Top Six Vietnam destinations to celebrate Tet, New Year

Hanoi
Hanoi, one oI the most beautiIul oI the colonial Indochinese
cities, is oIten the start or end point oI a trip to Vietnam,
and what a great welcome or Iarewell it is. Oozing with
charm, Hanoi has gone through wholesale changes since
Vietnam swung open its doors to tourism, but it remains
true to its essential personality and is an amazing city to
experience.

Though considerably quieter than big sister Saigon, Hanoi
still retains a vibrant atmosphere. From the early hours until late at night, the Iig-tree shaded
streets swarm with careening motorbikes, oIten with Iour, Iive or even six people aboard. A
cyclo is available on most street corners, but unless you are making a particularly long trip, the
best way to explore Hanoi is by Ioot.

Hanoi has a number oI lovely parks and museums where you can while away the hours oI a
warm summer's aIternoon -- Lenin Park, south oI Hoan Kiem district and just north oI Bay Mau
Lake are among the most popular, especially on holidays, when it's packed with picnickers.

In winter months, you can Iind yourselI a cozy caIe to snuggle up in, or Iind a streetside
restaurant boiling up a pot oI something belly-warming and delicious. While Hanoians are
certainly happy to be Iree oI the French occupation, they continue to embrace French culinary
culture.

Finally, the people oI Hanoi are some oI the warmest and most approachable in the country.
Though English is not as commonly spoken as in the South, many oI the older generation have a
working vocabulary oI French. Regardless oI language, people will attempt to have a
conversation with you irrespective oI whether you can understand them. Many oI the city's cyclo
drivers speak some English and oIten have intriguing pasts that they are now willing to discuss
with Ioreigners.

Halong Bay
A cruise on Ha Long Bay -- or the Bay oI the
Descending Dragon - Ior many represents the
pinnacle oI their experience in Vietnam. Easily
one oI the most popular destinations in the
country, UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ha
Long Bay is both mystical and magniIicent, an
incredible Ieat oI nature that almost never Iails to
impress.

Last time we counted, UNESCO had picked out 830 World Heritage sites around the world,
chosen Ior their cultural and historical importance, and also Ior their geological uniqueness. Ha
Long Bay oIIers a little oI all three.

It's not the cliIIs themselves that make Ha Long Bay unique, but rather their sheer number. A
huge bay, dotted with nearly 2,000 mostly uninhabited limestone cliIIs, the breathtaking scenery
is very similar to that oI the Andaman coast oI Thailand, Vang Vieng in Laos and Guilin in
China.

Created over millions oI years, tectonic Iorces slowly thrust the limestone above the water-line.
During this process waves lapping against the stone carved out a number oI vast, striking
caverns, as well as other geologically interesting Iormations, such as tunnel caves and uniquely
shaped massiIs.

Over the ages, Vietnamese Iishermen with too much time on their hands began to see shapes in
the stone massiIs atop many oI the islands, and named the islands accordingly -- Turtle Island,
Human Head Island, Chicken Island and so on.

In what constitutes one oI the most Iascinating cultural Ieatures oI the area, some oI these
Iisherman still live on the bay today - on Iloating Iishing villages, where houses are set atop
barges year round, the inhabitants catching and cultivating Iish throughout.

Hue
The historic capital oI Vietnam, Hue, sits
astride a truly majestic and beautiIul river, the
Song Huong (PerIume River). The north-bank
is host to its share oI hotels and restaurants, but
the area is dominated by the old IortiIied city
known as the Citadel, spread across more than
5 square kilometers oI ground, crowding out
development on that side oI the river. As a
result, guesthouses, hotels and restaurants have
sprung up on the south bank, starting with the river road, Le Loi Street, and stretching Iurther
south. The south bank oI the river has been developed as park cum promenade, with an eclectic
variety oI public sculptures on display.

Hue's complex history has earned it a reputation as a political, cultural and religious centre, but
nowadays, visitors to contemporary Hue will Iind a city that only dimly reIlects on its past, and
only does so as a begrudging nod to its western visitors. Like Halong Bay to the north, the
complex oI tombs, pagodas and palaces throughout Hue and its surrounds has been designated a
UNESCO World Heritage site. But to the Vietnamese psyche, shaped by centuries oI war and
struggle, tempered by nearly Iorty years oI communist rule, this heritage is largely irrelevant and
completely disconnected Irom the present. The overwhelming sense one gets Irom the city, on
even the most casual visit, is oI an unstoppable Iorward drive, and oI a people constantly looking
to the Iuture.

Hoian
Pale yellow houses draped in bougainvillea, shop Ironts lit with the glow oI silk lanterns, women
in conical hats liIting baskets oI slippery Iish Irom their boats -- liIe in old town Hoi An looks
like a picture postcard oI a Vietnamese country
town. OI course, that didn't happen by accident. In
1999, the riverside town was listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in an eIIort to preserve its core
oI historic architecture, a unique mix oI
Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and European
styles. The listing gave Hoi An resources and
impetus to better protect and maintain its wonderIul
architecture, and to market itselI as a tourist destination. It worked, and the town now attracts
visitors by the droves.

Historians believe that Hoi An was Iounded more than 2,000 years ago as a primitive port Ior the
Sa Huynh people, thanks to evidence Irom archaeological excavations which have also pointed
towards early trade with the Han dynasty in China. Through to the 15th century, the port was
absorbed into the Kingdom oI Champa and was known Iirst as Lam Ap and later as FaiIo.
During this period, it developed into a prosperous trading port visited by trading Ileets Irom as
Iar aIield as the Arabian Peninsula. As a hub oI regional trade, Hoi An brought considerable
aIIluence to the Champa Kingdom, evidence oI which can be seen at nearby My Son.

The number oI traders visiting Hoi An escalated as the centuries marched on, with the
Portuguese, Dutch, British and French all making an appearance, along with the ever-present
Chinese, Japanese and Indians. The majority oI Hoi An's most beautiIul buildings were
constructed Irom the 15th to 19th centuries.

Nhatrang
The city is indisputably beautiIul, bordered by mountains,
with the beach tracing an impressive long swoop along a
bay dotted with islands. Topiary and modern sculpture dot
the immaculately manicured Ioreshore.

Nha Trang oIIers plenty to keep tourists occupied Irom island-hopping boat trips and scuba
diving, to mudbaths and historic sites. But the main attraction Ior most visitors is lounging
around on deckchairs at a beachIront bar and drinking cocktails in comIort.

Hochiminh City
As Ho Chi Minh City's cyclo drivers rest easy
below vast neon billboards, the emerging
Vietnamese middle class -- mobile phones in
hand -- cruise past draped in haute couture on
their imported motorcycles. Welcome to Ho Chi
Minh City -- Vietnam's largest and most exciting
city.

How things have changed Irom the sleepy days pre-16th century, when the Khmer Iishing village
oI Prey Nokor was established on a vast swampland. Saigon's origins date back to the early 17th
century when the area became home Ior reIugees Ileeing war in the north. Towards the end oI the
century, once the population was more Vietnamese and Cambodia weak enough, Vietnam
annexed the territory. Over the Iollowing decades Prey Nokor developed into the Saigon the
French Iound when they conquered the region in the mid 19th century.

When the South Iinally Iell in 1975, what remained was a paltry shadow oI its more grandiose
days. Fittingly, the Iollowing year the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honour oI the late
leader oI North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh.. Despite this, many still know the sprawling town as
Saigon, and the name still reIers to central District One.

The communist victory was Iollowed by widespread repression and re-education. The economy
buckled under a heavy hand Irom the north as entrepreneurial spirit was all but stamped out, and
the Chinese trading class were particularly hard done by. Simultaneously, Saigon's elite and
pretty much anyone else with the means did their best to get out oI the country, and through the
late 1970s and early 1980s, Vietnam's "boat people" were Ieatured in media worldwide.

Through a policy oI Ireeing up economic activity known as doi moi in the late 1980s and early
1990s, the economic leash was loosened and Saigon has never looked back. With a very young,
increasingly well-educated population, the city has gone Irom strength to strength. Today,
children oI The Party slide through the heaving traIIic in gleaming, chauIIeur-driven Mercedes,
and the general population looks more to neon shrines Ior direction than to Uncle Ho and the old
guard.

Towering developments now pierce what was once a very low-key skyline. Five-star hotels and
international shopping chains have replaced dowdy government guesthouses and empty shelves.
Saigon has some oI the best cuisine in the country, Irom cheap street eating to salubrious haute
cuisine. A renewed interest in the arts has stimulated the art scene and many galleries and
museums are slowly being spruced up. For a tourist there is a lot to do in Saigon.

And once you're done with the city, use it as a base to explore the surrounds -- head out to the
tunnels at Chu Chi, the Cao Dai temple at Tay Ninh or jet oII to the sublime Con Dao. Then
there's the entire Mekong Delta to explore. How much time have you got?!

This article written by Lanh Nguyen Irom Vietnam Vacation
For original article, please visit:
http://vacations-vietnam.com/lastest-travel-news/top-six-vietnam-destinations-to-celebrate-tet-
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