Hanoi Street Food Tours

Continuing my exploration of street food tours in Hanoi, I booked onto an afternoon tour with Hanoi Street Food Tours, run by Mark Lowerson, of Sticky Rice fame, and Van Cong Tu, the “Vietnamese God“. Bring on three hours of snacking heaven.

It started with a steaming parcel of loveliness

We started our tour in Day Duy Tu Street in Old Quarter at a street stall serving nem cua be: large, square, deep-fried spring roll parcels filled with crab, mushrooms and glass noodles, chopped into quarters and served with a side of bun noodles, fresh herbs and a dipping sauce. While we ate, Mark talked me through the ingredients and the different herbs and we chatted about Hanoi and street food in general. He is clearly very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about food and I was already highly engaged and raring to go.

Vietnam Sapa Travel Guide

Vietnam Sapa Travel Guide - Choice views of Fansipan are the prime commodity on sale in Lao Cai's signature destination, Sapa, a hill station high in the mountains which is a vestige of the French colonial era. 

Before the French came, Sapa was home to several ethnic minorities, and now that the French are gone — they're still there. Dzao, Red H'mong, and particularly Black H'mong have adapted to the tourist trade with considerable zeal, and their notoriously aggressive sales techniques should probably be attributed to how poor the region is, and how hard it is to eke out any kind of a living.

Ha Long Bay Travel Guide

Halong Bay Travel Guide - A cruise on Ha Long Bay or the Bay of the Descending Dragon for many represents the pinnacle of their experience in Vietnam. easily one of the most popular destinations in the country, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay is both mystical and magnificent, an incredible feat of nature that almost never fails to impress.

Yes, it really is that good. Last time we counted, UNESCO had picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world, chosen for their cultural and historical importance, and also for their geological uniqueness. Ha Long Bay offers a little of all three.

Travel in Halong Bay and Northern Vietnam

Travel in Vietnam - Away from Halong Bay, you can still find some parts of Northern Vietnam free of tourist buses and technology.

As we crowd around a knee-high table feasting on fried pork, lemongrass and sticky rice, our Vietnamese guide tells us it is customary to drink 15 small glasses of rice wine before you can be excused from dinner.

We are 400km north of Hanoi, in Tien Thang Village, quickly learning about the vital role of this homemade liquor at most rural meals.

The owner of the large, sparsely-filled homestay pours the clear spirit from a plastic water bottle into tiny teacups, clasps both of his hands around mine while looking intensely into my eyes, and says "Chuc suc khoe!" (Cheers!), with a toothy smile.

Vietnam Travel - 2 days in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam's biggest city packs in fresh flavours, French relics and a futuristic skyline.

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

WHY GO NOW?

The dry season in the southern portion of Vietnam runs from December to April, making now the ideal time to visit the country's biggest metropolis. The city will also be in party mode on 30 April. Liberation Day celebrates the anniversary of the end of the American War and the reunification of the two halves of Vietnam in 1975.

TOUCH DOWN

Tan Son Nhat airport sits 7km north-west of the centre of the city.

Transfers will be included if you are on a wider tour. Taxi firm Mai Linh has a booth in the arrivals hall. Cabs to the centre cost 200,000 Vietnamese dong (NZ$11.40), taking 15 to 30 minutes. Bus 152 runs to the main bus station on Tran Hung Dao street, for V$5000 (29c), during daylight hours.

8 Tip For Hanoi Travel Guide

Hanoi capital , Vietnam, is a wonderfully chaotic city. Today, I'm tells you how to to get the most out of the place as an unabashed, camera-toting tourist, or as a savvy local in Vietnam Travel.

1: Drink espresso

Vietnam's coffee heritage is strong because of its French colonial legacy and it produces the second-largest amount of beans in the world. Most cafes have superb espresso, or alternatively try Vietnamese coffee, which is slightly bitter, often tar-thick, and comes with a dollop of sweetened condensed milk.

2: Head to the Museum of Ethnology

Ignore the dry-sounding name. I was transfixed for hours at the museum, a modern two-storey building jam-packed with artefacts of Vietnam's 52 ethnic groups, from weapons to spooky masks, against a background of tribal recordings. The sprawling gardens feature peasant huts, with birdsong overhead and frogs plopping across the path.

INFORMATION AND SERVICE VIETNAM VISA REQUIREMENTS

Only citizens of certain countries can visit Vietnam without a visa, they are: Nationals of most ASEAN countries: No visa is required if they plan to stay less than 30 days.

Nationals of South Korea, Japan, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland: No visa is required if they plan to stay less than 15 days (applied for both tourist and businessman).

Citizens of other countries are required to get an entry visa for Vietnam before departure or an approval letter for a Visa on Arrival (the visa issued on arrival at Vietnam International Airports).

To obtain your entry visa you have to apply to any Vietnam Embassies and/or Consulates worldwide. You need a passport with at least 6 months validity.

If there is no Vietnam Embassy or Consulate in your country, or if you just want to make Vietnam part of a multi-destination trip, then Visa on Arrival is the best option.

Introduce The Delicious Food Of Vietnam

This article is going to present 9 most popular breakfast dishes in Vietnam which can both be cooked at home or found at restaurants.

1. Pho

Pho is not only the most popular breakfast in Vietnam but is also internationally renowned as a symbol of Vietnamese gastronomy. Thousands of Pho stores deliver thousands of taste, that’s why some Pho stores are much more well-known than the rest, and the mystery hidden in the broth of Pho. Although the same ingredients are stewing bones of cows and pigs to cook Pho Bo (Pho with beef) and stewing bones of chicken and pigs to cook Pho Ga (Pho with chiken), an excellent pot of soup is determined by extra spices. Rice noodle used in a bowl of Pho is made of a special type of rice called “gao te” which is famous for its fragrance. Best served Pho are Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet) and Pho Ga (boneless white chicken meat). Others variety of Pho are Pho Bo Gau, Pho Bo Tai Nam and Pho Sot Vang. Lemon and chilly are indispensible for the best taste of Pho.

2. Banh Cuon (Rice Flour Steamed Rolls)

Rice seems to be the mother of many Vietnamese delicious foods, yet, another specialty made of rice flour: Banh Cuon. Banh Cuon is covered by a thin, wide sheet of steamed rice flour and its core filled with seasoned ground pork, and minced wood ear mushroom. Banh cuon is usually served with Cha Que and special dipping sauce named “nước chấm” made only for Banh Cuon. In the past, the dipping sauce was added some drops of Ca Cuong’s oil for the perfect flavor. Nowadays, although ones can still taste Ca Cuong’s oil, it is getting scarce and much more expensive.

Ha Noi Capital Travel Guide

Imagine a city where the exotic chic of old Asia blends with the dynamic face of new Asia. Where the medieval and modern co-exist. A city with a blend of Parisian grace and Asian pace, an architectural museum piece evolving in harmony with its history, rather than bulldozing through like many of the region’s capitals. Hanoi is where imagination becomes reality.


History and name

Hanoi used to be called Thang Long (flying dragon). The myth was that in 2010, the new king Ly Cong Uan while visiting this valley saw a dragon flying into the sky, and took this as an omen that this place was a suitable capital to rule. Thang Long had rich soil and good defense because it was surrounded by the Red River and backed by mountains.

The city was later renamed Hanoi (which means inside the river) in 1831 when the Nguyen dynasty moved capital to Hue. Hanoi was returned its status as capital during the French rule from 1887 to 1954, and continued to be the capital, first of Communist North Vietnam (from 1954) and later,  of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City Travel Introduction

Saigon, as it’s known to all but city officials, is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the whole country forward with its limitless energy. It is a living organism that breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride.

Saigon is a name so evocative that it conjures up a thousand jumbled images. Wander through timeless alleys to ancient pagodas or teeming markets, past ramshackle wooden shops selling silk, spices and baskets, before fast-forwarding into the future beneath sleek skyscrapers or at designer malls, gourmet restaurants and minimalist bars. The ghosts of the past live on in the churches, temples, former GI hotels and government buildings that one generation ago witnessed a city in turmoil, but the real beauty of Saigon’s urban collage is that these two worlds blend so seamlessly into one.

Whether you want the finest hotels or the cheapest guesthouses, the classiest restaurants or the most humble street stalls, the designer boutiques or the scrum of the markets, Saigon has it all. The Saigon experience is about so many things – memorable conversations, tantalising tastes and moments of frustration – yet it will not evoke apathy. Stick around this conundrum of a city long enough and you may just unravel its mysteries.

Vietnam Travel Introduction

Vietnam is a nation going places. Fast. Its people are energetic, direct, sharp in commerce and resilient by nature. This is an outrageously fun country to explore, the locals love a laugh (and a drink) and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to socialise with them and hear their tales. 

The American War is over, and yet its impact endures – you’ll find reminders of that cataclysmic conflict everywhere you travel. That said, the country was never broken and emerged with its pride intact. Poor in parts but never squalid, Vietnam is developing at an astonishing pace. For travellers, there are issues to consider (including minor scams), but little real danger – on the whole it’s a safe, wonderfully rewarding and incredibly varied country to explore.