-
Lat Village
Less than 1km from the base of Lang Bian Mountain is Lat Village (pronounced ‘lak’), a fairly unremarkable minority community of about 6000 people spread across nine hamlets. Only five of Lat Villages hamlets are actually Lat; residents of the other four are members of the Chill, M
-
Queen’s Beach
This stony little beach at the foot of Ganh Rang was once a favourite holiday spot of Queen Nam Phuong. Theres a cafe and great views back over Quy Nhon. To get here, take Ð An Duong Vuong to the far south end of Quy Nhons beachfront and continue as the road starts to climb. After
-
Duyen Hai
Facing Vung Tau at the southeastern tip of Can Gio district, this small town has a Cao Dai temple and a large market , which is made very conspicuous by some rather powerful odours. Seafood and salt are the local specialities; the vegetables, rice and fruit are all imported by boat
-
Tiger Falls
Tiger Falls is named after the local legend of a ferocious tiger living in a nearby cave. There are good hiking trails in the area; make arrangements in Dalat. The falls are about 14km east of Dalat. Follow Ð Hung Vuong to Trai Mat village and continue for another 3.5km from the lo
-
Pongour Falls
Pongour Falls is the largest in the area when the dam above the river hasn’t siphoned off all its water. If you don’t feel like walking down to the falls, check out the view from the reconstructed royal pavilion. The original structure was built for Emperor Bao Dai’s hunting expedi
-
Cholon Jamail Mosque
The clean lines and minimal ornamentation of this mosque contrast starkly with nearby Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhist temples. Note the pool for ritual ablutions in the courtyard and the tiled mihrab (niche) in the wall of the prayer hall, indicating the direction of Mecca. This mo
-
Con Thien Firebase
Only one bunker remains of the US Marine Corps base that used to cover the three small hills here. In September 1967 Con Thien was besieged by the NVA, provoking a US response of 4000 bombing sorties. Today the region (though cleared of mines) is still studded with unexploded ordna
-
Ong Ngu
Bai Langs only real sight is a modest temple dedicated to the whales (and whale sharks) once abundant around the Chams. Locals worshipped whales as oceanic deities who would offer them protection at sea. When a carcass washed ashore, they’d clean the bones and perform an elaborate
-
Po Nagar
The Cham towers of Po Nagar were built between the 7th and 12th centuries, although the site was first used for worship as early as the 2nd century AD. To this day Cham, ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists come to Po Nagar to pray and make offerings, according to their respecti
-
To Mieu Temple
On the other side of the courtyard is the long, low, red and gold To Mieu Temple itself. Inside are shrines to each of the emperors, topped by their photos. Under the French only the seven liked by the colonial power were thus honoured - Ham Nghi, Thanh Thai and Duy Tan were only a
-
Phu Binh Camp
On the edge of town, this prison was built in 1971 by the Americans, and had 384 chambers. The cells had corrugated-iron roofs, and were infernally hot. The original structures remain in situ, but theres not that much left to see today. It was known as Camp 7 until 1973, when it c
-
Hang En
This gigantic cave is very close to Hang Son Doong, and featured in the same National Geographic photographic spread in 2011. Getting here involves a trek through dense jungle, valleys and the Ban Doong minority village, a very remote tribal settlement (with no electricity or roads
-
Dien Tho Residence
The stunning, partially ruined Dien Tho Residence (1804) once comprised the apartments and audience hall of the Queen Mothers of the Nguyen dynasty. The audience hall houses an exhibition of photos illustrating its former use, and there is a display of embroidered royal garments. J
-
Lang Dinh An
Lang Dinh An has the distinction of having a giant concrete chicken caught mid-strut in the village centre. The statue is part of a long-dysfunctional water system, and used to crow as water was pumped. It’s home to about 600 people of the Koho people, now largely Vietnamised, and
-
Chinese All
Founded in 1773, this assembly hall was used by Fujian, Cantonese, Hainan, Chaozhou and Hakka congregations in Hoi An. To the right of the entrance are portraits of Chinese resistance heroes in Vietnam who died during WWII. The well-restored main temple is a total assault on the se
-
Saigon Central Mosque
Built by South Indian Muslims in 1935 on the site of an earlier mosque, lime-green Saigon Central Mosque is an immaculately clean and well-tended island of calm in the bustling Dong Khoi area. In front of the sparkling white and blue structure, with its four decorative minarets, is
-
Royal Fine Arts Museum
This recently renovated museum is located in the baroque-influenced An Dinh Palace, commissioned by Emperor Khai Dinh in 1918 and full of elaborate murals, floral motifs and trompe lœil details. Emperor Bao Dai lived here with his family after abdicating in 1945. Inside, you’ll fin
-
Sao Beach
With picture-perfect white sand, the delightful curve of beautiful Sao Beach bends out alongside a sea of mineral-water clarity just a few kilometres from An Thoi, the main shipping port at the southern tip of the island. There are a couple of beachfront restaurants, where you can
-
Presidential Palace
This restored colonial building was constructed in 1906 as the Palace of the Governor General of Indochina. It is now used for official receptions and isn’t open to the public. There is a combined entrance gate to the stilt house and Presidential Palace grounds on P Ong Ich Kiem in
-
Uncle Ho Temple
The highly unusual (particularly in these southern parts) Uncle Ho Temple is dedicated, of course, to the late president Ho Chi Minh, and contains a shrine to Ho as well as a small museum displaying photos of his life. The temple was built in 1971, while the war was still in progre
Total
681 -travel
FirstPage PreviousPage NextPage LastPage CurrentPage:
20/35 20-travel/Page GoTo Page:
