Halong Bay Cruise

Halong Bay Cruises (Vietnam)


Halong Bay is located in the northeast of Vietnam, 400 miles away from Hanoi. To discover and enjoy Halong Bay, there is nothing better than a Halong Bay Cruise. The most convenient option is to book the cruise using a Vietnamese tourist agency, the price for 2 days / 1 night cruise in Halong Bay is 100$ USD depending on the tour operator, the transportation from Hanoi may be included or not.

Halong Bay Cruise - Vietnam
Halong Bay Cruise - Vietnam

Halong Bay

Halong Bay - Vietnam

Halong Bay, is the most magical, charming and beautiful place all over Vietnam. The Bay is located in the north of the country, about 300 kilometers from Hanoi, the capital of the country. The Vietnamese call this place the Bay of the descendants of the Dragon (Vinh Ha Long).

Halong Bay
Halong Bay

Taxi in Vietnam

Taking a Taxi in Vietnam


There are several Taxi companies in Vietnam. The taxi ride price depends on the taxi company every company has its own fares.

Recommended Taxi Companies in Vietnam

Any Taxi Company is fair as long as they have taximeter, but we strongly recommend these Vietnamese Taxi Companies:
  • Mai Linh
  • Vinasun

Taxi in Vietnam: Vinasun
Taxi in Vietnam: Vinasun

Taxi in Vietnam: Mailinh (Mai Linh)
Taxi in Vietnam: Mailinh (Mai Linh)

Lịch Sử Áo Dài Việt Nam

Lịch Sử Áo Dài Việt Nam

Áo Dài

Áo Dài Việt Nam
Chúng ta đã không còn lạ lẫm gì với cái tên áo dài - trang phục truyền thống của Việt Nam mình. Ngày nay, đâu đâu chúng ta cũng thấy bóng dáng của tà áo dài thướt tha: trên sân trường với đồng phục nữ sinh, trên bục giảng với áo dài cho các cô giáo, trong công ty cho nhân viên, trong các cửa hàng, trên máy bay, và cả trên đường phố.

Nhưng có lẽ chúng ta chưa biết nhiều lắm về lịch sử của chiếc áo dài. Bài viết này sẽ một phần nào đó giúp các bạn hiểu thêm về ÁO DÀI.

Thực ra không ai biết chiếc áo dài nguyên thủy ra đời từ khi nào và hình dáng thực sự ra sao vì không có sách sử nào ghi lại. Y phục xa xưa nhất của người Việt, theo những hình khắc trên mặt chiếc trống đồng Ngọc Lũ cách nay khoảng vài nghìn năm cho thấy hình phụ nữ mặc trang phục với hai tà áo xẻ. “Thời Bắc thuộc thì người Việt gài áo về tay trái, mà sau bắt chước người Trung Quốc mới mặc áo gài về tay phải".

Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower

Keangnam Tower: Hanoi Skyscraper and the tallest Building in Vietnam


In Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, stands the tallest building all over Vietnam, the skyscraper Keangnam officially named Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower. With its 336 meters and 70 stories height, this giant made of steel and glass, which is still under construction, will be the headquarters of the South-Korean company Keangnam Vina, and also hotel, shopping mall, convention center and apartments.

Hanoi skyscraper (Vietnam)
Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower: Hanoi skyscraper

Vietnam Maps

Maps of Vietnam main Cities


Vietnam main cities city map: Hanoi city map, Ho Chi Minh City map, Hue city map and Hoi An city map.

Ho Chi Minh City Map

Ho Chi Minh City map, city center (district 1), airport and main tourist attractions of Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) city map
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) city map

Weather Forecast Vietnam

Weather Forecast for Vietnam

5 days Weather Forecast for Vietnam and main cities of Vietnam.

Hanoi Weather Forecast


Vietnamese Family

Vietnamese Family

Traditional Vietnamese Family


Vietnamese familyThere are a lot of differences between Vietnamese family to the European family: From the family size to the role of each member of the family and it's also different from the past to now.

Vietnamese family in the past

More than 30 years ago, Vietnamese family was very big. A couple could have about 5 to 10 children!!! Five kids were not really big. Eight kids were very normal. Take an example, my parents ( more than 60 years old) have 10 children. And most of my aunts and uncles also have from 5 to 10 children. Moreover, some of my parents' neighbors have even 12 children. Especially, in the center of Vietnam the family's size is bigger than the other places. In a typical family,there were three generations: grand parents - parents - children. The roles of family's members were also different. Still keeping the tradition: the man had the main role, the family didn't have the balance. Any decision just could be made by the grandfather or father. The children didn't have the power to make their own decision. The women always listened to the men.

Vietnam Currency

Vietnam Currency: Dong

Vietnamese Dong (VND)


The Currency of Vietnam is the Vietnamese Dong, its abbreviation is VND. The exchange rate of the Vietnamese Dong between the Euro is 28.000VND = 1€, and the exchange rate with the American dollar is 20.000VND = 1$.
The standard of living in Vietnam is 3 to 4 times cheaper than in Europe or America. Prices in Vietnam use tend to be thousands of Dongs, that's the reason in Vietnam there are almost no coins.

Vietnamese Rice with Squid recipe

Vietnamese recipe: Rice with Squid

Vietnamese Rice with Squid
The Vietnamese Rice with Squid recipe is soft meal to eat when you have an stomachache, the original name of this recipe is Cháo mực.

Details of Vietnamese Rice with Squid recipe

  • Preparation time: 30 minutes.
  • Difficulty: easy.
  • Price: 8€.

Ingredients to prepare Vietnamese Rice with Squid

These are the ingredients to prepare the recipe of Vietnamese Rice with Squid for 2 people:

Where to eat in Hanoi

Eating in Hanoi


Hanoi is famous with the old town (phố cổ) which is near Hoan Kiem Lake. Along with the name "old town", everything here seems to be "old". Hanoi was 1000 years old in 2010. Houses in the old town are tiny. Even the hotels are small, too. The buildings are allowed to have 5 floors only. People said that in some areas, they couldn´t see the light during the daytime.

Hanoi Old Town
Hanoi Old Town

Eating in Hanoi is not difficult because there are many places for eating from big restaurants to small vendors. However, eating well is not that easy. We went to many places and some of them are expensive but the food are not value for the price.

How to make an Ao Dai

How to make a Vietnamese Dress Ao Dai


Many women would like to have in their closet a Vietnamese Dress Ao Dai, however in many countries is quite difficult to get an Ao Dai.
There are 3 alternatives: buy an Ao Dai in Vietnam, order an Ao Dai in Vietnam to be shipped to our home or make an Ao Dai by ourselves.

How to make an Ao Dai
How to make an Ao Dai (Vietnamese Dress)

Vietnamese Dress designs
Vietnamese Dress designs

Vietnamese Dress Ao Dai model
Vietnamese Dress Ao Dai model

Vietnamese women day

Vietnamese Women Day: October 20th


Today, October 20th is the Vietnamese Women Day in Vietnam. We would like to congratulate all Vietnamese women.
chúc mừng!!

Vietnamese women day
Vietnamese women day

Vietnamese Hat

Vietnamese Hat

The Vietnamese Hat, its name is Non La

The Vietnamese Hat known as Non La (Nón Lá written in Vietnamese) in Vietnam but also called Asian Hat or Conical Hat, is together with Vietnamese dress (Ao dai), one of the most notorious and visible symbols of Vietnam.
The literal translation of Non La into English is Conical Hat, but many people also called it Asian Hat because many other countries use this kind of hat (ex: Cambodia).

Pictures of the Vietnamese Hat (Non la)


When we talk about the Vietnamese Hat, everyone thinks in a conical hat, made of straw. However, few people know that this type of hat is used almost entirely by women, although in the central and southern Vietnam, you can see men using it.

There is man version of the Vietnamese Hat, his appearance is very similar to an African Safari hat. It is easy to see, especially in the north. In Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam is quite common to find men on the streets wearing the Vietnamese Hat.
This is the appearance of the Vietnamese Hat for men.

Vietnamese Hat for men. Hanoi Vietnam
Man riding a bicycle wearing Vietnamese Hat for men. Hanoi, Vietnam.

Shopping in Vietnam

Shopping in Vietnam: 5 things to buy in Vietnam

For shopping lovers who wonder about shopping in Vietnam, these are the 5 things you should buy in Vietnam.

Shops in Vietnam. Shopping in Vietnam
Shops in Vietnam. Shopping in Vietnam

Pictures Halong Bay Vietnam

Pictures of Halong Bay in Vietnam


These are our Pictures of Halong Bay in Vietnam.

Halong Bay
Halong Bay

Street markets in Vietnam

Street markets in Vietnam: shopping in Vietnam markets

Shopping lovers and street market fans will find in Vietnam their personal paradise. Street markets in Vietnam are inherit to the Vietnamese culture and the life style of the country. People say every house in Hanoi is also a business. Shops, street markets, malls in Vietnam... let's go shopping!!!

Street markets in Vietnam
Street markets in Vietnam

Bargains in Vietnam

If you want to find bargains in Vietnam, you should know which kind of goods have a lower price in Vietnam than in a foreign country.
  • Clothing: the price is 3 maybe 4 times less than in Europe or America. A t-shirt, polo t-shirt or long sleeve shirt cost around 200.000 VND (10$, see Vietnam currency).

Saigon Skydeck

Saigon Skydeck: Bitexco financial Tower observatory in Ho Chi MInh City


Saigon Skydeck is the public name of the observatory located in the 49th floor of Bitexco Financial Tower (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), just under the building's heliport.

Saigon Skydeck
Saigon Skydeck

Bitexco Financial Tower - Vietnam

Bitexco Financial Tower - Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam

Saigon's tallest building: Bitexco Financial Tower

Vietnamese skyscrapers


The skyscraper Bitexco Financial Tower with its 262 meters is the tallest building of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the second tallest tower all over Vietnam, only beaten by Keangnam Landmark Tower in Hanoi with a height of 336 meters.
Bitexco Financial Tower Saigon Vietnam

During the year 2010, Bitexco Financial Tower had the honor of being Vietnam ceiling, but that period of time was very short because in 2011 Keangnam Landmark Tower in Hanoi, conquered that title.

In Vietnam this building is also known as Lotus building, due to its design, inspired by a lotus flower, a symbol for Vietnam. However, it has some resemblance with Burj al Arab in Dubai, I guess because of the heliport on one of the sides of the building instead of on the top of the skyscraper.

Luxury cars in Vietnam

Motor: high end cars in Vietnam


I'm always amazed when I see a car, which base price exceed by far thousand of dollars, on the streets of Vietnam. As a note we will say that a car in Vietnam has to pay the so-called import tax, increasing the final price of the vehicle so that a car in Vietnam costs twice as in Europe. Nevertheless, the high price of a high end car doesn't mean we can't see Luxury cars in Vietnam.

We are not talking about the average Mercedes or a BMW... we are talking about Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and above all Bentley.

Bentley Continental GT in Vietnam