Blogs from South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia

I reached Hoi An from Trang An, taking an overnight sleeper bus. The nearly 900KM journey took about 14 hours, but Vietnam has comfortable sleeper buses and I found the journey alright, even though tiring. Hoi An, meaning peaceful meeting place, used to be a trading port. Situated on the Thu Bon river, this town used to have easy access to a wide river which made it a port for trading. Today, the river is much smaller and hence the port has moved to Da Nang, changing the economic basis of Hoi An from trading to tourism (90%+ of the work force depends on tourism). I explored the town the first evening and was amazed by the number of tourists (very large) and the lanterns, lights and lit up boats. It was a kaleidoscope of colors ... read more

Vorgestern verließen wir Hue und fuhren nach Süden in Richtung Da Nang und Hoi An. Dabei passierten wir den Wolkenpass. In Da Nang besuchten wir das Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture und eine Marmor Manufaktur. In Hoi An besichtigten wir eine Seiden-Manufaktur und die Altstadt mit mehreren historischen Gebäuden und Tempeln. All dies war sehr sehenswert.... read more

Tour Day 111, Cruise Day 9 – Nha Trang, Vietnam – Tour Name: Nha Trang by Rickshaw & Shopping Explore Nha Trang by rickshaw -- a fun and interesting way to get around in Vietnam. You will ride through Nha Trang's city center to view the fishing boats moored in the shallow harbor. The boats are brightly painted in blue and red. At the Po Nagar Cham Towers, you will discover that these towers are evidence of the ancient Cham civilization and were built between the 7th and 12th centuries on a site used for Hindu worship. Today, both ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists come to Po Nagar to pray and make offerings according to their beliefs. Continue by coach to visit Long Son Pagoda, which was founded in the late 19th century and rebuilt several ... read more

I reached out to a friend who has long raved about Hoi An for some tips on places to go and added her suggestions to my own expanding list of must have experiences. Somewhat ironically after not seeing each other in person for about 20 years her family ended up staying in the villa next to ours at the Bel Marina Hotel! Just another wonderful Hoi An experience! Hoi An is a riverside town featuring islands and riverside mainland strips. The heart of Hoi An is the entrancing old town district. Apparently both sides in the American/Vietnamese War avoided damaging the old town by mutual agreement. By UNESCO decree over 800 buildings in Hoi An have been preserved. Wandering around the old town and visiting some of the ancient houses is a delight. We decided up ... read more

The harmonious combination of “blue sea – white sand – golden sunshine” has created a beautiful Ganh Da Dia – Da Dia Reef Phu Yen that cannot describe in words. This place is a unique geological structure with black and yellow basalt rocks in all kinds of conceivable shapes spread over an area of more than a square kilometre along the edge of the sea. From a distance, it looks like a giant black beehive. It was created by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. The lava, when it came in contact with the water, cooled, contracted and fractured and formed vertical or horizontal columns before becoming polygonal rocks like they are today. Besides this sea cliff, there are only four other places on earth that have this magnificent phenomenon. These are Giant’s Causeway in Northern ... read more