoi Flower Festival and next day I rented a car and driver to visit a village in northern Vietnam. The weather was not great these days. It was cold and chilly, so my photos looked pretty dark. The Flower Festival 2012 lasted 4 days (from 30 Dec 2011 to 2 Jan 2012) and it was the 3rd flower festival which was organized in Hanoi. Again it was a good chance for the artists showing their creativity. The day before the Opening Ceremony was held, I went to the festival area because of some business and by chance saw the artists preparing their works. A crafstman nailed eggplants and fruits to the dragon ... read more



Eating around Vietnam

Published: July 5th 2010Asia » Vietnam
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theRedRiver
December 25th 2011

The photos in this blog were taken on my trips to some cities and provinces of Vietnam. Except "thắng cố" (horse meat) of the H'mong ethnic minority people in Bắc Hà town (north west Vietnam) which I didn't eat, the other food in this blog are my favorite ones. You can find various types of food in Vietnam, as Vietnamese eat almost everything, for example pork, beef, chicken, goat meat, fishes, even snakes, birds, eels, dogs, snails etc. The only difference in the taste among 3 regions of Vietnam is that the central and southern people love spicy food, even though the weather there is hot throughout the year. The southerners also put sugar into their food, so the taste is sweeter. There are some fast food brand names which are available in the big cities ... read more






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